What would it take for a LFS to be successful these days?

[RogueDiscus]

Al recently posted asking about LFS in your area. I didn't want to hijack that thread, but made me wonder, what would be a viable model for a brick-and-mortar truly LFS these days? Can it be done? I recall the owner of our last good store would take customer orders for dry and hard goods and bring in a mailing weekly. Maybe saved folks a bit on shipping. I'm not sure that would work these days without large volume purchases.
I was asked if I was interested in buying the previous LFS business before it closed, but I had never done anything like that and wasn't prepared to take that on. I do still think about it.

[dagray]

Our local (an hour to the north) fish store does special orders, but also has a reputation for excellent stock. he even quarantines his shipments before selling the fish. He has a good selection of fresh water and a decent but small selection of salt water fish.

His shop is about the size of a two car garage in a very old strip mall. I wouldn't say he is getting wealthy by any means, but he seems to be making a living.

[LizStreithorst]

At least where I live, buyers are not aficionados of the animals they buy. They like the look and the feel of corporate stores. I don't think that a true LFS with personality where you get to know the owners and employees would survive. The only one still in existence in Hattiesburg has been there forever. I talked about this with the owners once. They have lost a lot of customers to the Pet Smart and PetCo but they said that the customers they do have are loyal. They have been in the same place for so long that they make a decent living. I can't see a new place having a chance of making it here in my neck of the woods.

[RogueDiscus]

Our local (an hour to the north) fish store does special orders, but also has a reputation for excellent stock. he even quarantines his shipments before selling the fish. He has a good selection of fresh water and a decent but small selection of salt water fish.

His shop is about the size of a two car garage in a very old strip mall. I wouldn't say he is getting wealthy by any means, but he seems to be making a living.

This fits with my assumption it has to be a hobby business; Ok as long as you can make ends meet. You'd be doing your thing, and supplementing it by providing a service to the community.

[RogueDiscus]

At least where I live, buyers are not aficionados of the animals they sell. They like the look and the feel of corporate stores. I don't think that a true LFS with personality where you get to know the owners and employees would survive. The only one still in existence in Hattiesburg has been there forever. I talked about this with the owners once. They have lost a lot of customers to the Pet Smart and PetCo but they said that the customers they do have are loyal. They have been in the same place for so long that they make a decent living. I can't see a new place having a chance of making it here in my neck of the woods.

Just being sure, you mean the buyers aren't knowledgeable about what they buy, right? I would agree, a store would need a client niche to service.

[brewmaster15]

I think you would need to do a significant amount of web based business.You would also need to be placed somewhere with good walk in traffic.

I have a good friend that owned one.. rent killed him.. location killed him and I think the internet killed him. He had a passion for fish and partner was a reptile guy. I was really jealous of their store.

Al

[RogueDiscus]

My dad tried his own used bookstore for a while, but gave it up. He does OK online. I don't have much space, and not great water volume in my home, so the idea of a shop for my hobby has always been appealing. If it had a front window and drew in spectators, maybe it could provide some service.

[RogueDiscus]

I drive by lots of empty small storefronts each day and think "that shouldn't be very expensive."

[Cove Beach]

I’m really fortunate here in Northeast Ohio, I have 4 non-corporate LFS within a 30 min driving circle that handle freshwater. Add 2 more if I include saltwater only shops which I draw on for hardware and food. Two of the shops do internet business and one is a wholesale outlet also. My favorite has easily 200 tanks full of fish and enough dry goods and tanks to make you dizzy. The owner is a very knowledgeable guy and always willing to answer any questions I might have,and he also builds custom acrylic tanks to whatever dimensions you come up with.

[Willie]

I mentioned in another thread that we have many LFS in the Twin Cities. This is a metropolitan area, but hardly the biggest by any stretch. I see two models that have worked.

1. Because you can get hard goods and supplies off the Internet, what keeps me going to a fish store is the stock. The ones which are most successful stock more than your basic African tank, common corydoras, angelfish, etc. They keep multiple aquarium strains of the more popular species. Some of them will specialize in one or more species. We have three stores that began as betta and guppy specialty stores. They don't rely on selling HOB filters, heaters, chemicals, etc., although they keep some in stock for emergency purchases.

2. One of our oldest stores specialize in service. They'll sell you the complete set up: tank, top and lights and deliver it and set it up for you (at a fee). They offer free water testing. They'll even take back overgrown fish (at a significant discount). They cater to the young family where the parents are too busy to learn much about fish keeping. A lot of attention is paid to the decor so the store is a fun, albeit crowded, place to visit.

