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Four Muddy Paws opens a second location.
By Kerri Danskin
When customers are driving across state lines just to come to your store despite a crumbling economy, it might just be time to expand your business.
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The new Four Muddy Paws store
is in Edwardsville, Ill. |
This was the realization Jeffrey Jensen and Matt Brazelton of Four Muddy Paws had before they added a second store to their business. The first store in St. Louis, Mo. has been successful enough to support the addition of another in Edwardsville, Ill.
“We had always looked at that market as being a potential market where we’d like to expand,” Jensen says.
The impetus for that expansion finally came when Jensen, who had been working in corporate merchandising for a large retail company for 23 years, lost his job.
“They were downsizing and my position was eliminated,” he says. “I asked myself where I wanted to put my energy. And that really was the store; that’s where my passion was. We felt really confident that it was the right decision.”
Brazelton, who had previously worked as a teacher, was already devoted full-time to Four Muddy Paws, so at that point they had all hands on deck.
Manpower was clearly not an issue, but in this economy, how did this business manage to do well enough to come up with the financing? Jensen says that the customer base has continued to shop and use their services throughout the downturn.
“We’re really true to our business plan that we started out with,” he says. “We had this vision of what we wanted to create before we even opened. It’s sort of a one-stop shop where you’re able to pick up your healthy dog food, use the self-service wash or professional groomer. Some people use just one part of the business and some use all.”
That diversity of services can sometimes be the key to the survival of a business, which is why many boutiques have added dog washes and/or grooming services to their businesses recently. Groomers have also gotten in on diversity by offering accessories, toys and other boutique products in their shops.
Four Muddy Paws also has a specific angle which is very popular of late: natural and “green.”
“We call ourselves ‘The Healthy Pet Market’ in that we really focus on both the emotional and physical well-being,” he says. “Our whole idea is to celebrate the relationship of the pet and guardian. The goal is to make your experience as positive with your dog as good as possible. ”
With specialized products, Jensen says the store must have very specialized customer service.
“Our service is customized in that we sell products that are fun and safe and appropriate for each person’s dog,” Jensen says. “For our staff, we look for people who have the natural customer service skills, obviously a love of pets, and then we work on the training in house, starting from what they already know.”
In addition to its specialized focus and customer service, the store has thrived also because of its pricing, Jensen says.
“We never went into it as a high-end boutique,” he says. “We have some higher-end products, but then we also carry all the organic and earth-friendly products for the dog. We make sure the products that we carry are at a good price. First of all the products are safe for the dogs. That’s our first priority. We find that the value isn’t necessarily about how much it costs, but what it’s worth to you.” |