Is The LFS Going By The Wayside?

[chrisfont23]

The global marketplace is emerging within the ecommerce sector to make this competition even stiffer. Consider as a hockey fan, I can get my favorite teams jersey with any player, stitched, for about $120 on Amazon. Go to aliexpress.com and that same jersey is less than 30 bucks, shipped from China for free. I wouldn't even want to know what my "local mall" charges to stock and pay some teen ignoramus to blindly sell that same jersey.

I think the LFS is simply a microcosm of these changes that have been sweeping the globe, let alone the US. Sure there are advances in marine equipment. And yes many technical advances are making the competition edgier. But I think the gateway to reduced costs in the guise of minimal overhead (rent, storefront, employees) are easily passed on to the consumer, as you pick up your Phosban reactor for half than what your LFS charges. And why not? The internet helps, but the changes are everywhere. Twenty years ago I needed a stockbroker to buy and trade, Consumers to get home deliveries and a pay phone to make a call away from my house. Today E-trade, Amazon Prime and my cell phone/ipad/wifi make that secondary, or even obsolete. Why should the reefing industry be any different? It's certainly not impervious to change and it's niche-esque to begin with, so any LFS who was established is fighting an even larger uphill climb.

In my opinion, we will always need our LFS like we need out local hardware store, but the capability to rely on it - or less, to even prioritize it as an end all/be all - is slowly diminishing as the e-commerce marketplace continues to evolve.

[moondoggy4]

I live in the inland empire that sits on three counties in So Cal Orange County to the west and San Diego to the east, the other no comment. Orange County has some great LFS one even had ATB to Bubble King skimmers on the shelf with every other kind of equipment possible. Another store in the OC is great for buying fish a huge selection and great prices, lots of real good stores in the OC.
In San Diego where I like to go easy drive 60 miles 60 minutes unlike going to the OC, great stores down there not as good as the OC though.
Where I live just a few stores kinda of small and hanging in there barely. So if I want to buy I drive.
We have two very active clubs here and there is a healthy buying and selling going on.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by moondoggy4

I live in the inland empire that sits on three counties in So Cal Orange County to the west and San Diego to the east, the other no comment. Orange County has some great LFS one even had ATB to Bubble King skimmers on the shelf with every other kind of equipment possible. Another store in the OC is great for buying fish a huge selection and great prices, lots of real good stores in the OC.
In San Diego where I like to go easy drive 60 miles 60 minutes unlike going to the OC, great stores down there not as good as the OC though.
Where I live just a few stores kinda of small and hanging in there barely. So if I want to buy I drive.
We have two very active clubs here and there is a healthy buying and selling going on.

Boy are you lucky. ATB and Bubbleking skimmers? WOW!

[moondoggy4]

^^^^ Yeah I thought I was a equipment junkie, you could be in that store for a hour and just keeping seeing things you have never seen in a store before, Tom would tell me the problem with the store was getting stuck with a Gen I Bubble King when they switched over to the II that really hurt the bottom line.
I do like MAP pricing gives the stores a chance at my purchases.

[SNAKEMANVET]

I am lucky for now to have a great lfs about 25 miles from me.I will order dry goods sometimes online,but never corals or fish.I seen no reason to buy a $40.00 coral and cost $55 to $60 to ship.It would seem a wholeseller would get a price break on shipping charges.I know our company does.Like others have mentioned,I like to see what I am going to buy.

[bundybear1981]

My LFS has been in business for about 30 yrs now. Some stuff is cheaper online, some is cheaper there. A lot of people forget about the overhead these stores have - rent, insurance, power, wages ect... Its hard for them to compete at times and if you need something immediately (replacement ect) they are the only option. If we never support them we wont have that option. I like to have the ability to view what I'm about to buy, see the fish feeding ect...

I'm lucky enough the LFS here has a healthy fish guarantee (just need to provide a sample of your tank water to show it wasn't due to poor water) and they treat/quarantine all fish they get and all display tanks are stand-alone (so if one does get compromised then the others aren't effected) and take the time to talk to you and give advise. They won't just try and sell you something but will still sell if the customer won't take advise. They will also order things in if you request something they don't carry, quarantine and treat before they release them to you.

They also do a huge amount of maintenance and also do lease tanks for a monthly fee (they come and supply & maintain for those who only want to look at the fish) I do think without the maintenance side the LFS won't be here for too long thou.

[dinger28]

Well all of these are very interesting responses. I am actually planning to open a LFS next year and have already started the planning process. It interests me that they're are so many diverse opinions on LFS. Where I will be in business there are no other LFS within 30 miles, and the place is really starting to take off. The one thing that will separate me from the others, is that I will offer a 48 hour guarantee on all fish and corals with proof of water quality no questions asked. This might hurt me it might not, but we'll have to wait and see. Designing and planning the store has been a lot of fun, and updates will continue as progress continues to move forward.

