How I Franchised My Business: Hounds Town USA

Hounds Town USA, the fully interactive doggie daycare, pet spa and boarding facility and self-proclaimed home to “the happiest dogs on earth,” has had tremendous success with its first 20-plus locations. But it wasn’t long ago that the brand had just two locations, both corporate-owned. 

“What we offer is a place for dogs to come and be themselves to interact in a natural pack environment — an environment they would find in the wild,” said Jackie Bondanza, CEO of Hounds Town. “We're replicating those natural packs for dogs where they're coming in and they're playing and interacting with one another in specialized playgroups.”

Bondanza has been with the brand since early 2013 and said that when she first walked through the doors with her leash-aggressive dog Maggie, its founder, Michael Gould, was able to get Maggie comfortably situated into a group environment. 

“They sent me a video the first day that I was a customer there, and they said, ‘Maggie's in a group.’ At that moment, I realized that the brand had a serious potential to be a real competitor in the pet care space,” said Bondanza. 

The brand established two corporate locations before franchising, a testament to Gould's confidence in the brand and vision for seeing other franchisees succeed by first seeing his own locations succeed. Gould opened his first Hounds Town in 2001 in Port Jefferson, Long Island after a successful career in the New York Police Department working in the canine unit. After the first location’s success, he decided to open a second location that showed strong growth as well. Now, with Bondanza’s interest in the one-of-a-kind doggie daycare sparked, the two were ready to blaze a path in the franchise industry. 

“Initially, we managed the corporate stores and helped increase and drive revenue and profits at the corporate store,” explained Bondanza. “And from there, we really started to think about franchising. So I would say within the first six to nine months of really stepping into the brand, we seriously started thinking about getting the brand out there across the country.”

There were some indications that this thriving doggie daycare, pet spa and boarding facility was ready for national takeoff, including the brand’s unique business model.  

“There's a very smart business model rooted in simplicity,” explained Bondanza. “And secondly there are our differentiators: We know dogs and dog behavior, which is not something all our competitors can claim. Another indicator was that Mike already had these two corporate locations that were doing very well.”

With a business model that had been around for 15 years and positive indicators for growth, Gould and Bondanza took the step to franchising. In 2017 and 2018, in order to get more traction, Hounds Town started working with Raintree*. 

“They really understood emerging brands and how to market properly,” explained Bondanza. “It just clicked for us. That’s really where we started to get the most traction and started to see a lot of volume come in.”

Bondanza identified the growing doggie daycare’s 10-year goal as ensuring “that every dog has that opportunity to come to a Hounds Town.” There are currently 21 Hounds Town locations throughout the U.S., and the franchise has set a path to “be at or over 60 in 2022 and close to 100 with two and a half years.” 

“We want locations in not only primary — or what I call no-brainer markets — but also in secondary and tertiary markets,” stated Bondanza. “Our business model works well in smaller markets as well. Our ultimate goal is to be the biggest and the best pet care franchise out there and the best option for hard-working Americans.”

ABOUT HOUNDS TOWN USA:

Since 2000, Hounds Town USA has offered a safe and welcoming environment for dogs to be dogs. With interactive doggie daycare, pet boarding, dog grooming, a pet taxi and retail services, Hounds Town USA’s unique town for dogs is home to the happiest dogs — and franchise owners — on Earth. Founded by former NYPD canine handler and commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Department Michael S. Gould, Hounds Town USA has grown to more than 20 locations with plans to expand to 30 units before 2023. For more information please visit http://www.houndstownfranchise.com.