HARTLAND, Wis., (February 28, 2024) – Batteries Plus, the world’s leading consumer and business specialty battery franchise, announced today the hiring of retail industry leader Kristen Kunas as Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager. With over a decade of experience in the retail space, Kunas will lead the Batteries Plus team to ensure all retail locations have the right product mix to power the communities around them.

Kunas began her career at Ace Hardware in 2010 and held multiple positions within replenishment planning, marketing and merchandising. She most recently led the Paint and Cleaning division of merchandising at Ace before joining Batteries Plus. Along with the experience she brings to Batteries Plus, Kunas carries with her a passion for product, sourcing, continuous improvement, working with independent business owners and giving back to the community.

“Batteries Plus has been on a growth trajectory with a clear strategy to continue to expand into new markets and categories led by a phenomenal leadership team, which makes this company exciting to join,” said Kunas. “This provides me an opportunity to lead the team and think about how we want to shape the overall vision for merchandising today and for years to come as the company continues to grow.”

With the goal of helping to improve the merchandising model and a commitment to improving store profitability for the franchisees at Batteries Plus, Kunas will help build and execute a playbook for merchandising and for our retailers. One of her first projects will be developing and leading an assortment review process to ensure assortments include top performing items, new innovation and are competitively priced. She is focused on implementing the best assortments for new and existing stores. Two additional growth levers beyond the product mix include device repair and commercial business partnership opportunities – both with double digit sales growth strategies set for 2024. 

“We are wildly excited about key partnerships within device repair that will continue to set us apart from our competition based on location and the quality service provided by our associates” added Kunas. “We are focused on driving retail and commercial traffic into our stores for product and services. I want to ensure the customer experience is seamless by ensuring we remain curious about the customer’s needs and what our sales advantage is with every decision we make within merchandising.”

To learn more about franchising with Batteries Plus, visit batteriesplusfranchise.com. 

ABOUT BATTERIES PLUS:

Batteries Plus, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Hartland, WI, is a leading omnichannel retailer of batteries, specialty light bulbs and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels. The retailer also offers key programming, replacement and cutting services. Through a nationwide network of stores, the company offers a differentiated value proposition of unrivaled product selection, in-stock availability and customer service. Batteries Plus is owned by Freeman Spogli, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles and New York City. To learn more about one of Forbes®’ Best Franchises to Buy in America, visit https://www.batteriesplusfranchise.com.

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