Ken Petersen is the founder and CEO of Country Visions, Inc. the franchisor for Apricot Lane Boutique, a women's fashion retail concept with stores in malls and lifestyle centers across the country. A serial entrepreneur and retired fire captain, Ken has been involved in many business startups in the areas of retail, wholesale, distribution, real estate, consulting, franchising, international manufacturing and non-profit. As a member of Convene, a trusted community of high performing Christian CEOs and business leaders, Ken enjoys accountability with like-minded business men and women across the country.
Ken founded 3Strands a non-profit 501c3 with a mission of ending sex trafficking and a focus on business initiatives to create jobs both as prevention and restoration for sex trafficking victims. 3Strands also strives to mobilize a community of "Freedom Fighters" who bring strength in numbers.
A husband and father of four, Ken treats money, power, fame and status as resources and plans to devote the rest of his life to helping others with his experience, knowledge and gifts.
Franchise Expo: Tell us about
the Apricot Lane Boutiques concept.
Ken Petersen: Apricot Lane Boutiques are
a one-of-a-kind shopping experience, uniquely designed and
merchandised with the latest Fashion Apparel, Jewelry, Handbags,
Accessories and Gifts in trend setting styles and fashion forward
looks catered to its clientele.
Each of our boutiques and their individual e-commerce sites
create a unique adventure and shopping experience that captures the
look and vibe of their local area. They feature today’s most sought
after styles and must have pieces to embrace anyone’s individual
taste from mother to daughter. Offered in limited quantities with
new arrivals almost daily, shopping at Apricot Lane is truly an
affordable "unique boutique" experience.
FE: How and when did you become involved with
Apricot Lane ?
KP: We launched Apricot Lane in 2007.
Apricot Lane grew out of a vision of taking our previous
franchising experience in home decor and collectibles and
transforming it to fill a HUGE void in the fashion industry. You
had independent boutique operators all over the country and then
you had the big national retailers - but nobody in the middle.
We brought franchising to the fashion industry and now
our franchisees have some of the resources that the big nationals
enjoy such as: leveraged buying, marketing resources, customer
service and training modules including training videos, store
assessments & customer surveys, automated employee training
program, PR, state of the art cloud based POS systems with
customized dashboards and most important - a network of franchisees
who share what is working and not working - the real strength comes
from learning from each other. We have a system wide conference
call each month to talk about what's working in our stores and
sharing information on all pertinent business aspects.
FE: What was your background prior to joining
Apricot Lane franchise?
KP: I was a Fire Captain for the City of
Vacaville, CA and got into retail in the 80’s with a furniture
retail concept that we grew to four stores and a distribution
center. We sold that and started a gift and collectible franchise
concept in 1993 as I was retiring from the Fire Department. Apricot
Lane began in 2007.
FE: What are some of the advantages in being a
Apricot Lane franchisee?
KP: We give you flexibility to manage
your inventory to cater to your local demographic – it really is
our strength. We have buyers all over the country, they are called,
“franchisees”. We have a monthly conference call to talk about what
is working and what is not. We all learn from each other and our
best finds can come from our franchisees. We also allow our
franchisees to grow their business via internet sales through
social media and e-commerce. We are the
leading women’s boutique franchise with 24 years of
franchise experience and the support infrastructure is mature and
in place already to help our franchisees be successful. Our stores
are known for “giving back” to our local communities and
collectively we fight the issue of Human Trafficking around the
world through a non-profit we established called
“3StrandsGlobal”.
FE: Who is your ideal franchisee?
KP: We look for someone who has an
affinity for fashion, someone who wants to use the store to connect
with and “give back” to their local community and someone who
desires to be in business for themselves, just not by themselves.
Business or retail experience is a plus, but not required.
FE: Tell us a little about the
Fashion Boutique Market?
KP: Just as fashion trends change
quickly, not all trends relate to all parts of the country. Our
stores have the flexibility to buy their own products curated to
their local customer base. It takes just one visit to fall in love
but repeat visits always give our customers a chance to discover
something new! The best part about Apricot Lane is that we base
ourselves on affordable fashion yet while still offering a boutique
type atmosphere. The reason why boutiques work so well is
because people like to know they are buying something not everyone
else will have. We offer a limited quantity of every item on the
floor so when someone's size is sold out, it's sold out. With no
back-room and extra stock we won't replace the same item on the
floor. This ensures everyone’s purchase to be more unique and
individualized. We combine this with replicating the high end
fashion looks seen in today’s style scene and offer them at very
attainable prices.
FE: What are some of the greatest lessons you’ve
learned in growing this franchise?
KP: That the franchisor doesn’t have all
the answers and the power of franchising is the strength that comes
from everyone. You need a culture that is open to input. We are
motivated to always “Do the right thing” which keeps us on track
and full of integrity.
FE: Do you have a mentor and is their someone you
use for inspiration?
KP: I belong to a Christian CEO group
called, Convene. We meet monthly for inspiration, training and
conduct “Opportunity Challenges” among our peers to get input and
wisdom on issues that affect us all. It is like an awesome advisory
board.
FE: What advice do you have for someone looking
to acquire a Franchise?
KP: Make sure it is a right fit for you.
Do your homework and due diligence. Look for healthy barometers
such as: Multiple store owners; growing franchise numbers; aligned
values and franchisees are happy with their decision.
FE: In your opinion, why do you think that
Apricot Lane would be a great opportunity for
someone?
KP: We exist to the support and success
of our franchisee. Our success depends on it. Our experience,
culture, support infrastructure, flexibility and dedication to our
franchisees combined with a model that is unique, tested and
developed makes for a great opportunity for someone interested in a
fashion boutique franchise.
