Who owns or manages an independant Local Fish Store (LFS)?

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Folks,
Just curious. Who has owned/managed an independant local fish store? How long? What were the factors that drove you out?

[Nightowl]

Hi Peter, I currently work in an LFS on Long Island, and am the manager when the owner is not around. Nothing has driven us out yet. He has been in business for 30 yrs., and has outlasted many economic up and downs.
Don't know what you mean:"Big Boxes"? please explain. And mailorder pet shop stuff is not a factor, at all. We are a fish store, for fish heads! Half is saltwater , half is freshwater. Our prices blow away the competition, to coin a phrase. We are generally 25- 35% below other stores prices. We just got some nice discus in too. They are Asian, and not the caliber of some breeders fish, but there are many nice ones to choose from. I have several quality fish that I got from work.
So I realize all this rambling may not be useful info. Are you thinking of opening a store?
Mailorder is not a factor because where we are everyone wanted it yesterday, and the way our prices are, you pay sales tax instead of shipping. Sure, we can't compete w/ a "Fosters & Smith" special on Aquaclear 500"s, but we don't have to! We sell them for what other places sell the 300 for.Our customers only have to wait until Friday if they order something we don't have in stock.
Well, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.
BTW, I LOVE MY JOB!!! J.T.

[MonkeeFish]

Hey nightowl,

If the store you work at sells 25-35 % less then how much of a profit do you guys make and what prices do you pay for the stuff like AC500 etc etc???

[Nightowl]

Here's the formula: buy quantity, sell for less than your competition.
As far as what we pay, etc., I do not own the business and it would not be my place to divulge this information...don't believe anyone would anyway.
later, N.O.

[Nightowl]

Hi Peter, Petco here on L.I. is not a factor,fishwise. I know several Petco employees that buy their stuff from us. Petland is cheaper than them, and we are way cheaper than Petland. The ones in this area have scaled down their fishrooms as well.
Again I'm just comparing fishstuff to fishstuff....not petstore to petstore. The Petco's do volume on dog and cat foods, etc. which kills the smaller petshops...that's why so many have closed.Where I work its just fish,fish and more fish.But to answer your question, they are not a factor.
take care J.T.

[ronrca]

Just a little piece of info from my own experience (no, I dont own/operate/work in a fish store). When buying fish, I do not look at price but a quality therefore I will not buy from large corporate stores rather from locally owned/operated fish stores. However, when it does come to equipment, I go wherever it is the cheapest and online so far has been cheaper than locally and that is including shipping. Something to remember! ;)

[Nightowl]

Well, I guess we're lucky here..... enough people here that don't like to shop online. I know a fellow who has access to buying things wholesale and still buys from us rather than go through the hassle.
I guess everywhere is a little different
J.T.

[Paulio]

I buy certain items from LFS just because I feel it is impotant to support them. If they arent on the corner anymore to turn new people on to the hobby what happens? As some of you already know I am in the process of opening such a store ;D Competing for the best price is only 1/2 the issue as far as I am concerned. There are still people in this world that like to have a face behind the product they just dropped hard earned cash for. They want to know WHO is supporting it and them. They want to stop in and ask a question not sit on hold for 20-30 minutes etc. I know I am one of these people.

Paul

[Nightowl]

Hello Paulio, I want to wish you the best of luck with your venture and say that I agree with you re: people like to see a face behind the operation.
Even more importantly is the truth that, and I've stated this many times to people, if everyone shopped online there would be no fishstores.
I think its great that you're opening a store!


Peter, I went to the link that you posted and while it is very interesting, I disagree with most of it.
"you can't beat the mailorder companies"
NOT TRUE, we can and we do.

"you can't make it on just fish"
NOT TRUE, we are, for 30 years.

