Question regarding business location  06/03/09
Dear WWM Crew,
<Service to you Adam>
I would like to get your opinion on the best place to open an LFS typed business if I may.
<Ok>
I would like to open a shop with a shop front, just like a regular LFS, but with an off-display area where I can culture and propagate marine organisms.
One of the focuses of my proposed business would be selling cultured livestock where ever possible.
<Sounds good>
Now I could either lease a shop in a retail strip, or near the entrance to an industrial area (ie a factory bay). Both would cost approximately the same, however the industrial area is more then double the size of the
retail shop.
<Hence it costs about half as much>
Both obviously have their benefits and shortfalls. The retail centre will attract more people who may be visiting neighbouring shops, however I'll have half the space and wont be able to do as much breeding and
propagating. The industrial area will give me a lot of space to do whatever I want, but I'll need to spend more on advertising to make sure people know I actually exist!
<Takes time to be recognized in either case... How will you go about this?
And... will you have to generate customer base outright? I.e., are there folks already in the interest you can attract? How so?>
Would you please, in your experience which is greatly more than mine, be able to point me in the direction I should be going?
Thank you immensely,
Adam
<Much more to consider. Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/bizloc.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Interesting idea.... store may open MUCH sooner!!! Please advise!!
Hey again!  I was not going to bug you again for a while lol, however a couple days ago I found out that a LFS was up for sale.  I had called on it and found out all the information.  My partner and I made plans to meet the "real estate agent... broker?" at the store today at 5pm.  Both my partner Shaun and I have been into the store.  Its not HORRIBLE but its not good either.  There are many good points but a couple bad as well.  I will do the bad points first.
BAD:
1.Location... while it is in a good location in general the actual building is in towards the back of a plaza, and not in plain view from the major cross streets.  We found out that some years back this was the "Location to have a business".  It is on 2 major cross streets and about a mile or so from a major freeway the I-17.  So there are goods and bads to the location, but I wonder if being recessed back is THAT big of a deal. Keep in mind both my partner and I have degrees in marketing, and we plan to have a nice flow of postcards and such going out.  There is a small sign on the major street but is it small.  The location is closer to AquaTouch, one of our main competitor (Michael is gonna be pissed at me :(
<Mmm, not so much if you'll be a "good" competitor... "do the job", charge fair prices... All genres of business tend to be clustered... think about this>
That worries me a bit.  There is also another store that has SW but is HORRIBLE! So not to worried about them.
  2. Its going to need some work.... maybe more than some.  The store is a general pet store and they carry mice and feeder rats, YUCK.  So the place is a little "gamey".  They also carry reptiles and a few small animals.
These will all be sold at low prices so we can focus on the SW of the store and get them out ASAP.
The floors need to be redone as its laminate tile. And a little bit of updating and LOTS of cleaning.
3. Because of the location taking this store leaves the room for another LFS to move in farther west (as we were thinking of being farther west) and competing with us that way.  If that happened we would be in between 2 competitor, AquaTouch and store X.  This could be bad and good. We are realistic, and doubt anyone will use our store exclusively for their tank.  
Were hobbyists and we know that's probably not gonna happen.
<... visibility and accessibility are always important issues of retail... You don't mention the "bad will" of buying this/an existing business... this can/does operate in the exact, but opposite way as "good will"... Can be VERY important>
Those are the major concerns that we have.  On the plus side, there are a few nice things!!!
  GOOD
1. The size is NICE! its 4,200 sq ft, and the rent is $2600.00 a month.  
That's WAY cheaper than anything we found, including my dream spot booo hoo.
<DO have someone negotiate the lease for wherever you end up... again... Better money not likely spent>
2.  The store already makes an income.  Last year was a not so good year, as they made net some $140,000, I think that's what he said.  Sales were somewhere in the $250-$300,000 range.
<... there is no way this is the net income from these gross sales... as you will find in time>
  With the break even point being about $7,500 a month, with 2 PT employees.
  (Does that seem cheap to you????)
<This/these figures are fallacious... Have your accountant look over their data>
3. There is a HUGE selection of fresh water fish!  This guy has TONS of tanks all full of healthy stock.
<Not impressed... this can all be purchased...>
  I didn't see any sick fish but they could have cleaned up lol.  I will attach some pics so you can see just how many fish were talking.  They probably have some 200 tanks maybe more!
The salt water section is VERY small.  The owner said he just doesn't know how to do salt water very well. So there are only like 12 SW tanks, and none look very good.
4. Dry goods.  He carries a nice selection of dry goods (some are for reptiles and small pets that will need to go) but there is quite a bit of sock already including quite a few tanks, stands, canopy's etc.  And a decent selection of skimmers, pumps, filters, lights and such.
5. The store is sectioned off, it is actually 3 suites of the building into. A dry goods section then a FW room and then a SW/FW room.  Makes it easy for us IMO.
<Yes>
6. We will have income right away,
<Minus the expense of buying...>
and a client base already established.  All we would have to do its clean the heck outta it, make the SW section the BEST in Phx, with our "reef lounge and killer livestock" and go from there.  Endless possibilities with this and the option to move later is always there also. These things (besides the flooring) can be done wile the store is open.  Seems like a good situation.
7.  The owner also breeds and sells fresh water fish wholesale.  He also owns another suite 3 doors down, which is his breeding building.  So we will be able to get many of our FW fish from him 2 doors down.  That's a huge deal IMO.
They are asking a price of $175,000.00 for everything in the store.  I am pretty sure we can come up with that capitol, and the Woman's Bus. Association, has grants out that I have filed for.  Love being a chick! Free money has a good ring to me!!!  They have a cash price of $150,000.00 , and while I am not relying on the grants if they come through it will total about that.
<Mmm, reserves? I would have available about twice whatever you're going to have to spend to open...>
Shaun is super excited,
<... W/o knowing folks this is hard to express, but I encourage you to wait till all are not excited... Very important to go into such ventures totally
dispassionate re their business aspects>
and I am as well, but having a "idea" of how it will look, and then realizing its not possible is frustrating.  I am referring to a large opened up building, with only about 10% Fw and %90 SW.  He says he makes LOTS of $$ from fresh water as they are so inexpensive to rear.
<Yes... contrary to what many folks think, SW is more expensive per unit... yet sells less, with lower margins, requires more space, feeding... dies more...>
He has been doing this at this store for over 20 years and seems very nice and personable.  I think he is just burnt out, and said "Im old" and "having health issues" so I gotta retire.  Well check out the pics I attached hope they work ok.  Tell me your thoughts, Shaun and I feel like its a great idea just
  if it was more on the west side. :(
Thanks for reading my book lol, and would appreciate any feedback you have oh wise one!
Adrian Poe
Pictures attached.
<Again... worth considering... BobF>

