Aussie Pet Mobile: The world's largest pet-grooming service mentioned in a previous edition of Franchise News just announced it has opened its first two locations in British Columbia. Following up with its planned announcement to have 40 locations in Canada within the next two years, two new locations in North and West Vancouver are set to open in early 2011. A scaleable business requiring no commitment to real estate or retail shop leases, the Aussie Pet Mobile franchise fee starts at $29,000 and requires a minimum of $73,000 in capital for a single-unit operation.
Pet Depot: Labrador Franchises Inc.'s Pet Depot has been in business since 1991, began franchising in 2001 and today has 34 units, plus one veterinary hospital. Pet Depot has recently expanded to Canada.
New franchises with both a retail store and hospital can be built for an upfront $40,000 fee. For retail stores only, the initial fee is $30,000. Additional startup costs range from $250,000 to $800,000 for equipment, inventory and training, says founder Roman Versch. Some areas may require buyers of the company's veterinarian hospital to be licensed veterinarians.
Camp Bow Wow: With over 275 locations in North America, Colorado-based Camp Bow Wow provides 24-hour care for dogs. This includes large indoor and outdoor play areas, campfire treats, baths and cabins with cots, plus home-care services such as dog walking, waste removal and pet sitting. Over 200 Camp Bow Wows are planned to open across North America in the next year. In Canada, it has one camp, in Nova Scotia. Camp Bow Wow was founded in 2000 and started franchising in 2003. It charges buyers a $50,000 franchise fee with initial startup costs averaging $150,000 for basics, such as property leases and training.
Dogtopia: This doggy daycare franchise provides overnight boarding, spa treatments, training classes and an array of retail items for dogs. On a local level, Dogtopia franchisees throughout Canada have established relationships with local rescue shelters, dog parks, schools and other organizations in dozens of communities. The company was founded by Amy Nichols in 2002 and began offering franchises in 2005. The estimated initial investment to purchase a Dogtopia ranges from $242,900 to $458,300, plus the company's franchise fee of $40,000.
Zoom Room: Founded in 2007, Zoom Room specializes in dog-agility training, which involves weave poles, tunnels, teeter-totters and other equipment. The company began franchising in 2009 and to date has sold seven units. No previous dog-training experience is required to become a Zoom Room franchisee.
The average total startup costs for a Zoom Room franchise range from $95,185 to $171,160, which includes the $35,000 franchise fee, plus three months' rent, operating expenses, initial inventory, utilities, equipment, signage, permits, legal fees, training, software and marketing support.
from Western Investor, April 2011
