Wild Birds Unlimited
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Wild Birds Unlimited operates over 280 stores in North America, offering superior bird feeding/watching and nature hobby products. Wild Birds Unlimited offers a number of goods tailored to nature enthusiasts, including bird feeders, birdhouses, birdbaths, bird food, decorative lawn and garden accessories, and unique nature gifts. Wild Birds’ certified bird feeding specialists help customers transform their yards into beautiful bird feeding habitats that benefit wild birds and the environment.
Backyard bird feeding and watching represents a surprisingly profitable industry: over 55.5 million people participate in backyard bird feeding, and bird feeding/watching is a $5.4 billion industry. Thus, Wild Birds Unlimited offers prospective franchisees the opportunity to combine their business ambitions with their love for nature, and gives them access to over 25 years of experience and the highest quality nature hobby products and services available.
| |
Operating Units |
12/31/2008 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2010 |
|---|
| | Franchised |
282 |
272 | 272 |
| | % Change | -- |
-3.5% |
0.0% |
| | Company-Owned | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | % Change | -- |
-- |
-- |
| | Total |
282 |
272 |
272 |
| | % Change | -- |
-3.5% |
0.0% |
| | Franchised as % of Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
Investment Required
The fee for a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise is $18,000. The fee for an additional store is $9,000.
Wild Birds Unlimited provides the following range of investments required to open your initial franchise. The range assumes that all items are paid for in cash. To the extent that you choose to finance any of these expense items, your front-end investment could be substantially reduced. Please note the figures below are for a first time franchisee; for an existing franchisee to open another location the Total Initial Investment is between $81,621 and $136,436.
| |
Item | Established Low Range | Established High Range |
| |
Initial Franchise Fee |
$18,000 | $18,000 |
| |
Expenses While Training |
$3,483 |
$8,164 |
| |
Lease Deposit |
$2,500 |
$4,500 |
| |
First Month's Rent | $2,500 | $4,500 |
| | Leasehold Improvements |
$7,800 |
$24,555 |
| |
Insurance (First Quarter) |
$125 | $580 |
| |
Legal and Accounting | $500 |
$3,000 |
| | Office Equipment |
$7,916 |
$7,996 |
| | Signage | $1,187 | $7,964 |
| | Advertising |
$5,050 |
$6,915 |
| | Retail Fixtures |
$11,462 |
$11,859 |
| | Initial Inventory |
$18,066 |
$20,938 |
| | Gift Card Fee |
$153 |
$778 |
| | Miscellaneous Expenses |
$4,379 |
$8,187 |
| |
Additional Funds (3 Months) |
$10,000 | $20,000 |
| |
Total Initial Investment |
$93,121 |
$147,936 |
Ongoing Expenses
Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees pay a royalty fee equal to 4% of gross sales, a minimum local advertising fee equal to 2% of gross sales, a regional/local advertising fund fee equal to 0.5% of gross sales (maximum of $2,500 a year) and an annual fee for point-of-sale software.
What You Get—Training and Support
Wild Birds Unlimited assists franchisees throughout the entirety of the franchise relationship to ensure the success of franchised locations. Prior to opening, Wild Birds assists franchisees in site selection and provides specifications and advice for layout, décor, equipment, furnishings and signs.
Before opening a franchised location, franchisees must complete a training program at Wild Birds Unlimited’s corporate headquarters in Carmel, Indiana. The initial training program includes approximately 55 hours of classroom instruction and covers a number of topics, including visual merchandising, store layout, store tours, purchasing strategies, inventory management, POS system, seed strategies, product and hobby education, marketing strategies, human resources, customer services, sales skills and strategies and financial management.
Following the store opening, Wild Birds Unlimited conducts regular additional training programs on selected topics, as well as periodic evaluations to provide constructive feedback.
Territory
Wild Birds Unlimited grants exclusive territories.
Note:The tables and information regarding the number of operating units, investment required, on-going expenses, training and territory grants were taken from the company’s 2011 FDD. The 2011 write-ups will be incorporated into the 2012 Edition of Bond’s Top 100 Franchises publication.
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