Ryan Slemons has been appointed to the newly created role of chief development officer at Dallas-based Unleashed Brands, a franchise growth-focused platform company that includes portfolio brands Urban Air Adventure Park, Snapology, The Little Gym, XP League, Class 101, and Premier Martial Arts.
Slemons, an experienced retail real estate developer, spent more than 10 years at Starbucks and Amazon in several retail leadership positions.
With the exec’s extensive experience with large-scale retail rollouts, Unleashed Brands sees Ryan’s skill set as a key advantage in the market. Unleashed has six youth enrichment platform brands under its umbrella.
According to Unleashed Brands’ Chief Growth Officer, Josh Wall, Slemons’ appointment will benefit franchisees who have recently been awarded franchise agreements. “We’re thrilled to have [Slemons] on the team,” said Wall in a statement. “We’re confident this new role will help contract our development timelines to get open quickly and serve more kids faster in communities across the country.”
The position expands the leadership team and is intended to help franchisees who have recently signed franchise agreements to find the best real estate, secure leases and get units opened quickly, the company said.
Empowering new franchisees
Slemons started his career at Starbucks on their real estate development team and most recently was responsible for upkeep/maintenance and new store openings at Game Stop, the world’s leading gaming retail store with more than 5,000 units.
He also spent more than six years with Amazon’s retail side, leading store development for the initial rollout of Amazon Fresh, in addition to Amazon Go and Amazon Style.
The company said that Slemons will work with Wall in his new position on the Franchise Development Team. That will allow Wall to concentrate on growing the Unleashed Brands’ platform via new strategic brand acquisitions and new franchise development, while Slemons will focus on getting the newly signed franchisees open.
Unleashed Brands has 1,300 franchises operating or in development serving more than 25 million children. In 2023, the brand plans to open more than 170 locations across the country and award 230 new franchise agreements.
Unleashed Brands is backed by a management team with more than 150 years of combined consumer industry experience, focused on serving families and housing the world’s most innovative and profitable brands that help kids learn, play, and grow.
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