Future Plan

A few things that could make a LFS better:

- Photos of the fish on the tank or near it with information. So a bar graph for aggression, a picture for biotope, indication of temperature and pH, what to feed them (maybe list some of your stock that's compatible), the kind of substrate they like, NUMBERS for social fish, juvenile and adult SIZE (would prevent people putting massive fish in small tanks), and include the life expectancy and possible diseases and the level of expertise needed to keep the fish happy. I saw this weekend at a pet shop that they had big posters of all the different birds they keep, which I thought was a great idea.

- Display tanks. Show people what they can do, inspire their imaginations with some nicely aquascaped tanks and some biotope tanks and some nano setups too.

- Complete systems. Don't just have a starter kit with the usual in it. Use a spreadsheet or something and come up with some nice combinations that a beginner can buy and make sure to include a "system discount". But this must be something where they can change things on it like the heaters or the substrate or the stock list.

- Have a bit of a staff library system where they can find information when a customer asks. Also have a PC connected to the net where they can look for info, but obviously don't leave it open for the customers to abuse.

- Provide a website with up-to-date content, this could make a big difference as to how many people find your shop. Put up pages (where possible) with every stock item and all your livestock. That could be something to keep some of your staff busy when the shop is slow. You could put up your own photos and use descriptions from manufacturers and Fishbase and the like. Make sure there's a MAP to your store that's easy to find.

- Take part on local forums!!! There's quite a number of local forums that could do with some input and it makes for great marketing. Even if it's just putting up a shop profile with lots of photos and then posting when you get new stock. It could also be a nice way to get orders for special imports and the like. And of course it would also serve as a barometer of when you need to make your website into an online store.

- Do free water tests. It's amazing how many people I've seen that have no idea what their tank parameters are in the begining. I was one of them. And I would have loved to have been able to take my water to my LFS to figure out what's going on. It would also be a great intro to a test kit sale...

- Stock different priced goods. So don't just stock the expensive food for instance, have a few options because not everyone can afford Hikari. And make it easy to find alternatives. I've often found the cheaper alternatives hidden far far away from the expensive food that I can't afford. Oh, and maybe stock a bit of the more exotic stuff for those that want it, or at least have the option of ordering it for the customer.

- Posters of what different diseases or parasites look like and what products can treat them. It might be best if you get these made with some good, clear photos.

- Bulk discounts for social fish. Like R25 per fish but R100 if you take a group of 5.

- Make it obvious to the customers that you can have tanks made to order and maybe have some example pictures and prices.

- Stock lots of materials for aquascaping, so different colours and sizes of substrates, rocks, roots, wood, mesh for making moss walls (maybe with the moss already in it), eggcrate (which I recently saw at Animal Kingdom for R200 a sheet !!!), sealing end caps for lights, some of that pvc piping and connectors that everyone uses, polystyrene, plastic sheets. And if you don't have it, have a place that you can get it from. Oh, and most importantly, have lots of different plants, find someone who grows them or grow them yourself. There's a very successful business out in Muldersdrift where the owner has massive variety and has a lot of stuff that he grows/breeds himself. You'll have lots of repeat customers in this section, I know I'm constantly changing the insides of my tanks but keeping the livestock relatively static.

- LIGHTS!!! Don't just stock the hellishly expensive name brands, do your homework and find the cheap alternatives. I don't think there's a single thing discussed more on fish forums than lighting and where to find cheap globes. Maybe even stock some components and kits with instructions for people to make their own DIY LED lights like the moonlights that everyone so desperately wants.

- Have a look at some international stores for inspiration. I've seen some beautiful displays for plants in the UK shops listed on www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk especially Aquajardin, Harrogate Aquatic, and The Green Machine

Basically, you need to capture the customer's imagination and be well informed and supply what they want, not just what you think they want.

Okay, that's a whole lot of stuff, sorry for the long post

 

wow, i'd love to shop at the store you just created Whip... seriosly, its like the reaction guys get to visiting builders warehouse or a huge allrounder hyperama or such.

I've heard people call their stores a pet hyper, you get there and cough and splutter at how understocked it all is, or how FAR it is from what you thought HYPER means...
But the depiction above sounds awesome actually, if the prices aren't (^%*^% crazy...

 

Hehe, I have an "optimising" personality, so this is just what I've built up over the past year that I've been interested in fish
Call it criticism of existing stores with a bit of imagination mixed in.

There are obviously things that will be prohibitively difficult/expensive, like getting intelligent staff at a cheap rate or keeping actual stock of the exotic stuff, but I think most of it can be accomplished with a reasonable amount of research and interest and a customer-centric attitude.

One store that definitely gets it right is Exclusive Pets in Centurion. If they don't have it they'll find it, and that's the right attitude to have. They might be more expensive than other stores, but I keep going back because they know what they're talking about, their tanks are clean, they have a fair amount of exotics, and they're always willing to help. Oh, and they have live brine shrimp for R10 a bag

Another two things to add to the list...
- Water. Either sell RO water, or sell the machines, or have a contact that can get them at a good price. Exclusive Pets has a big tank in the back of the shop and they sell the water that they make.

- Delivery. Maybe at a cost, but it should definitely be free for large orders. Imagine buying a nice new 1.8m tank and only driving a golf. Or buying R500 worth of fish and not having a nice coolerbox or something to catch the water in the case of a leak.

 

If you can take all these points that every body has given you here and actually implement them in to you r future Pet shop you will have the best pet shop in your province and you will be very successful and I who definatly order by you if you were going to courier all over the place.... Hell I would even drive down that way just to visit a pet shop like that

 

What about an online community tank configurator, like on www.thinkfish.co.uk
This with your online resource will help people when making choices.

This being online on your website, people can create tanks, save them , and when they collect.