[gam3ovr]

Regardless of the state of e-commerce and advancements in technology that further enable folks to do all sorts of things without leaving their home, there are and will always be markets that will continue to be served by B&M stores. IMO, LFS's are one of them. While there is all the information in the world on WWW regarding this hobby, many (myself included) aren't going to comb through that before making a decision regarding an addition to their tank. Cue the LFS...

I don't mind paying more for the expertise and convenience (even if it's 20-25% more) vs. e-comm. The guy that runs my LFS employs around a dozen employees (local commerce is a good thing!) and is a genuinely nice guy that actually cares about his customers.

I could go on and on but I think the point has been made. I don't think the LFS is going away anytime soon. The LFS's that are half-axx run and have poor service? Sure, kick them to the curb. The rest will continue to fill a need that the Internet simply can't.

[fishroomlady]

I'll just weigh in on the topic by saying, given the money my LFS has made off of me now that I've started a reef tank, he won't be going out of business soon lol

[Rutrag]

I worked at a full line privately owned pet shop in the 80s. There are precious few of those left at all in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. (I get to travel a lot on business.) As an earlier poster put it, it was an evolve or die time. We sold small dogs, some hand-fed birds, a few reptiles, and a lot of rodents and freshwater fish and a little bit of saltwater.

I don't know if the business model is the same now as it was then, but the local pet shop did not buy from a manufacturer, they bought from a distributor. The pet shop I worked for bought their fish from a distributor as well. There were two close enough to us that we could go and hand pick livestock.

Then came the big box type stores who bought directly from the manufacturer - namely PetSmart and PetStuff in my area. (Understand, I don't think of these guys as an evil empire at all. I'm trying to be factual.) Because they cut out the distributor, they could undercut our pricing which customers appreciated.

There was also the backlash against puppy mills. Even though we didn't buys our dogs from puppy mills, the suspicion was always there, and it impacted our business. (We really only bought and sold a handful of small breeds from a single breeder about 45 minutes away from us.)

All of this combined to create an environment where we had a difficult time competing. A few stores remained full line, but turned themselves into grocery-store sized entities. (e.g. Animal Jungle in Virginia Beach, VA or That Fish Place in Lancaster, PA.) The small retailers that survived specialized in saltwater, maintenance, birds, and / or reptiles.

Those that did not adapt, did die due to lower profit margins and sluggish sales. Such was the fate of the store I worked for through high school, college, and sometimes afterwards.

I'm lucky to have 4 marine specialty stores in my area. Two of them stock a fair amount of dry goods, but their pricing is significantly more than online vendors. (50% or more.) Three of them have livestock pricing that is significantly higher than online vendors (100% more in some cases.) I think all of them rely on the maintenance side of their businesses to stay afloat.

I don't have any hard feelings about this, but I already see that the knowledge base of the local pet shop is missing from the community. If the LFS can't stay in business, when that bulkhead starts leaking or a tank cracks or the prize fish is sick, you're going to have to pay a premium to have it shipped overnight, because I don't think PetCo or PetSmart is going to have your back.

[syrinx]

Originally Posted by dinger28

Well all of these are very interesting responses. I am actually planning to open a LFS next year and have already started the planning process. It interests me that they're are so many diverse opinions on LFS. Where I will be in business there are no other LFS within 30 miles, and the place is really starting to take off. The one thing that will separate me from the others, is that I will offer a 48 hour guarantee on all fish and corals with proof of water quality no questions asked. This might hurt me it might not, but we'll have to wait and see. Designing and planning the store has been a lot of fun, and updates will continue as progress continues to move forward.

I guaranteed FW fish for 72 hours, and marines for 1 week- and it never impacted my business in a negative way. My advice to you- if you are not going full line pet store- make sure to have FW- you will gain 75% more business and the profit margin on tropical fish is way higher than marines. Best way to end up with a million dollars with marine only- start with two million.

[syrinx]

I will go further and say- look well into the overhead as well. Things you might not think of like Phone book ads, power bills, and employee costs, insurance. Second, be sure you are able to not take a salary for the first two years- any profits go straight back into the business. Capital and cash flow is king. The people that come in and take a salary from day one- are usually closed within 2 years. Keep your personal money just that- dont take a salary- and do not "loan" the business money. When a business cannot live up to its business plan, and you keep pumping money into it- it becomes like a gambler with a ATM nearby. You can be successful- if you treat it like any other business, but if you treat it like a dream- you will not think in a businesslike manner.

[ponda]

luckily they are not all gone. there are 3 good LFS by where I live. if it wasnt for them i wouldnt have salt water :-D