"people can not tell good from bad"
To me, this is written by someone that shouldn't be in retail. Many "beginner" customers of ours have gone to Petlands, etc. and had problems and have been sold medications, usually when their tank is cycling ,and no one took the time to explain the cycling period. I have many times explained, at great length, the proper approach to an aquarium after an initial disaster and would have to say that not only do people stay in the hobby, but they remain our customers as well. I disagree 100% that people are just looking for something to pour in the tank...people are looking to LEARN. We have customers that range from beginners with 10 gal. tanks, to folks with 125 gal. reef tanks.

[Nightowl]

I hit the wrong button :rolleyes:........


Anyway, our business is not mostly beginners, the core is veteran fishkeepers that are always looking to advance their hobby.

The one part of the article that I do agree with is the 4th part....it WILL consume your life, but so do discus!!! so do computers!! It is 2:17 am Sat in N.Y. right now. I got home from work a little over an hour ago. We usually close at 9pm...we had people shopping until 9:45, and even let in a guy at 11:00 pm(a regular)...he purchased a diatom filter. We were doing merchandise and some fish maintainance.
My point is this, did it matter that we weren't out at 9pm? no, we never are. Did it matter to the guy that we let in at 11pm? You bet your @$$ it did.
If you have passion for something in life, you will succeed at it . If you don't, why bother? you'll only be unhappy... my point of view is I have to be somewhere, doing something, I might as well be at work getting paid. My own fish can wait another day....

Another thing is that 2 years ago, there were no major stores in the shopping center. Now there is a Home Depot across the way, and it has helped, but wasn't a necessity for us. What helps a bit is a women's clothing store right next door that wasn't there before.
Anyway, no one has ever succeeded with anything by believing what people say they shouldn't do.
Last night I sold 2 feather dusters and a cleaner shrimp to a young man(salt water stuff)....an employee at Petco sent him to our store...
3 cheers for the independant fish store!!!


later, J.T.

[lesley]

Good luck Paulio,

you already have the right ideas. Nightowl has added some valuable advice.

My personal views? We live miles away from shopping areas. I purchase some of my needs online. There is however, a smart owner of an LFS some 150 kms away, who has been smart enough to remember our faces, always come and say hello and has his manager do the same. They don't need to remember names, or even where we are from, its a sort of Hi, good to see you again, how is that tank going? They give us a cut, make sure we know how much. I purchase a lot from them that would otherwise go online. If we are going to purchase not online, we normally now just go to them instead of shopping around too much.

From my job, part of which involves taking over "escalated" calls in a call centre, I know that one of the most important things to a customer is being listened to. That doesn't mean that you can't intervene and control the direction of your conversations.

Apart from the research as to whether or not your locate, etc. is viable, treating your customers with respect, not being afraid to admit that you don't know something, so they will trust you when you do, will go a long way to helping you in your enterprise.

Good luck, Lesley

[MonkeeFish]

paulio remember to say that aiite "hi/hello glad to see you again, how's the fish tank ?" : )

[Nightowl]

Peter, the guy I work for does not get a lot of time with his family....not this time of year. He likes to be in his shop. He saves money(payroll) by working lots of hours. He could work less other times of year but I don't think he can really relax away from the store unless he really goes away somewhere...then he realizes there is nothing he can do about the store.
So, being we're all programmed a bit differently, everyone has there own idea of priorities and such. In my case, I have no children and my wife works a varying schedule, so staying late is no big deal for me. I do regret not being able to get away much and sometimes I don't see my wife much for a few weeks in a row, but other than that its not a problem. I stay up late anyway.
The key to your question is hiring good people. Also, store hours is another factor. We are open a scheduled 73 hrs. a week...sometime that stretches on Saturday. I only work a little more than half that, because its all one can handle. Its non-stop...no lunch hours, etc. I usually sneak in a "7-11" run but that's about it. But that's because we are on Long Island, and Suffolk county alone has over 1 million people. Depending on where you are, and your store hours, I don't think working 50-60 hours a week is dreaming.
I do know that to open a store in this area one would need at least a couple hundred grand to play with: tanks, setup, merchandise , livestock, etc. Then finding a good supplier of fish: sometimes you get good stock, sometimes you don't. In our area no one opens anything because they wouldn't make it....only a few diehards hang in for the long run.
Here's the trick: to open a store and establish a good customer base, through positive relations, and then find employees that are honest and who will uphold what you have established when you're not around. This is not easy. I have seen many employees come and go where I am...
So I wouldn't quit my job to open a fish/petshop(speaking hypothetically). I might open a shop, get someone to manage it after I got it going, and go from there. I wouldn't mortgage the farm on it though, that's a definite! good luck, J.T.

