In episode 315 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Joe Malmuth, vice president of franchise development and relations at Batteries Plus, a leading omnichannel retailer of batteries, specialty light bulbs and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels. Malmuth discusses the 33-year evolution of the Batteries Plus business, his career journey to his current role, and how he stayed connected with his franchisees during the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares how the business' essential status resulted in record-breaking profits this year, why he attributes Batteries Plus' recent success to longstanding stability, and how brick-and-mortar factors into the company's future plans.

In addition, Malmuth details how Batteries Plus ensures a consistent customer experience across all franchise stores through extensive staff training, how e-commerce helps support its physical locations and omnichannel offerings, and how he's seen customer behavior change over the last year-plus. Lastly, he shares how Batteries Plus plans to continue its positive growth going forward.

With proven success developing 26 franchise brands across multiple industries, Joe Malmuth brings over 15 years of experience, progressive thinking, motivation, and enthusiasm to the world of franchising. Known for his unique ability to seamlessly blend the art and science behind a revenue-building franchise development program, Joe has been instrumental in the accelerated success of many world-class and innovative brands.

In his current role with blue chip franchisor, Batteries Plus, Malmuth, vice president of franchise development, oversees the entire franchise system both domestically and internationally. In his first 12 months with the organization, he has successfully guided the growth of the franchise system through the COVID-19 pandemic with over 45 new store signings and significant increases to the already strong financial performance and success of their franchisees.