Dud Sulzener knows a good opportunity when he sees one. Sulzener is the owner of Petz Place in New Philadelphia, Ohio and a member of Coastal's Authorized Dealer Board.
Dud (short for Dudley) spent 27 years at Quality Farm and Fleet as a store manager and district manager, and was always aware how important the pet aisle was to the company's overall business. Couple that awareness with his natural love of animals, and it's easy to see how he made the jump into his second career.
"K-Mart and Quality Farm and Fleet closed in New Philly, and it created a significant need in the area," he recalled. Petz Place opened in May of 2002, a 3,000 sq. ft. store that sold a wide range of pet supplies, everything but live animals. Business thrived, and it took him just four short years before he opened his present 7,000 sq. ft. store. It now carries live animals, including birds, small animals, reptiles, and fresh water fish. In 2007 he added salt water fish to his mix.
Dud struck up a relationship with a local rescue group, and Petz Place now has puppies available for adoption at the store. Their people set up shop in the store, and do all the paperwork for the adoption. Dud provides the space. It's a great relationship in which everyone benefits, as people get matched up with a deserving companion, and Dud often gets a customer in return.
During the interview, Dud shared two strategies that have served him well in business.
The first is his customer loyalty program, that rewards customers with $10 for every $200 they spend at Petz Place. Customers get notified of their redemption amount by postcard. "I'll be sending out 500 postcards in January," he said, "so you can see people are still spending a lot of money on their pets."
He noted that with the program in place, customers tend to spend a little more than they normally would.
