Keeping Tourists Happy Tailwaggers Blends Outdoor Lifestyle with Pet Fashion 038 Accessories Pet Age

Tailwaggers, a pet shop owned by Chase and his wife Abby Pierce has built a brand by tapping into Whitefish’s booming tourism economy.

The store which sells dog treats, bandanas, leashes and toys was inspired by the town’s outdoor lifestyle, giving visitors a chance to take home something for their four-legged pets that reflects the Glacier National Park and the Whitefish Mountain resort. By harnessing the town’s tourism appeal the Pierces’ have engraved a distinctive space for Tailwaggers in the Whitefish retail space – one of Montana’s busiest tourist towns, attracting thousands of people each year for skiing, snowboarding and other outdoor adventures.

“We’ve taken the effort to partner with a designer to create really thoughtful things that relate to Montana. For instance, instead of doing the check-out bags with Tailwaggers slapped on the side we had her design and create cool Montana themed products. The bandanas that dogs can wear, the customers love it and say it’s really unique,” said Chase Pierce. “What’s really interesting is that since we are in a resort town of Montana, we’ve taken effort to diversify and customize our products.”

The Pierces said this has worked in their favor. The business has also recorded double-digit growth for more than a decade. In 2019, it expanded from a 900-square-foot location to 1,800-square-foot space, which the store quickly outgrew.

By 2021, Tailwaggers operations moved again to a 3,000-square-foot facility allowing for a larger inventory and wider selection. The move also made way for glass-enclosed self-service dog washrooms featuring iClean Dog Wash units imported from the Netherlands, a popular addition among customers. It also added four double door freezers for fresh organic food.

Chase Pierce, who has a degree in marketing and entrepreneurship, never imagined owning a pet store in a town that generates $101 million in visitors spending. He said he wanted to try something different and thought the pet services industry would be fun.

“It was a nice fit where after having a couple of professional jobs, I wanted to try something on my own. When we took over the pet store, it was kind of an odd thing cause I was working and going from like a salaried professional position to taking over this somewhat dumpy pet store at the time,” he explained.

That vision paid off and has carried Tailwaggers for 10 years, after buying the shop from its previous owners in 2016.

The Pierce said they first connected with the first owners as customers, shopping there with their puppy, before purchasing the business. They noticed the business was struggling, often running low on inventory and products. Although the business was not officially for sale, they saw an opportunity that would benefit both themselves and the previous owners. Without prior experience in the pet industry and guidance from the previous owners, the Pierces’ had to learn on their own.

To get started they attended pet Expo’s and shows like Global Pet Expo and SUPERZOO, to gain insight and soon began growing the business. Eventually, after 13 years in business in its original location they took a risk and moved to a new space on Main street, confident they could make it work.

But growth brought other challenges, “you have big box stores, you know, 20 minutes away, probably 1,520 miles away from our store big brands like Petco, PetSmart and all those types of names. But this was the only pet store in Whitefish,” said Chase Pierce, who added that they’re focusing on their core strengths rather than spreading themselves too thin has been the key to their success.

The store carries popular locally manufactured brands such as NutriSource, Open Farm Pet, Steve’s Real Food and West Paw- products he says appeal to both locals and visiting customers. About 80 percent of sales come from dog food, toys and accessories, while cats account for the remaining 20 percent.

Chase and Abby Pierce attempted to offer grooming, delivery and online shopping services during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they lacked long-term focus.

“We were tempted to open other stores, have different offerings, but what we’ve really done is just focused on what we really do well, which is we don’t do grooming. We have one really great store that does a lot of volume. And we’ve shut off all the other distractions,” said Chase Pierce. “Another thing is that we have had the store professionally designed which has been really helpful for us. We have partnered with a lot of brands and independent pet stores, offering deals that the brands are supporting and negotiated end caps which have been super successful.”

Additionally, the store is now offering a custom bulk treat bucket with a Montana-themed design. Customers can fill the bucket with treats and pay a flat rate, a concept Tailwaggers say is considering rolling out across their product line.

As part of its growth strategy, Tailwaggers continues to enhance and expand their product offerings. Chase Pierce said that while opening a new store is not something currently planned, it remains a possibility in the future.

“We’re still growing. We haven’t seen a slowdown and so we’re gonna continue to do what’s working, which is having a really great inventory and keeping up on it because I see a lot of stores that grow really quick then you go into the store and you want a dog bed or you want a bag of food and find that stores have a very hard time keeping up on that inventory and making sure they have what customers want,” he said.

The top priority for Tailwaggers right now is keeping popular items like dog food, beds and accessories stocked, while sustaining steady growth; ensuring both customers and their pets are satisfied.