Warwick franchise specializes in bird-watching supplies and accessories
After spending 32 years selling lawn, garden and landscaping products, Lenny Gross was not ready to sit back, relax and enjoy his favorite hobbies of hiking, bird-watching and gardening.
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Retirement was for the birds – wild birds to be specific.
In October, Gross turned his hobby into a job – seven days a week – when he bought Wild Birds Unlimited, the only store in Rhode Island that specializes in supplies and accessories for bird-watchers.
“I have always been a bird feeder,” he said.
With birdhouses, feeders, baths (with heaters for the winter), 15 different kinds of seed, squirrel protection for the birds, and binoculars, Wild Birds Unlimited helps bring people of all ages and levels of interest together with nature, per the company mission.
The nationwide chain began in Indiana in 1981, with the Rhode Island franchise opening in 1994. There are now more than 300 stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Bird-watching is a very fast-growing hobby, said Gross, noting that $4.1 billion is spent a year in the bird-watching/birdseed industry, second to only lawn and gardening hobbies in terms of popular outdoor activities. According to the Wild Bird Feeding Industry in South Dakota, bird-watching is the fastest-growing hobby in the country.
“People are into nature,” said Gross.
The store is not geared toward pet birds like parakeets or parrots but focuses on enjoying the tranquility of such wild birds as the blue jay, cardinal, finch and woodpecker, among others.
Many of the people in the hobby are gardeners and are nature lovers, with the biggest percentage of customers being women between the ages of 30 and 65.
The Northeast was the first area in the country to get heavily involved in the bird-watching industry, said Gross. And Rhode Island has been a leader in the manufacturing of bird feeders, he said.
In addition, the Rhode Island tourism industry actually touts the state as a “bird-lovers haven” and offers locations from northern Rhode Island to South County to catch a glimpse of a wide variety of birds.
With more than 200 bird feeders in stock, Gross is prepared to keep pace with the growing popularity of the industry.
Birdhouses can cost from $15 to $150, while bird feeders range from about $10 to $100.
A birdhouse is not the same as a bird feeder, said Gross. A birdhouse has a hole in the front for the birds and provides a place to nest, while a bird feeder provides an area to put seed for the bird to eat.
Smaller finch feeders can be bought for $9.99, while a complete starter kit with bird feeder, mounting pole and baffle – to keep land-based animals out of the seed – can cost about $80, said Gross.
A specialized bird feeder called the squirrel buster uses a touch-activated motor to keep squirrels away from the feeder and costs about $120, although the store also carries a variety of products dedicated to squirrels.
Currently, the store is running a promotion for birdseed in which a customer can buy 10 bags of seed and get two free. Additionally, the store provides storage for the seed that is restocked each week to ensure it is fresh, said Gross. About 50 percent of total sales come from seed.
The store offers a range of binoculars – an essential tool for any bird lover and wildlife enthusiast – that range from $39 to $879.
Gross introduced newspaper advertising, direct-mail marketing and will begin running commercials on Cox television soon to increase the customer base.
Next year, Gross expects to conduct different bird education programs at local schools and libraries that will be open to children through expert bird-watchers.
