The Freeman Spogli-owned retailer opened 13 stores across six states last quarter and is holding a pace of 60 to 70 signings a year.
Batteries Plus signed 19 franchise agreements and opened 13 stores in the third quarter, carrying a steady development pace into the final stretch of 2026. The openings landed in Florida, Utah, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Alabama and Texas.
The 38-year-old brand says it now signs 60 to 70 new stores a year, and a 19-deal quarter keeps it on that track. Batteries Plus ranks No. 118 on the 2026 Franchise Times Top 400 and counts more than 800 stores open and in development. A repeatable signing cadence says more than one record quarter, because it shows the unit economics travel across markets.
Leadership calls each store a walk-in clinic for batteries. The mix of replacement batteries, specialty bulbs, phone repair and key programming serves consumers and commercial accounts alike, and most visits start with something that stopped working rather than discretionary spending. That profile kept every store open through COVID and produced the brand's best signing year in 2021.
The company also finished rolling out an AI platform across its stores by the end of September. Savannah answers prospective franchisee questions, Edison is a bilingual voice assistant built so every store call gets answered, and Wattson helps shoppers find the right product. In a repair business, a missed call is a lost ticket, so phone coverage ties directly to revenue.
Batteries Plus says its pipeline includes both new franchisees and current operators adding units. Phoenix multi-unit owner Stephen Lutfi, who joined three years ago and has kept expanding, was named a 2026 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association. When existing owners reinvest, prospective buyers get a stronger validation signal than any marketing claim.
Revscale Media (illustration)Batteries Plus is rolling out three in-house AI tools to handle franchise leads and store calls, betting the systemwide deployment pays off in millions.
VIO Med SpaThe med spa franchise signed 19 owners in nine months as health and medical led every franchise sector in 2025 sales growth.
Franchise TimesAfter a delisting, a $10.5 million settlement and a 30-unit franchisee bankruptcy, F45 is selling fewer territories and vetting owners harder.
Revscale Media (illustration)New amendments lengthen claim windows, extend state enforcement to five years, and give franchisees a legal right to join brand associations.
Revscale Media (illustration)The truck upfitting franchise awarded 17 territories this year, with six coming from current franchisees, and is opening units 8.4 months after signing.
Revscale Media (illustration)A reported 20x multiple on the roughly $2 billion deal resets pricing for garage door platforms and the franchise systems competing for the same buyers.
