Wild Birds Unlimited

WI LD B I RDS UNL IMI TED store, and now North America’s largest, with 350 locations across the U.S. and Canada. They’ve dedicated themselves to meeting that growing consumer wildlife hobbyist demand for the last 40 years, while doing it in a way that supports bird- and other wildlife-oriented organizations through community outreach, conservation education, and carefully curated product selections. Jim Carpenter, President & CEO, opened the first WBU location back in 1981. A modest 700-square-foot retail shop situated on the north side of Indianapolis, it became the catalytic agent that crystallized that specialty retail experience into a self-conscious franchise system, one created around the wonderfully quirky, always enriching pastime of birding. Dean and Tina Seifert purchased their Denver, Colorado WBU retail store in May 2020 from Scott Menough, retiring owner, who had run the business for 32 years. Coming in with prior experience – the couple ran a franchise jewelry store for three years back in Seattle, Washington and Dean spent six years at Amazon, learning retail from an e-commerce perspective – they say the transition to WBU was easy and “a good fit” for them, both personally and professionally. Although retail experience isn’t mandated by WBU, it’s “absolutely so helpful,” according to Paul Pickett, Chief Development Officer. “Dean and Tina purchased a big volume store,” Pickett says. “They were stepping into big shoes. And they’ve done it with ease and grace, and just done an amazing job at growing it so well.” As Tina remembers it, the WBU franchisee training program was “hands-on,” despite COVID- 19’s barriers to accessing the franchisor’s full suite of training and support. “Luckily, Scott was a wealth of information, so we absorbed as much as we could from him,” she says. “Also, our employees have all been here three plus years and they’ve been great resources.”