For many business experts and corporate heads the only asset that the Washington Metro area has going for it is federal contracting. They look at the 3rd largest consumer base, with the highest aggregate education and financial strength of any comparable region, and can’t see past the idea that this is a government only town. What those supposed masters of industry miss with their first glance observations on Northern Virginia is the full breadth of what a good business environment means.
Enter Amy Nichols, founder of Dogtopia, who in 2002 saw what companies from outside of this area couldn’t; a niche market to provide dog care services for busy professionals in a town where the 60 hour week has always been the new normal. Her knowledge of the area came first hand; after attending the University of Maryland Amy began a career in telecommunications with Bell Atlantic here in Northern Virginia. As the parent of a boston terrier she felt torn between providing day time activities to keep her pup healthy and advancing in her career.
This was the genesis of her idea to not only provide long-term boarding for pets but to assure a safe pre-certified interactive playspace for dogs to get play time with other dogs during work hours. “The more I looked at it the more it made sense… over the course of a year I heard a lot of no’s, especially when it came to finding a space in Tysons.” The search finally landed her at what became the first Dogtopia on Spring Hill Road in Tysons.
“We were successful early on; by 2004 we had over $1 million in sales,” Amy continued “and we are 10 years in the making. We are expanding into our regional developer model and have grown to $15 million in sales today.”
So what about Northern Virginia and Tysons helped the company grow at nearly 31% year over year? “It’s had a huge impact. Some of the spaces we looked at early on have had a lot of turnover in stores since. It’s hard to imagine where we would be if we hadn’t opened in Tysons. Our services like the web cams have really helped us reach the tech savvy clientele who work in Tysons. It is going to be exciting to see how Tysons evolves”.
So what are Amy’s thoughts on the walkability and “live where you work” concepts in Tysons? They are favorable considering she herself sees the benefits personally. After outgrowing the office space they originally leased in Tysons, Dogtopia relocated to White Flint Maryland. After a couple of years, and a lot of hours stuck in traffic, Amy re-relocated the headquarters back to her current Tysons location at the PNC building at 8150 Leesburg Pike, within a 3 mile commute to her home in Vienna.
Now with business booming they look to expand their corporate and retail presence in Northern Virginia. “We’ve already begun hiring with positions for a procurement manager and a resale component which we are very excited about testing in 30 stores, and it has been great to be able to promote from within as well”.
The current lease for Dogtopia’s headquarters at 8150 Leesburg Pike is for a few more years, but with the prospect of a complete redevelopment at Spring Hill Road by the Georgelas Group (current location of their first retail store), Amy has been in talks about what a future space could look like. “We’ve been in discussion with Georgelas about being part of one of their new high rise developments which would include executive office space, training spaces for employees which currently are part of the operations in White Flint, as well as our retail space for day care. It would be a perfect scenario.”
2012 was a great year for Dogtopia but the company now has their sights on a larger national and even international presence. “We think over the next 10 years we will grow to several hundred locations. We have a target of 400 stores, and just this weekend we signed an agreement for regional development in Canada with future possibilities in Australia.” With the endorsement, investment, and connections of Peter Thomas, CEO of TFS investment firm, those plans are well within reach.
Amy recounts a visit she recently had to their soon to open Canton location in Maryland. “It was the first time I had been there” she says to emphasize how atypical her reduced role has been “and the new design looks great. I want to evolve my role from being involved with everything to a role as CEO and development”.
Dogtopia has also been actively involved with pet care philanthropy through the charitable arm of the company, K-9 Support, which aims to provide financial support to service dogs for both returning dogs involved in overseas campaigns as well as to help provide service dogs for returning veterans. “Our annual dog wash is a volunteer run event with each of our locations being involved. We usually end up washing around 100 dogs per location so it is has been very successful. It will be coming up again on July 21st.”
The lesson taught by Dogtopia is to think about the business environment in a new way. Just because others are providing for a market doesn’t mean that the market doesn’t exist. Viewing Northern Virginia as just a suburb to government work, however statistically accurate that is, ignores the business opportunities that exist.