BEVERLY — Customers have recently been congratulating him for opening a new store.
But Oliver Blumgart is in no mood to celebrate.
He is the owner of Unleashed Doggie Daycare in Beverly, and he believes his business is being unfairly threatened by a large and powerful competitor.
The company behind the new store that opened last month a half-mile from Blumgart's North Beverly operation is Petco. And Petco is calling its store Unleashed by Petco.
The name is the problem, according to Blumgart.
"I have no problem with someone competing," he said. "I just think that coming in with the same name is not fair."
Blumgart has filed a federal lawsuit against Petco and separately asked the court to order the company to stop using the name "Unleashed" while a trial is pending.
"If Unleashed by Petco is allowed to maintain their Beverly store and open additional shops in its trading area, Unleashed Doggie Daycare's business will be destroyed," Blumgart alleges in his motion for a preliminary injunction.
Petco, meanwhile, feels its use of "Unleashed" is justified.
"It's a great name," said Kevin Whalen, spokesman for Petco. It is not unique to Blumgart and Beverly and is being used by other stores throughout the country, he said.
"To our knowledge, the name hasn't been copyrighted, and we're within our rights to use it," Whalen said.
Unleashed by Petco offers "premium, natural, organic" pet food and "top-quality" pet supplies. In addition to the location in the North Beverly Plaza on Dodge Street, Unleashed by Petcos have opened or are about to open in six other Massachusetts communities, including Acton, Woburn, Allston, Higham, Arlington and Wellesley. The store also has four California branches, according to its website.
Blumgart has had a presence in Beverly since 2000, when he began a dog walking/pet-sitting business under the name Beverly Petsitters. Two years later, he moved to a facility on Trask Street for space to provide day care, and he then began using the name Unleashed Doggie Daycare.
Blumgart's success allowed him to open Unleashed-The Shop, which sells "natural, holistic and frozen dog foods along with treats, toys and accessories." The shop is now at 12 Lothrop St.
"Any business is entitled to compete," said Robert Rigby Jr., Blumgart's lawyer. "But you can't take someone else's name and reputation to do it."
Petco's use of "Unleashed" has created confusion, Blumgart said. A radio station, mistaking Blumgart's business for Petco's, recently asked him to buy advertising after hearing a Petco ad on another station, Blumgart said.
In his lawsuit, he has asked that Petco stop using "Unleashed." He is also seeking damages, including all profits Petco has earned using the name at all of its locations, not just Beverly. Such relief is reasonable, Rigby argues, because Blumgart has a mail-order business that ships orders to multiple states. Blumgart also wants money to pay for "corrective advertising" to help clear up the confusion.
Unleashed Doggie Daycare serves 1,500 families from Rhode Island to New Hampshire and has seven employees. Petco is a "massive corporation" and could easily survive without the name, Blumgart says in his legal filings.
For now, however, Petco has no plans to abandon "Unleashed."
"Ultimately, people will find and select stores based on how well they perceive they are served," Whalen said. "It's a free marketplace. We're not trying to mislead anybody."
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