The 200th Batteries Plus location has opened in the midst of a record growth year for the Hartland-based retail and business-to-business battery chain.
The 200th store, independently owned by Leonard Cyphers, officially opened Sept. 23 in Atlanta. The Cypher group currently owns three of the 10 stores in Georgia.
Batteries Plus currently operates 200 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, with an additional 70 stores under development. This growth is expected to continue. As of September of this year, Batteries Plus has already entered into agreements for an additional 37 stores.
"The opening of our 200th store is a significant milestone for Batteries Plus," said CEO Russ Reynolds. "We spent the better part of 2001 building our infrastructure to support what we projected would be a record growth year, and we were right on the money. The battery industry is quickly expanding through proliferation and consumption, which makes Batteries Plus a standout franchise opportunity. We are fast becoming a household brand name in America."
At the end of 2001, Reynolds announced an infrastructure consisting of state-of-the-art technology and ambitious executives to support a national network of independently owned franchise stores. Reynolds, who replaced Batteries Plus founder Ron Rezetko in July 2001, introduced the rapid expansion plans.
Reynolds said the chain projects to double its retail outlets by 2007.
Rezetko opened the first Batteries Plus in Green Bay in 1988.
Oct. 11, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