Success comes from changing your business model to not compete on price with goods and supplies, but to focus on fish and service. The big box stores cannot compete on either.

Willie

[RogueDiscus]

I mentioned in another thread that we have many LFS in the Twin Cities. This is a metropolitan area, but hardly the biggest by any stretch. I see two models that have worked.

1. Because you can get hard goods and supplies off the Internet, what keeps me going to a fish store is the stock. The ones which are most successful stock more than your basic African tank, common corydoras, angelfish, etc. They keep multiple aquarium strains of the more popular species. Some of them will specialize in one or more species. We have three stores that began as betta and guppy specialty stores. They don't rely on selling HOB filters, heaters, chemicals, etc., although they keep some in stock for emergency purchases.

2. One of our oldest stores specialize in service. They'll sell you the complete set up: tank, top and lights and deliver it and set it up for you (at a fee). They offer free water testing. They'll even take back overgrown fish (at a significant discount). They cater to the young family where the parents are too busy to learn much about fish keeping. A lot of attention is paid to the decor so the store is a fun, albeit crowded, place to visit.

Success comes from changing your business model to not compete on price with goods and supplies, but to focus on fish and service. The big box stores cannot compete on either.

Willie

Hi Willie,
Thanks, yes! You have to figure out what you can offer that's not more available online: a specialty, or service.

[J@Y137]

I think most people these days are programmed to buy everything from big box stores. Think about it. Even with food people go to big box stores. Not many people think of going to a butcher shop or a bakery anymore. I think cheap rent and cheap but colorful fish would be the key to success. Someone I know has a successful petshop and the discus from what I see are the slowest selling. Im sure due to price.

[bluelagoon]

I really would like to support my local shop more than I do.Unfortunately,I spend my money where the best prices are.That would most likely be on line.I can get fish shipped in cheaper than my lps have to offer if I buy a group;often 1/3 the cost..Same as for food which they sell in small containers and are expensive;I like bulk and save $$$.A few newer shops have started up,but most of the older,nicer shops went out of business due to big chain stores and the internet.

[Pices]

I travel 45min to my fish guy. He bought an established fish store a couple years ago after a fire put his boss out of business. I was a customer there since 1993.
They stayed flush because they had existing customers who they serviced aquariums for hotels/businesses or customers who can afford to simply enjoy their salt water tank and pay for someone else to maintain it. In fact one of his customers backed him financially to open a new place. Long story short, they reopened and the reputation of the previous owner brought those customers back and a new location brought new customers in. I have a pet smart and petco in town, but I travel to support the small business guy. Why?
The knowledge and experience far surpasses the teenagers at Petco.
They know you by name when you call them and friendships develop.
They go the extra mile to order and even have met me on their way home once to deliver needed meds.
They are honest and I trust them for advice (discus being the exception.) He’s experimenting, but honest about his results.
They will order special fish and supplies and call you when they arrive.
They care about me and I care about them in a way I’ve not experienced at big box stores.
Lastly, I think it’s very difficult to compete with corporations and want this win win to continue.

[Pices]

I mentioned in another thread that we have many LFS in the Twin Cities. This is a metropolitan area, but hardly the biggest by any stretch. I see two models that have worked.

1. Because you can get hard goods and supplies off the Internet, what keeps me going to a fish store is the stock. The ones which are most successful stock more than your basic African tank, common corydoras, angelfish, etc. They keep multiple aquarium strains of the more popular species. Some of them will specialize in one or more species. We have three stores that began as betta and guppy specialty stores. They don't rely on selling HOB filters, heaters, chemicals, etc., although they keep some in stock for emergency purchases.

2. One of our oldest stores specialize in service. They'll sell you the complete set up: tank, top and lights and deliver it and set it up for you (at a fee). They offer free water testing. They'll even take back overgrown fish (at a significant discount). They cater to the young family where the parents are too busy to learn much about fish keeping. A lot of attention is paid to the decor so the store is a fun, albeit crowded, place to visit.

Success comes from changing your business model to not compete on price with goods and supplies, but to focus on fish and service. The big box stores cannot compete on either.

