Battery stores fill specialty store niche

Mannuel Blanchard manages Batteries Plus on Perkins just north of Bluebonnet, a franchise store that is among more than 250 stores the chain operates in the United States and Puerto Rico and 114 more in development.

Rudy Smith, owner of Wholesale Battery Co. Inc. on Mammoth Ave., has seen the battery business grow from the vantage point of nearly 30 years in the industry.