Leading Specialty Retailer Opens 44 Stores, Inks 60 Deals, Celebrates Three Decades of Franchising in 2022
Batteries Plus, the nation's largest and fastest-growing battery, light bulb, key fob and phone repair franchise, has confirmed yet another record-breaking year as the brand closes out 2022 with undeniably impressive activity in Q4. December proved to be the retailer's second highest sales month of all time, giving the brand obvious upward trajectory heading into the new year. And in overall performance, Batteries Plus inked 60 new deals in 2022, including both organic growth and additional signings with current franchisees, successfully meeting its goal previously stated at the top of the year. The brand expanded its presence with multi-unit expansions in South Florida and Long Island, NY as well as new presences in several markets, including Ohio, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California to name a few.
A stand-out effort during this active, memorable year, and one of the many ways Batteries Plus is staying ahead of the innovation curve, is the campaign that was executed by the brand to capitalize on the organization's commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience both in-store and online. With the recent total digital transformation and leadership changes to the digital team, the retailer is delivering on its promise to offer an elevated shopping journey for its customers by completely reinventing the digital space. Through high-level customization and personalization to the brand's website, the rebuild of Batteries Plus's online presence has resulted in an easier and more enjoyable purchasing experience.
"Batteries Plus still has plenty of untapped potential," said Scott Williams, CEO of Batteries Plus. "With an impressive executive team such as ours, and a force of 250+ franchisees in our system, our brand is capitalizing on the knowledge and advantages we've created for ourselves to position our brand to continue to deliver the best of the best for the battery-powered present and future."
With a record of constant growth for the past three years, including 53 resales and 44 new store openings in 2022, it's no surprise the leading specialty retailer is yet again setting high standards for success with the announcement of this year's goal to acquire 60 additional store signings by 2023's end.
Reflecting on this past year, it's only appropriate to show appreciation to the hundreds of franchisees who make these growth goals possible, and particularly the entrepreneurs who paved the way exactly three decades ago. The year of 2022 was the 30th anniversary celebration of Batteries Plus's first franchise location in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This celebration is a genuine demonstration of the brand's long-term commitment, declared three decades ago, to providing the necessary resources and services people need to power their lives, by expanding the business to new communities and delivering on that promise through franchising.
To top off a profitable and memorable year, Batteries Plus gained multiple new faces at the executive level, including Derek Detenber, who was appointed as Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Aaron Bundschuh as Chief Digital Officer, Scott Buchalter as Director of Franchise Relations, and Hugh Robertson as Director of Exit Strategy Support. Additionally, Batteries Plus celebrated many promotions including Jon Sica who was elevated to Chief Business Officer in March along with the brand's entire franchise development team receiving promotions. Joe Malmuth, CFE, moved into the role of Chief Franchising Officer from his previous role as Vice President of Franchise Development. Just as well, Vic Daher was promoted to Vice President of Franchise Development and Brandon Mangual to Managing Director of Franchise Development.
"It's been a commemorative year at Batteries Plus, and we show no signs of slowing down any time soon," said Joe Malmuth, CFE, Chief Franchising Officer at Batteries Plus. "We've received incredible interest in our franchise opportunities with both current and prospective franchisees, which is a testament to our remarkable numbers from 2022 and the consistent growth that follows. The driving force behind our progress can be attributed to not only our team members across the executive leadership team, franchisees and at the store-level, but to the communities and loyal customers who support us."
Not only is the brand outshining competitors in its franchise development results, the retailer has also received a variety of well-deserved recognitions from highly established organizations, such as ranking no. 41 by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top Franchise for Veterans, a list the brand has consistently secured a spot on for nine years in a row. Alongside this are plenty of other honorable mentions from ranking #130 on Franchise Times Top 400 list, as well as landing on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 list for the 30th year in a row – gaining 53 spots over last year's ranking. The brand was also recognized with the 2022 Leadership Award in Shareholder Value by one of their highly valued national account customers, Johnson Controls. In charitable efforts, Batteries Plus is honored to continue its partnership with the U.S. Marines' Toys for Tots as National Corporate Donors in an exclusive partnership with Duracell, with 2022 being the brand's third year donating AA and AAA batteries to power children's toys.
To learn more about Batteries Plus, including information on the franchise opportunity or tour a store virtually, visit batteriesplusfranchise.com.
ABOUT BATTERIES PLUS:
Batteries Plus, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Hartland, WI, is a leading omnichannel retailer of batteries, specialty light bulbs and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels. The retailer also offers key programming, replacement and cutting services. Through a nationwide network of stores, the company offers a differentiated value proposition of unrivaled product selection, in-stock availability and customer service. Batteries Plus is owned by Freeman Spogli, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles and New York City. To learn more about one of Forbes®' Best Franchises to Buy in America, visit https://www.batteriesplusfranchise.com.