Willie

I agree 100%. The place I go follows this business model. The owners set up our 125 gal and didn’t even charge us a fee. We just gave him a good tip, but otherwise much the same. They will take back a big fish only if it was one of their own and sometimes buy stock from certain trusted local breeders too. Fish and service is a win/win and sets you apart from the others.

[brewmaster15]

I am pretty sure the internet has really hurt the small local fish shops. But I think it was just the last nail in the coffin. These LFS have been dying a slow death of attrition for a very long time now. The ultimate cause is probably the lack of interest in fish keeping to younger generations. Even at our big box chains like Petco and Petsmart, they don't make all the much money on the fish,When ever I am there I am one of the few customers in the fish area...usually they have to call over help from the cat, dog and small animal sections. I think these chains make the majority of their money catering to furry or feathered animal owners. Take a look whats offered as fish there and you will see cheap fish.. Theres no money in these based on the volume I see they get in.I have been there when the stock comes in.

Thats the reality of our hobby.

I think ultimately if a LFS wants to start up and thrive, not just barely survive or go out of business they have to court the younger kids. They are the ones that will be begging mom and dad for the aquarium. How do you do that? Thats the hard part. I think school outreach is good idea...get tanks into where the kids see the fish and get fascinated. You need a great location.. Walk in customers need to be encouraged and need to feel you respect them and cater to them.. If they want a specific fish.. find it or they will. I also think that you need to buy local fish where you can. I have had some great relationships with LFS in the past.. I treated them well and they treated me well as a customer and breeder. They got healthy fish and I got a place to move my hard raised fish.

I like to run scenarios in my head sometimes on what I would do in a certain situation. How would I do this. I would do as I said in this post but I would make my LFS more than that...I would couple it with another related business. Ultimately Fish keeping is HOBBY. A Hobby shop/toy shop model with Aquarium Fish and Supplies could work nicely in certain areas..Why? Because Kids still like going there. They are more rare today but we have one near us thats always packed..Its the ideal way to expose kids to aquariums and fish as a hobby.

al

[samurai.cichlid]

aquarium co-op is a great example to follow.

the guy running that place, cory, has made a huge success out of the place. he's to the point where he's working with manufacturers and branding his own products. i think a big part of it is being in a major city (seattle), but it's also his use of social media--i.e. youtube--to promote himself. he also seems to have good relationships with local breeders like his friend dean who seems to be able to provide him with expensive plecos, well bred angels, high class fancy guppies, et al. i think he's also breeding wild discus.

so i think it's, you know, the usual good practices and good relationships with customers, but it's also location. you can't keep any kind of store open in lots of medium and small towns in america, let alone specialized stores like aquarium hobby stores.

and the internet is of course playing its part. and its part has overall--as others have pointed out--been destructive when it comes to the lfs.

it's only natural hobbyists are going to want to connect more directly with breeders and suppliers. if you want to buy discus, this forum is hands down the best place to do it. not through your lfs. and if any of you keep other specialists fish as well as discus you will know that it's not just simplydiscus.com. for apistos, you have apistogramma.com. if you want quality hybrids (flowerhorns, red texas, mammons) then connecting with the top asian breeders through facebook seems to be the done thing. and the internet has made organizing local clubs and societies easier than ever.

and common fish, the staple tetras, barbs, common cories, and danios... that's where petsmart and petco come into the picture.

however, a few clever fish stores (like my first example aquarium co-op) are using the internet to their advantage. another is the wet spot. i really would love to know how many boxes of live fish they send out across the country every week.

anyway, if you want to open a fish store you need to have an all-encompassing approach. in 2019 you can't skip anything important.

you need to be able to (or hire people able to):

- source high quality and interesting fish
- do online marketing
- learn google analytics
- learn facebook targeting and ads (as well as advertising through other social media networks)
- manage social media accounts
- produce promotional videos to promote your store (e.g. youtube, facebook, et al)
- optimize your store's website for search engines
- curate and manage online reviews of your business, especially encourage positive ones
- make connections with breeders who can get you rare fish to give you an edge
- maintain solid relationships with suppliers
- manage finances
- get your store onto google maps

there's probably loads of other stuff i'm not thinking of.

but in conclusion your passion for the hobby isn't enough, you also need to have a passion for optimizing your business in the modern world.

it all might sound daunting, but it isn't. i think that in the future people opening fish stores will analyze those few successful stores and will find success in emulating them. but right now i don't think enough local fish stores are making the most of the internet.

oof. sorry about the long post. i got a bit carried away lol.