Over the past five years we have seen the closings of several old and very good Mom & Pop fish stores. PhD Pets in Galveston closed after Hurricane Rita. Amazonia in Austin closed after many years of being Austin’s best source for cichlids. Boutique in the Dallas area closed after 35 years in business. Now, Paul Kotarides, a fellow hobbyist who produces some very interesting guppy/molly hybrids, emailed me a link to an article about the closing of yet another impressive fish store, Animal Jungle.
I fear the eventual demise of all Mom & Pop fish stores as the big-box and internet stores starve them by siphoning sales away. One of our retail store customers told us that for the first time they failed to sell a single aquarium setup for Christmas last year. In fact, he said it’s nearly impossible to sell any item retailing for more than $50. Potential buyers browse the store, scan any item they might buy with their smart phones, and leave to buy the item online. He has ceased stocking inventory over $50.
Another customer who had previously sold his shop was considering buying it back at a much reduced price from the new owner. If he does, he plans to go livestock only, reasoning that he’ll have advantages in that niche over online retailers. I’m not so sure of this. Aquabid and eBay are potent competitors for livestock sales.
Even Goliad Farms has reentered the online livestock business. After several years of not selling online, we have begun to do so again. We can take a fish bringing $1 at wholesale and sell the same fish for $4 retail and still under-price brick and mortar retailers. Some of the hassles of online sales that caused us to exit the business years ago aren’t as significant today. We have a contract with FedEx that allows us to better control shipping expense. This has allowed us to go to standard shipping charges. We no longer have to quote individual shipping charges. The advent of reasonably priced breathing bags has reduced shipping costs. Since shippers charge for volume as well as weight, oxygen filled bags greatly increased shipping costs. We’ve found that retail orders are easier to schedule. Instead of packing fish in the morning for delivery to Texas cities and to airports for retailers out of Texas and wasting prime fish working morning hours, we now pack retail orders in the afternoon and deliver them to FedEx at day’s end.
So, I find us in the ironic position of aiding the demise of Mom & Pop stores while bemoaning their loss…
Robert says
If they don’t change local fish stores are going to disappear. Only one of my local stores has any sort of web presence and their prices are crazy high. Sometimes their prices are four times as high as I can buy the same item for on the internet. On top of that their is very little or no value added for the additional cost.
I check prices on the internet. The LFS has no website and price checks by phone is unreliable and time consuming. I’m not willing to drive for an hour to find out they don’t stock what I need and they can order it for me for double the cost of amazon plus another hour drive to go get it. Local fish stores and to some extent the big box stores don’t get that the internet sets the prices.
I shop at a local music store. They have experts on staff that care about their customers needs and do their best and do their best to fulfill them not just push what they have to sell. I’ve not met a single employee there that was not a musician. They cost a bit more than going to the big box store but not much and they understand that the internet sets the price. Any thing you need for your guitar they are up for it. I get something for the little bit extra money I spend there. Value added.
I think the live stock only store may work well. Livestock and plants are just about the only thing other than aquariums that a purchase locally. Occasionally, when I need something in a hurry I’ll buy local supplies. Amazon Prime with two day shipping and good prices has trimmed those purchases to a minimum.
charles says
Robert,
I’ve done retail and once owned three retail fish stores. It’s hard work, but can be satisfying.
LFSs(I’ll adopt this acronym since most seem to know it) will need to modernize their outreach to potential customers. One of our successful LFS customers is North Waco Tropical Fish. They announce everything via Facebook. They have periodic seminars. Their customers are notified when shipments come in.
We live out in the country, with the nearest mall 22 miles away. My wife, Susie, tends to buy online. She orders something and we get it the next day. I can see why hobbyists would buy many supplies the same way.
I spend lots of time (too much my wife says) online and on the phone with hobbyists eager for information and interaction with fellow hobbyists. I don’t know the solution, but I think it may involve local fish clubs. We’re just about to release a fish club plan.
I have more questions than suggestions…
Scott says
Interesting thoughts Charles. I think the loss of the LFS is something of a double-edged sword. It seems to me that most people are introduced to the hobby at a young age or at least inspired by the tanks and fish they see in the LFS. Either they are lucky enough to have a parent who gets them that first tank or, in the least, the exposure to the LFS simmers as an idea until they are much older and have the resources to enter the hobby. Without the LFS, this process of recruitment will be quite diminished…the bland tanks at the big-box stores are SO uninspiring.
This certainly applies to me. I remember being fascinated by tropical fish and a local fish store which is now about 10 yrs gone. The near deafening bubbling, the dark, warmly humid room with its mysterious denizens from far-off places like Brazil or Thailand worked to bring me into the hobby 20 years later.
On the other hand, I am generally unimpressed with the way fish are kept at the LFS. Its seems that they make little to no attempt to modify the water parameters for the fish they house…tetras are kept in the same water as feeder guppies, etc. Fish that desire little to no current are BLASTED throughout the tank. The staff is ignorant. The clientele worse. I cringe when I wander through and hear what people are buying and know in my heart that those fish don’t have a chance in hell…
The hobbyist who sells online generally a) keeps a much smaller number of species (perhaps focusing on just a handful) and in whose care they have become modest experts, b) is usually focused on breeding and holds the idea of “captive raised” as an important goal, and c) is generally involved in keeping rare/endangered species if, for nothing else, to act as a genetic reservoir for the spp. and an information reservoir for fellow hobbyists. These are all things I applaud.
