Wild Birds Unlimited vs Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Wild Birds Unlimited vs Just Dogs! Gourmet including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise
Investment $170,382 - $281,606$75,000 - $125,000
Franchise Fee $30,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 4%3%
Advertising Fee 1%-
Year Founded 19812001
Year Franchised 19832003
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Renewal Fee -$2.5K


Business Experience Requirements

 
Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise
Experience

* Enthusiastic about nature and backyard bird feeding * Interested in owning your own business and working for yourself * Willing to work with others who share the same interests * Committed to building a Business Enterprise *Committed to delivering the ultimate WBU customer experience *Committed to following WBU 'Best Practices' to operate your own WBU store *Comfortable with the needs associated with running a business

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Financing Options

 
Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/YesNo/No
Start-up Costs No/YesNo/No
Equipment No/YesNo/Yes
Inventory No/YesNo/Yes
Receivables No/NoNo/No
Payroll No/NoNo/No

Training & Support

 
Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise
Training On-The-Job Training: 40 hours Classroom Training: 40 hours Additional Training: Ongoing

Our qualified field staff will be there during store construction, set-up and your Grand Opening to make sure your staff is fully trained to do it the Just Dogs! Gourmet way. Home Office Business Training Bakery and Treat Decoration Training Store Operations Training Just Dogs! Administration System Point of Sale (POS) Systems Training

Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app Ad slicks, Regional advertising
Operations 25% of all franchisees own more than one unit

Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 4

Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 4 - 6

Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)


Expansion Plans

 
Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise
Just Dogs! Gourmet Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion YesNo
International Expansion YesYes

Company Overviews

About Wild Birds Unlimited

Jim Carpenter opened the first Wild Birds Unlimited store in Indianapolis in 1981. In 1983 he began franchising. The privately owned company is based in Carmel, Indiana. Each store sells bird-feeding and bird-watching supplies, including birdhouses, feeders, food and binoculars.
We support you all the way:
  • Rated #1 or #2 in Retail for Franchisee Satisfaction for 14 years
  • Rated in Top 10 Overall for Franchisee Satisfaction for more than 6 years
  • Proven, 35+ year business model
  • Our pre-opening support covers business planning, site selection, lease negotiations, classroom and in-store training, store design and layout
  • Our on-going support includes marketing, merchandising and purchasing, store operations, nature and hobby education, financial and information systems
  • Strong customer loyalty by providing an exceptional customer experience and the highest quality bird food and bird feeding products in the industry
  • Many US and Canadian markets are still available for development
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a  Wild Birds Unlimited Store is from $170,382 to $281,606 for a new franchisee ($145,382 to $256,606 for an existing franchisee who is purchasing an additional Wild Birds Unlimited franchise). This includes an amount of $52,860 - $54,260 that must be paid to the franchisor by a new franchisee (or $27,860 - $29,260 by any existing franchisee).
Veteran Incentives  15% off franchise fee
   ""     "Top    "Entrepreneur
In Franchise Business Reviews' Top 200.
#8 in Gator's Top franchises.
#137 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
#186 in Franchise 500 for 2021.









About Just Dogs! Gourmet

NO LONGER FRANCHISING