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Batteries Plus franchise recharges owner’s success
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
Five years ago, after 25 years in commercial sales, Bates Kennedy found himself unemployed—a direct hit from the textile industry’s decline in the Upstate.
Armed with Internet research on franchises, Kennedy settled on purchasing a new Batteries Plus store in Greenville.
“There are a few reasons why I decided on a franchise (instead of a new business venture),” he said. “First, I had eight-year-old twins and I didn’t have the luxury of taking a lot of time to find work. Second, I was 53 then. At that age and with that urgency, it was a matter of hitting the ground running. With a franchise, you pay the money and you’re instantly in business, for good or bad.”
Not only was Kennedy instantly in business, but he was also a multi-store owner almost immediately.
“Just as I opened the Greenville store, the North Charleston store was getting ready to close,” he said. “I took the opportunity and purchased that store along with a store in Savannah. So I went from zero to three stores in about three months.”
Kennedy later opened a store in Columbia and recently opened one in Mount Pleasant.
“We’re committed to the franchise, so we have plans to eventually open two more in Greenville and Columbia.”
What caught Kennedy’s eye about Batteries Plus was that the product is in a growth industry and the market was half commercial and half retail, he said.
“My background is in commercial sales, so there was a comfort level with that,” he said. “I’m used to knocking on doors and selling. When I got into this, I knew nothing about retail, but now I see its advantages. I see how much fun retail is.”
Scratching a niche
To label Kennedy’s business a niche would be a gross understatement. Besides a few peripheral products like flashlights, batteries are all his company deals in: large ones, small ones, specialty brands, even some that don’t look like batteries.
“We sell 12,000 different types of batteries,” Kennedy said. “That’s a lot to keep up with, and these things change constantly. As a small business owner, I don’t have a lot of time to do research. One of the good things about owning a franchise is that you have support for a changing industry.”
During hurricane season, business more than triples, “especially in our Savannah and Charleston stores. When there is a storm coming, people want C and D batteries, inverters, backup power units, things like that. Any time there’s a power failure or power interruption, that’s when people think of batteries,” Kennedy said.
Overall, half of Kennedy’s business is commercial, but in the Charleston area, 60% is commercial; most of those clients are affiliated with the military and the shipyard.
In terms of competition, Kennedy has few concerns.
“Sure, there are competitors out there,” he said. “Car batteries are sold everywhere. But nobody else has the breadth of line that we do. We have batteries for everything from cell phones and razors to calculators and laptops. And people might buy batteries over the Internet, but we’re battery experts. We can tell you if the battery is actually the problem. That adds a lot of value to what we do.”
Each of the Batteries Plus stores has a tech center where employees can replace batteries in everything from toothbrushes to drill packs.
“We can rebuild the packs for about half the price of new batteries,” Kennedy said.
Challenges of small business
Among the challenges Kennedy has faced, he said one of the most difficult has been employee compensation.
“It’s hard paying people what you can afford and wanting to pay more but having to provide medical insurance and disability insurance and worker’s comp,” he said. “That’s been a difficult thing.”
Kennedy said another challenge has been dealing with banks.
“In the 60s and 70s, they were more aggressive in lending,” he said. “Now, in general, they want 130 percent collateral. They don’t want to give you money for a venture. In our case, we don’t stock all 12,000 batteries, but we have significant inventory and receivables. But the banks don’t give you much value for that. They want to know what else you own, like real estate.
“For most banks now, especially with the new check-clearing processes, cash flow is king.”
Kennedy said despite the challenges, he is “fairly pleased” with his success.
“Nothing is easy,” he said. “But at least with a franchise, there’s an existing model to go with. You can literally open the door and be in business.”
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