I have seen fish rooms that have rivaled public aquariums in their beauty, complexity, and efficiency. The people running these rooms usually have a large number of hard-to-get species and have developed novel and innovative methods for their care. I also find them incredibly helpful and am SO grateful for their efforts at driving forward the hobby and their passion for a particular group of fish…how can I not support their work with my purchase?!
So, I personally think the future IS the internet and an interconnected web of breeders, hobbyists and clubs. I think the work you are doing is great Charles and your fish and rearing systems speak to a passion and knowledge that not even the best LFS can achieve. That said, I do think it is a bit sad that the LFS is going away, but what is rising out of the ashes is inspiring, diverse and exciting.
charles says
Scott,
Sorry for the tardy reply. I’ll be blogging about the causes in the next few days.
I too remember the old-time LFSs. My first LFS was a combination florist and fish store in Goliad, Texas. My grandmother stopped by there weekly with me at age 5 or 6 in tow. They had some Phallichthys amates (Merry Widow), a livebearer that fascinated me. Somehow, I’ve never kept that fish; maybe I should get some.
I’ve owned three retail fish stores (before in came to my senses) in Austin in the 1970s. It is difficult to maintain a reasonable number of species without compromising by going with the water you have. I have to admit that in our operations today, we don’t modify water to meet the fish, except to get hatchable eggs from softwater fish (our water is rock-hard and high pH). For such fish we collect rainwater and mix up the water to the proper conditions for the hatch. Even then, after the eggs hatch we rapidly convert the fish to our conditions. I’ve found that over the course of many generations fish that don’t like our conditions adapt to them via natural selection.
Thank you for your kind words. We try to raise healthy hardy fish at reasonable prices.
It is remarkable the number of species and varieties of fish that are now available to hobbyists via the internet. Now, I think I’ll go search the internet for some Merry Widows…
Charles
JVR says
This trend however is changing thanks to the high cost of transport ( at least in Canada) – an average item bought on-line no matter for how low a price now has a shipping cost associated with usually 120% of the item. so a $10 item has shipping of $12 plus a clearance fee to get it across the border. so an item that is $10 on line costs me about $25 to get it to my house if the seller ships to Canada. The same item in the retail store costs about $20. So what you thought you were saving actually costs you more. This shipping costs also seem to be on the increase in the US.
charles says
JVR,
That’s a good point. We constantly struggle with means of reducing shipping costs, which as you indicate continue to rise (I hope the lower oil prices translate to lower shipping costs).
By the way, we are researching shipping to Canada. We do ship mollies to a university in Germany, but they have a company that coordinates most of the effort.
Charles
Chuck Breiter says
Hi Charles,
I have run a big box for 19 years and in the 70’s and 80’s worked. For a local pet chain for 12 years. This has given me a view of the evolution of the industry. Even the big boxes are getting hurt with on line.
I believe that in order for LFS to survive, they have to actively embrace on line distributors both in dry and livestock. the dry to keep their inventory down but accessible. The live to cater to the more exotic and wider variety. The big box will only keep a hobbyist abut a year before they are ready to move on.
The other thing that I have seen in my town which is completely backwards, is the resistance the LFS have to being actively involved in local clubs. These are the hobbyists that the locals need to promote. They should take advantage of the local auctions to ” salt” there inventory to draw people in weekly.
The major advantage the small stores have is flexibility. big boxes can only carry fast moving beginner items due to inventory costs
Chuck Breiiter
charles says
Chuck,
Sorry about the tardy reply. I was out in west Texas and eastern New Mexico working on an article on rare Gambusia.
I’m just glad not to be in brick and mortar retail business now (the last time I did that was in the early 1970s). I don’t know the solutions, but our wholesale customers that seem to be thriving are using their retail stores as showcases for aquarium maintenance.
I do agree with you that LFSs should eagerly promote and adopt fish clubs. To that end, we’re going to offer a club plan with steep discounts.
Charles
Chuck says
Hi Charles,
I worked for a small chain of LFS in the late 70’s and 80’s. I am currently running a Big Box for the last 19 years . I have seen the evolution of the. Pet retail industry and believe there is room for both.
There is no question that the big box has the advantage of price and advertising . They are excellent at getting people into the hobby. After the first year or so though they don’t have a lot left to offer the true hobbyist.
LFS has other advantages if they are willing to change. They can offer knowledge flexibility and most of all variety in livestock.
Online sales are hurting all the brick and mortar stores including big box. The small stores need to embrace the technology. They can no longer go with the low end set ups, but cater to the advanced hobbyist. The key is to target theses hobbyists by offering livestock and changing out their livestock. Everyone wants to see the livestock before they buy. They need to have a large on line prescense on what they have and what they can get.
Lastly don’t treat the fish clubs as the enemy, but actively support them. They are your target customer. Be active in their auctions to help support the club, but also to “salt” your in store offerings. Nothing beats the sign ” locally raised”. Even if you don’t make much money on these, it will keep them coming back.
You will never see the same concentration of locals as we did years ago. You canno longer be a hobbyist first and a business man second. The days of the corner grocery store are gone too. But, if you are smart and find a niche, there is definitely a place to thrive. I know of 2 shops less then 2 miles from a big box that are thriving
Chuck