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Date: 9/8/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW—After nearly 40 years owning and operating the iconic A.W. Brown’s Pet and Garden store, owner Tom Wheeler is retiring and his employees are becoming the new owners.
“I have fulfilled my goals and visions and it is time to pass the baton to a new generation,” said Wheeler. “The future is very bright for companies like [ours] and it will be fun to watch how the company evolves and continues to be relevant while enriching the local communities we serve.”
Wheeler said transitioning to employee ownership is his way of rewarding the hard work and loyalty of his staff.
“It is a great way to recognize their efforts and give them the motivation and chance to share in future success. After evaluating several opportunities for future ownership, my goal was to keep [the business] under local ownership so we could sustain our local identity and build on our success,” said Wheeler.
Mike Burnham is now president of Brown’s. He was hired to oversee the ownership transfer along with certain aspects of the operation. Burnham said it would have been easier for Wheeler to sell the business or shut it down, but he chose the more difficult path of employee ownership.
“The main reason an owner would want to make this shift is because they care about their employees,” said Burnham. “There's a number of different ways companies can become employee owned, but they're all infinitely more complex than just going out and finding a buyer. To put yourself through it, you have to care about the people that helped you build the business.”
Wheeler’s partner, Kate Devine, is also retiring. She wasn’t formally an owner but has been with the company for more than 15 years and has “supported the growth and continued success of the business, particularly in the lawn and garden department. She has done an incredible job and certainly deserves to be recognized,” the family said in a statement.
Back to its roots
Wheeler took over the business from Alson W. Brown and his family on Jan. 1, 1985. Brown purchased the business 15 years before that from the Ralston Purina Company. Ralston Purina was an American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products and entertainment.
Wheeler was a salesman in the 1970s and Brown was one of his customers. They did business with each other for years until Brown decided to step aside. “Alson Brown was seeking a buyer for his company who could sustain and grow (the business),” said Wheeler. “He handed me the keys and said, ‘Tom, I am retiring and moving to New Hampshire, and I think you have the energy and vision to continue what my family started 15 years ago. Good luck!’”
Brown took the keys and forged ahead, expanding product lines to include more for pets, plants and a major line of grills — to name just a few innovations. His daughter Annie, who is the store’s general manager, recalls being carried around the store in a backpack by her father when she was little.
More recently, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business and French from St. Lawrence University in New York. She worked in Washington, D.C., in marketing and digital communications before coming home to help continue her dad.
“I want to keep in mind all of the incredible teachings he’s given me personally and professionally. He’s put more than blood, sweat and tears into this business, working 100-hour weeks for so long. He’s done an amazing job and definitely deserves to rest,” she said.
Fondness for plants and animals
Wheeler grew up on a farm, caring for a wide range of plants and animals. He would make caring for them his mission in life. He has a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Vermont, a master’s of science in animal nutrition from Penn State and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.
“It has been a rewarding experience to give our customers a local store where they can purchase the best products and get the best advice for the care of their pets, animals, wild birds, gardens and yards,” he said.
Wheeler steered his business through turbulent times, competing with the onset of online and big box retailers while fighting economic realities including four recessionary periods and a pandemic that put some retailers out of business.
As owners, employees will now have a direct hand in making key decisions such as introducing new products, business expansion and holding special events.
“It makes you feel like you're part of a bigger picture. You’re not just an employee. You care about the business from different levels — you care about its overall health. You do things like change toilet paper, things that maybe before you said, ‘Oh, that's somebody else's job,’” said Carla Gunn, Brown’s finance manager.
Wheeler sold his business to Teamshares, a New York City firm that purchases small businesses from retiring owners. Employees initially receive shares of 10% of the company and if the business grows as expected, they own 80% of the business in 20 years. Each year, if the business is successful, employees share in those profits through dividends.
“All employees now have the opportunity to be stake-holders, to share in the sustainability of the company and continue our tradition of being a well-recognized locally owned pet and garden business,” said Wheeler.
“We have always been blessed with many wonderful people. Our success would not have been accomplished without our dedicated staff. We are most grateful and appreciative of their commitment and helping make A. W. Brown’s a fun and rewarding place to work,” said Wheeler.
Now that he’s retired, Wheeler says his bucket list includes traveling and experiencing new adventures. But even as he hopes to see some of the world he’s missed while working, his daughter says he’ll have an eye on the business that is staying in the community, right where he wants it to be.
A.W. Brown’s is celebrating the retirement of Wheeler and Devine, and the transition to employee ownership, with a special event from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sept. 30. There will be free demonstrations by zookeepers, pet trainers, beekeepers and others. There will also be food for sale.