— By Hayden Spiess — Wild Birds Unlimited offers backyard bird feeding retail for an increasingly diverse customer base, with a growing flock of franchised locations. Jim Carpenter’s aspirations were not always avian in nature. The founder and CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited originally had his sights set on medical school. However, in 1981 he pivoted, opening the first Wild Birds Unlimited store in Indianapolis, driven by a passion for nature and birding. This same passion unites Wild Bird Unlimited store owners, managers and customers across the …
Hayden Spiess
Forks Township, Pa. — Crayola has entered into an agreement with BrightColors LLC to open at least five new Crayola Experience venues, doubling Crayola’s presence in the U.S. The company’s portfolio currently includes five locations in Easton, Pa.; Orlando, Fla.; Bloomington, Minn.; Plano, Texas; and Chandler, Ariz. Last November, Crayola began actively seeking partners to extend its footprint domestically and internationally. The Forks Township, Pa.-based company’s first multi-venue licensing agreement will be with BrightColors, which is working with partner Kingsmen Xperience Inc. to open the new locations over the next …