Pet Supplies Plus Buys Largest Franchisee

By Carrie Brenner

Pet Supplies Plus of Farmington Hills, Mich., in January completed the acquisition of its largest franchisee, which operated 12 stores in northeast Pennsylvania. The 258-store chain also unveiled plans to consolidate its distribution centers in Michigan to a larger location in Indiana.

“It made sense for the owners to realize value, and for us it was an opportunity to pick up 12 very good stores,” said Dave Bolen, CEO of Pet Supplies Plus, adding that franchisee owners Dave McQueen and Andy Monas initiated the deal.

Only minor changes are anticipated for the stores, Bolen said.

“Our northeast Pennsylvania franchisee is not only the largest in our system, but is also one of the best-managed franchise operations,” Bolen said. “We are looking forward to building on the success of these stores as we expand our footprint in the region. Most importantly, we will work toward maintaining the high levels of service, differentiated product offering and competitive pricing that make Pet Supplies Plus everyone’s favorite neighborhood pet store.”

The company, a portfolio company of Irving Place Capital, currently owns 108 of its 258 stores in the U.S. and will continue to seek out new franchisees for its franchise program, Bolen said.

Pet Supplies Plus also plans to close its distribution centers in Ann Arbor and Jackson, Mich., and relocate its distribution operations to Seymour, Ind., where it will lease and equip a 763,000-square-foot facility.

“We simply needed additional space to better service our stores,” Bolen said of the relocation.

Pet Supplies Plus has been offered up to $850,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., based on the company’s plans for job creation.

The company expects the facility to be operational by August.