Neil Gill
“Health and wellness are one of the biggest changes I have seen in the industry in the last three years.”
Catering to Canines
Dogtopia CEO keeps “a burning desire to improve” Written by KERRY PIPES
“Since we began reinventing the Dogtopia brand in August 2015, we have experienced exponential comp and store growth with positive feedback from our franchisees and pet parents alike,” Gill says. Dogtopia resides in a good place. The global pet market is worth more than $320 billion and is projected to reach $500 billion by 2030. That offers ample room for growth for the brand, and 2024 has been a prime example. “We will open 30-plus stores this year,” he says. Gill isn’t content to rely on a growing market and an expanding portfolio of franchise locations; he’s looking to capitalize on a changing market as well. “Health and wellness are one of the biggest changes I have seen in the industry in the last three years,” he says. “In addition, people are traveling with their dogs, so we have seen a further shift from boarding into daycare, which we predicted eight years ago.” You might say Dogtopia is experiencing a dog’s life. Dogs receive enhanced levels of wellness care that benefits both them and their humans while franchisees reap the rewards of a profitable franchise model.
LEADERSHIP
NEIL GILL
CEO and President Company: Dogtopia Units: 275 Years in franchising: 35 Years in current position: 9
N
eil Gill is a franchising entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades in leadership roles with KFC, Pizza Hut, Brinker International, and Gloria Jean’s Coffee, where he was CEO for more than a decade. But in 2015, the Australian native was looking for something new. He was in search of a franchise space that wasn’t overdeveloped and offered growth potential. He says he zeroed in on the pet sector, a growing multi-billiondollar space. Today, he is CEO and president of Dogtopia, a Phoenix-based premium dog daycare, boarding, and spa brand with more than 270 locations in North America. As Gill explains, it’s a brand that is redefining pet care.
12 | Franchise Update | Issue 4, 2024
What is your role as CEO? My role as CEO is to define the long-term strategy with our board of directors and management team. Together, we establish the business plan and detailed initiatives to deliver on both the longterm and short-term needs of the business and our franchisees to ensure we remain the leaders in the category and in our respective markets. How has Covid-19 affected the way you have led your brand? As consumers have become more comfortable and much more reliant on convenience offerings, like home delivery, online streaming, Uber, etc., we’ve had to pivot our key consumer touchpoints to be more convenient. As a result, we’ve worked to remove all barriers to entry to make doing business with us as simple as possible so that we can meet the demands of our current and prospective dog parents. Some of our convenience-type offerings include curbside pickup and drop-off, a mobile