Top flight: Kettering Wild Birds among company elite
A local store has found a loyal following among bird watchers that has made it one of the top performing locations in the United States.
Wild Birds Unlimited in Kettering is among 350 stores in the national chain, but annually its sales are among the top 10 in the company that sells bird seed, supplies and outdoor ware, the store’s owner said.
Backyard bird feeding may be a niche, but it’s the second most-common hobby behind gardening and a big reason the Kettering store has been open nearly 30 years.
Americans spend more than $3 billion on bird feed and an additional $800 million on bird feed-
ers each year.
Though a national chain, each franchised store is owned by individuals who sell the private label seeds and feeders. The store, located the corner of Far Hills Avenue and West Stroop Road, is owned by Jeanette McDaniel.
“Besides having a higher quality product in the way of bird food and feeders, the foundation of our business model is customer service,” McDaniel said.
About 55 million Americans older than the age of 16 engage in bird-feeding activities for at least part of the year. More than 1 billion pounds of bird feed is sold each year, according to the Wild Bird Feeding Industry
The seed, feeders and other gifts, like bird-themed wine bottle corks, socks, garden decor and outdoor-themed candy, draw shoppers from as far north as Troy, McDaniel said, but the density in Kettering’s population is a big reason behind the store’s success. It’s also an “established community,” with residents who are settled and have disposable incomes, McDaniel said.
“I love the quality of the seed. I think it’s a lot better and they have a good variety of seed to feed the birds, and not feed birds you don’t want,” said Julie Crawford, a customer shopping Tuesday.
The average customer visits seven times a year, including some who shop once for a Christmas gift and others that buy multiple bags of seed every week, McDaniel said.
A second store is in the works to open in 2020, McDaniel said. She’s eyeing markets north of Dayton in Huber Heights, Vandalia or Troy where she’s already drawing customers from.
The Kettering store has sold 15,000 cylinders of bird seed held together with gelatin this year and sells roughly 200 tons of bird seed in bags each year. This year is turning out to be a record year in sales amid a strong economy and birds eating more than in previous years, McDaniel said.
And right now is the busiest season, as birds increasingly look to feeders in the winter for food sources when natural resources become scarce. Where other retailers see business slow down after the holidays, McDaniel’s business will continue to escalate, she said.
Into the spring when natural resources start coming back online, McDaniel said business will stay high because birds still don’t want to veer far from the babies in their nests. The slower months for seed sales are September and October.
The company also doesn’t face the same struggles of changing consumer habits and growing online sales, she said. It does have a website, but it’s an extremely small percentage of yearly sales as customers prefer to go to the store to talk about their birds and learn about new products.
“You’ll get people who bring their kids in and want their kids to disconnect from the wired world and be in nature,” McDaniel said. “More people care about nature then I think folks are aware of.”
McDaniel’s sister started the Kettering location in 1989 and McDaniel became owner in 2009. The store employs 13, including two full-time managers.
There are also four Wild Birds Unlimited stores in Cincinnati, one in West Chester and one in Springboro.