Fix the big box LFS stock list

Glabe

Glabe

River Rat
May 10, 2011
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so, there's a promotion headed my way within the next week for aquatic specialist. Thank you Aquagirl63 for the nice thread as an advice reference. The bottom line of the post is the most important. the rest is a wall of text.

I'm writing up a proposal to the head animal lady of the district to change up some of the fish stock. So far as a "fish guy" and not yet the aquatic spec, all i've been able to do is get Ottos in stock. luckily, they've been selling, and that built a bit of credibility. I'm planning on using the LFS's slogan to my advantage "healthy pets. happy people. better world."

for reference, SKU means a code for a fish. so our common plecos have 3 SKUs, one for each size

1st on my list: get rid of the two smaller of the three Common Pleco SKUs. The smaller sized plecos are deceiving people into thinking they'll fit into their tank, even after we try to educate them. I can't completely get rid of all of the "top selling algae control", so i'm hoping to get rid of the smaller ones. I don't mind keeping the 5" ones because there are alot of old people here with koi ponds, and 10g peeps don't want them. we also have 3 sizes of CAE and one albino size... 4 total.

2nd: get rid of half of our SKUs for livebearers and fish who look very similar. we currently have 4 types of baloon mollies. assorted, assorted sailfin, assorted lyretail, and assorted butterfly lyretail. We have only a small aquatics section, and the average customer doesn't know the difference, and doesn't care to know the difference. They're just living in the tanks... another example is the hi-fin variatus vs red-tail variatus. put them side by side, and the customer wouldn't know the difference. They just live in our tanks until the horrible conditions defeat them. we also have 3 types of rosy barbs who are the same species, just different color variations. all very similar, none sell well. it's dumb.

3rd: add some casual aquarist-friendly stock. mainly the galaxy rasbora/celestial pearl danio. a tiny fish that looks great and will better fit the 10g tanks that most customers have. also, zebra nerites for algae control (we can't seem to keep mystery snails alive in our tanks...)

I'm very relieved we don't have ANY brackish fish, so that's not an issue :y220e: also, they started ordering more prime because I sell all of the 2 bottles they put on our shelves... can't seem to get people to use liquid test kits tho... and i wish there was a way to get rid of all the pictures on products! 2 goldfish in a bowl and 3 tricho gouramis in a 5 gal... people accept these pictures as truths, and don't believe us when we tell them no.



Any other stock suggestions would be wonderful! our aquatics peeps are pretty solid, tho more liberal than i like. I'm more concerned about stock atm.
 
Not sure what you already carry...

BN pleco
Glowlight danios- should have more than a 10 gal but smaller and more calm
Lyre tail or other easy killi
Green/gold/black neon
Daisey's rice fish (O. wowrae)
Pygmy cories (high on cute factor)
Shellies
Trying to think small tank but not crazy fussy. Ok I guess green neons are pretty touchy. You would have to think kids would love the shellies.
 
Glowlights are smaller than zebra danios, I meant to say
 
Your correct on keeping your offerings limited to ones that sell well. The aquatic's section if not managed well loses money in the average big box store. They have them mainly to sell food, tanks, meds, etc with better profit margins and good shelf lives. How many customers purchase $5 of fish and $100 of equipment?

Live bearers you really only need 6-8 distinct species/color patterns. They do well in small tanks, are pretty and flashy. Most people want color in their tank and these add lot's of it. Stay away from strains that are delicate and die in the store (most baloons). Most consumers can't recognize a diseased fish but if they see a dead one they don't buy out of the tank.

I concur with the BN pleco's. They are very easy to keep and they fit in smaller tanks. These are what most people are looking for when they buy a common pleco. Then they are surprised when it get's huge. Getting rid of the smaller sized Common Pleco and then stocking the BN pleco next too it will make them move more. BN pleco's are usually more expensive as well so the bean counters will like that. This also limits there sale when you have the small sized common pleco next door.

Hope that you have fun while your doing it.
 
mesto said:
Not sure what you already carry...
Click to expand...

that's true, but we don't carry anything that you mentioned, except the black neon. I'll look into these and their nicknames and see what we have on the availability list. it's a bit limited due to the distributor...

THE V said:
Hope that you have fun while your doing it.
Click to expand...

oh, it's tons of fun! everyone likes to be well armed when they go up against their superiors. If they tell me no, i'll just start stealing stuff. JK, I'll just keep badgering them and refusing the sale of any common pleco/CAE.
 
Want to sell more liquid test kits? Use them when you do your water checks. When asked be honest and say while the strips are quick, the liquid is more accurate. Demonstrate that it is no more compicated than following a set of mac and cheese directions.

While it may not be possible to pull the tank busters from the shelves, see if you can add additional information. Like "this fish will out grow a 10 gallon in 6 months.

Work on some signage. Something along the lines of "Our goal is healthy happy pets. With that in mind, many fish you see here will double and even triple in size (or more!) from what you see here during thier normal life span. Many times what will fit in your tank today won't fit 6 months from now. If you are wondering about a peticular fish, please ask one of our helpful staff..blah blah blah", you get the idea. Many times customers don't want to appear unknowledgeable.

Doubly so with filters and additives. Some people just don't know what he right size filter is or that over filtration just doesn't really exist. They see the conditions related to crowding in your tanks and automatically assume that is what they can do in their lil 10 gal tank and then pick up the 5-10 gal filter.

Think about a rehome tank. I know a couple of the big boxes around me have them with their live plants. Coinicidentally, both of them are managed by "fish" people so they understand the need. especially conisder this if you are living in a warm water state where invasives are a problem. Both of them that I know don't give any store credit, but then turn around and sell them for .25-.50 no store warenty, etc.

Change what you can on the stock list, but with corporate setting those mostly, you are usually SOL. Education though is where you can really make a change. There is no reason why a big box can't be just as knowledgeable as a mom and pop.
 
thanks for the replies, and that seems like solid advice, Tol. We should put some of those "#1 piece of advice" thread rules on the wall next to the compatible fish chart

and i absolutely despise some of the middle aged women who are above our advice. "will these do well in my tank?" "no because blah blah." ...blank stare... "ok, can i get one?"
 
One thing I forgot - congratulations on the promotion! You'll be great, I wish the local big box near me had someone as dedicated. They are not terrible, just totally operating on corporate-style knowledge.
 
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