Re: your ol' buddy from the west Texas desert...
Wasn't demeaning PetCo as a chain. This specific store has a bad showing for Saltwater stuff. The supply of books and reading material is abysmal and the livestock selection is very small. The tanks are okay but not great. I blame it on the management of the store not PetCo. I should have made that more apparent.
<No worries... the chains have their shortcomings for sure... space enough for all currently. Bob Fenner> 

Re: your ol' buddy... TURNS OUT
I misstated the name of the store. I went over there at lunch it is a PetSmart store NOT a PetCo. That could be part of the problem. Sorry for any hard feelings my original email may have caused my friend. 
<Again, no worries. Both chains have their strong/weak points... I don't take any of these personally>
I still do not blame the chain, but rather the local management for the lack of interest in Reef Aquaria. There are several people here, even in my own business, that are clamoring for a store 'of our own' where people can learn and start on this hobby. For now, I have brought in my copy of your book and have highly recommended it.
<Ahh, glad you find it worthy>
Regards
Rick
<Perhaps someone there will realize the opportunity, the challenges, and open an independent shop... Bob Fenner> 

Locating A Store
My name is Alfred and I am looking a store in L.A. named Southland Aquatics, Inc. Did You know their phone number?  I have the address to be at 3948 W. 132nd Street Hawthorne, CA Thanks for Your response.
<Well, Alfred, I have not heard of this particular store/business. Short of calling information for the 310 area code or Yahoo! Yellow Pages, I'm not sure of another source for this. I did find a thread from Reef Central regarding some major fish stores in the LA area. Maybe this will help locate others in the area:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=333762
Sorry I could not be of more assistance. Regards, Scott F>

Question about the fish market 9/14/04
Hi Bob,
<Anthony Calfo in his stead>
Do you think Pennsylvania has a good fish market?  
<hmmm... compared to less populous states, perhaps... but really no, in contrast to many other regions/states. Pittsburgh only has about 1 millions residents... the state capital is in a similar ballpark. Really small cities compared to Houston, New York, the Bay Area, Miami, etc>
I plan to open a retail front in the future, and I just wanted your input on what states would have the largest market.  I'm looking for maybe a top 5 or top 10 places to start a retail front.  Thanks. Lan Tran
<my advice is to subscribe to some food industry trade journals for demographic information to start with. Find such publications with some keyword/key phrase searches on a good search engine like google>

Aquarium store locations
Wet Web Media;
    My question concerns the best location to set up a moderate sized aquarium/pet store on the eastern coast.  Are there any web sites that you recommend for demographic information or "trend" information concerning where the industry has a high demand and low supply for a retailer?  Thank you in advance.
<We have a brief survey article: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/bizloc.htm (and see the linked FAQs) on the subject. There are agencies, companies you can use to help you in your location search... but I encourage you to "look around", make your own set of criteria up (proximity to competitors, visibility, accessibility, traffic, economic make-up of travelers, folks who live proximally...), rank them (give them relative point value), and score the various possibilities... to gain a FIRM understanding of what's available and what you're looking for... A very worthwhile exercise. Bob Fenner>
Neal Isaacs

Pet Shops in Virginia
Bob - After so many years on wanting an aquarium , I finally decided to take the plunge. Of course, I am diving in head first into marine. 
<Like the allusions to diving>
Do not be alarmed since, I typically read and educate myself as much as possibility in all my endeavors before I start. 
<A good, sound approach to all life's doings... I would aspire to St. Peter's overall stmt. here: "Know thyself, then love".>
I started with your book - the conscientious marine aquarist - I intend to be very careful about this and go slowly - even to the point of having my tank running for a couple of weeks if possible to make sure it is stabilized in every aspect before even introducing any fish.
<Again, you are to be congratulated; congrats!>
My question is, I can't find a good shop here in Virginia for my supplies. Youstress the importance of the condition of the fish and even how they are harvested. I have found just one main supplier ( Wally's Aquarium) here in Fairfax, Virginia
<I see>
Do you know of any place where I can get quality stuff around here ? Thanks
for your time..
<No, but I do know where I would ask next. Try our chatforum: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/ and others (Reefs.org, reefcentral) on the Net. Scanning their archives with just this question, or joining (they're free) and querying ala Consumer Reports tm, what there is to be had in your region. Bob Fenner>
Victor