Dogtopia Announces Strategic Partnership with Thomas Franchise Solutions

Brand Plans to Expand to 400 Locations Across U.S. and Canada Over Next 7 Years

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Oct 01, 2012, 09:00 ET

TYSONS CORNER, Va., Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dogtopia, a leading national dog daycare and spa franchise, announced today it has entered into a strategic partnership with Thomas Franchise Solutions, Ltd. (TFS), an investment firm dedicated to guiding and growing select unique franchise concepts. With the new partnership, Dogtopia plans to expand its brand to more than 400 locations across the United States and Canada over the next 7 years.

"At Dogtopia, we have experienced year-over-year growth with our proven business model, and we know the brand has tremendous potential for accelerated expansion," said Amy Nichols, chief executive officer of Dogtopia. "By partnering with TFS, Dogtopia is now poised to become the leading dog daycare and spa franchise in North America, and we could not be more excited to take our company to the next level."

The TFS partnership enables Dogtopia to strengthen its brand by investing in a new system-wide point-of-sale system (POS), an online university to enhance training, increased national marketing efforts to drive brand awareness and sales, and additional home office team members to enable superior support. Furthermore, a greater emphasis will be put on accelerating Dogtopia's retail offerings to help drive store revenue for franchisees.

"Upon being introduced to Dogtopia, we instantly recognized the passion for personalized care and exceptional customer service, both of which have propelled the company to be a successful, growing franchise for more than 10 years," said Peter H. Thomas, chairman and CEO of Thomas Franchise Solutions, Ltd. "As a new partner and a future Dogtopia franchisee, we have made it our mission to position the company for success today and in the future."

TFS was founded in January 2012 by Peter H. Thomas, and Dogtopia is the first franchise concept in its portfolio. As the past chairman and founder of Century 21 Real Estate Canada, Ltd., Thomas has been recognized as one of the leading developers and investors of his time in North America. He formed TFS to make equity capital investments in growth stage companies that have franchising as their core expansion strategy. In addition to providing capital, TFS also offers a strategic advisory group to best guide its partners to accelerated franchise development and a marketing group to execute franchise development strategies.

To fuel growth, Dogtopia is now seeking regional developers to build the brand in select markets across the U.S. and Canada, including Chicago, Dallas, Calgary, and South Florida. Candidates should have an affinity for dogs and the skills to grow a successful business within a proven franchise model. Regional developers will be required to open at least one store within the first year of signing, then develop additional stores during a scheduled development period, either by opening and operating more units themselves or by recruiting franchisees for their region.

Since Dogtopia launched in 2002, it has grown to 25 locations nationwide and currently has four additional locations in various stages of development to open by the end of this year. Dogtopia's design mirrors that of a chic, upscale spa. Laid out in a similar manner to a children's daycare facility, Dogtopia has multiple playrooms to suit every personality and size. In addition to daycare and boarding, it also offers a spa, a self-service dog wash, and a boutique to pamper dogs of all shapes and sizes. Dogtopia's clients enjoy an open layout with play equipment and special rubber flooring to ease pain on joints, prevent slipping, and provide a safer play area. The founder and CEO, Amy Nichols, was winner of the Brava! Women In Business Achievement Award as SmartCEO 2011 recipient; was named the Enterprising Woman of the Year by Enterprising Women Magazine in 2006; is a University of Maryland Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship lecturer; and founded K-9 Support, a charity helping police dogs and military dogs around the world.

For more information regarding Dogtopia franchise opportunities, contact Peter H. Thomas at [email protected] or call 602.354.9357.

About Dogtopia
Dogtopia, prides itself on being a place where pets are valued as family and dogs enjoy playtime, spa treatments, and overnight stays in a positive environment. Dog owners have the assurance of leaving their beloved pets in the hands of trained professionals while they're at work or away on vacation. Dogtopia associates nurture each and every pet as if it were their own. Each location offers dog daycare, boarding and spa services, and most also have professional grooming. Dogtopia does not breed discriminate and welcomes social dogs of all ages, sizes, and abilities. The company was founded by Amy Nichols in 2002 and began franchising in 2005. Currently, there are 22 Dogtopia franchises and three company-owned locations in operation across the U.S., with four more in development for a total of 29 to open by year-end. Dogtopia has been on the INC 5000 list for Fastest Growing Companies since 2008 - five years in a row. Visit www.dogdaycare.com for more information on Dogtopia.

ABOUT TFS
Thomas Franchise Solutions Ltd. (TFS) is a global private equity, advisory and franchise marketing company headquartered in both the United States and Canada. Our greatest interest is to make growth-capital investments in expansion-stage private companies with a proven track record for success in North America that have global franchising as their core expansion strategy. TFS is primarily interested in companies that are in the healthcare, consumer products, real estate, business services and consumer services sectors.

TFS operates with four core groups to create success for our clients. The TFS Fund via our Strategic Capital Group invests in promising concepts, and our Strategic Advisory Group and its team provides strategic advice, resources, management consulting services and a vast amount of experience to help the companies we invest in grow exponentially. Our Strategic Marketing Group provides direct regional and unit sales expertise through our franchise sales teams that aid in the development and execution of franchise sales strategies. TFS University is the first of its kind and will serve as the global authority on franchising success through education, development and mentoring of our franchisee network.

Since 1974, TFS Founder and Chairman, Peter H. Thomas, has been internationally recognized as a successful franchisee and franchisor, founding Century 21 Canada, which ultimately developed franchises in every Canadian city from coast to coast and achieved more than $9 billion in sales. Thomas developed the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale, among many other successful real estate and finance businesses. Thomas's franchising experience and success is the foundation of TFS. Thomas is also the author of Be Great and the creator of LifePilot, a values-based system for achieving goals. Visit thomasfranchisesolutions.com or call our Phoenix office at 480.703.6767 for further information on TFS.