[ReeferKimberly]

I don't own or manage one, but I work at one called aqualife aquarium. I know for a fact we mark up fish really really high but we compensate by selling supplies and food at almost wholesale. We also sell way more fish and livestock then supplies. I think the reason people will pay our high prices is the quality they are buying and the personal relationships we forge. I can tell you the names, occupations, and current tanks/fish of over 25 regular customers and hold great conversations with them all. Plus, the fact that no one else has a greater quality amount of saltwater anywhere w/in 50 miles. Our saltwater rocks and we have the best and most coral around. So, with the high prices, customers will still come back over and over (some every day!) b/c of the quality of fish and personal relationships we have with them.
Kimberly :-*

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Ran, the numbers..didn't like them...won't be pursuing it.

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. My wife and I's original plan to open a B & B is the one we're sticking with. No fish store or sandwich shops for us.

[daninthesand]

Good idea....as interesting as fish people are, I bet the guests you'll meet in a B&B will have many more interesting stories to tell.

Good luck with that!

Daniel

[tony1313]

Hey Peter,
I've gotta great idea for ya! How about Peter's B&B Discus House? you get the best of both worlds! I could tell my wife I'm taking her to a B&B and I could pick up some discus while I'm their. Your happy, your wifes happy, I'm happy, my wifes happy, every ones happy! You can't go wrong.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Tony

[Nightowl]

Hi Peter, well I've seen something now that one doesn't see often..... A DISCUS PERSON MAKING A SANE DECISION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

best of luck, J.T.

[ronrca]

You did go about making this decision the right way. Weighing both sides with an open mind. Being able to discuss this on the internet is really great as it brings all sorts of experiences together. It is a huge decision and making the right choice can only be made by yourself as you are the only one that knows what and what not your capable of.

Im glad that you did make a decision and one that you are satisified with (I didnt say happy as only making your 'dream' happen will really make you happy). Good luck to you and your wife! ;)

Btw, where is this B&B and how much a night is it? LOL! You never know I suppose where we might be travelling! ;) ;D

[DiscusDawg]

I agree with Tony about B&B Discus house. I"m happy, my wife is happy and I still get to whistle Dixie!!

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Signed a contract for the B & B. Now we are just trying to get the money (shopping for a mortgage).

[bikhu]

Hey Peter,

I have a great idea... Put a fish room in the B&B, sell sandwiches and invite all your Discus friends out to the B&B .. you know we can't go look at anyones Discus without bringing some home is there are any for sale! ;D

Best of luck with the new venture. Let me know when it is ready .. Perhaps my wife and I will come visit...
Peace,
The Other Peter From The Northeast!

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Original contract is being modified. Necessary to get an independant appraisal before we continue. What a long drawn out process. Trying to stay optimistic and encouraged.

[lesley]

Hi Peter,

it is best to make sure that all is well!!

You surely don't want to be taking on problems that you were not aware of, or that were not of your making.

Good luck, if not this property, then there are always others.

Lesley

[Emminess]

No pet shops for me - they get too much of a bad rap. Plus specialising in something like beds and breakfasts allows for images such as bacon sizzling and hot buttered toast...

thats my idea of fun. Good luck with it - oh and any mates rates then? ;D