The modern local fish store (LFS) will survive in the current digital world by using the tools available to them, the internet and social media, or most will die off. With inflation, competition from online retailers, hobbyist entrepreneurs, overhead costs, regulatory hurdles, and big box pet stores, the sole proprietor LFS’s are struggling in today’s economy. How does one deal with challenging situations? Work with what you have by leveraging your skills, knowledge, and resources to serve others! In this game, it is serving the customer and at times the community at large.
The LFS can win the game by using the store front for walk in business while keeping a low-cost warehouse or other space for the online business. Or they can split the business by offering maintenance and installation and have a store front which is open only on a limited basis during the busiest times. Another strategy is to offer more than just fish and cater to other pet owners or exotic plant and animal owners. Dry goods are where the largest profit margin exists historically, however this is changing with competition from online retailers. Many options of more than just survival exist and come from the owner's unique interests and desires to serve. Other ways the LFS can compete are to provide what online retailers cannot, display tanks, items they may need in a crunch, and the odd, hard to find items. Become a destination! I can think of several LFS in Colorado which I would classify as destination stores, Fish Crew, Nature’s Box Pet Emporium, and AquaRocks Colorado for a start.
The LFS needs to cater to the novice and intermediate aquarist, because this is the largest demographic, while having a few items for the advanced. Display tanks should be stocked with items available in the store. And stock tanks should show off the livestock in an attractive manner (plastic plants just don’t cut it, except in a glow tank perhaps). The customer should be inspired by what they see. The store needs to make the customer experience pleasant and inviting, clean, organized, and perhaps even have soft music. Prices should be competitive with the online retailers with no more than a 10-20% mark up.
To compete with other LFS’s, a store should specialize to some extent. Do a few things really well and don’t try to do everything. Take it beyond just fresh or salt. Focus on one aspect of the aquarium hobby, say Nano fish or Cichlids for freshwater and Corals or Fish for saltwater. Have something your store is known for and that brings people into the store. Only you will know what is too much, because the more you offer, the more help you’ll need. Chasing trends can be costly, so while it is important to please the clientele, getting carried away trying to offer the latest and greatest could be a burden that is hard to substantiate.
The LFS is now dealing with a very informed consumer with a host of resources at their disposal, so it behooves the shop owner/employee to make sure the customer has gotten valid info and has the skills to succeed. The internet can be confusing, especially to the novice aquarist. The LFS should be a gathering place for the hobby. A place where those who have skills can come and share with others of like mind. Visiting the LFS is an experience and one the customer cannot find online! Despite the forums and social media. Supply and demand still motivate our marketplace, so this should be in the back of every vendor’s mind.
Sequoia Elisabeth
Adapted, edited, and expanded on from an article by Jake Adams.
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