I spend a lot of time talking with fellow "industry" people, and I hear a lot of the same things...
Online vendors moan about how Amazon and eBay are killing their sales, brick and mortar stores complain about how online stores are hurting them...urghh...It is frustrating sometimes. For some weird reason, the "business guy" in me wanted to come out to play today and throw out some ideas for the much beleaguered "LFS's" out there.
There is a better way..I think.
Now, don't get me wrong- I'm no expert on running a brick-and-mortar store (and it can be argued the same in the online arena, too..), but I do like to think and ponder and sometimes, I come up with ideas that, in talented hands (not mine) might just work. None of the stuff I'm talking about here hasn't been entertained by someone at one time or another...But no one has done it...yet. People are convinced that we can't because "it's not done that way."
Urrgh...Get that crap out of your head...NOW!
I read a lot in various business publications about how Amazon entered as a disruptive force back in the day and shook up the online market forever. It did. Recently, I read that Amazon has applied for a patent for a point of sale (point of sale) system...Well, point of sale systems are used in...brick-and-mortar stores! Could it be- the mighty Amazon has reached its asymptotic limit and is looking for more fertile fields? Could it be that I simply don't know what the ------- I'm talking about?
Yeah, more likely.
Anyhow, not knowing what I'm talking about has never kept me from talking about stuff...often to my own downfall.
Oh well, here's my idea for today.
Go back to the wonder, the awe, and the experience that only you can deliver. Imagine if the internet was here before the brick and mortar store. What would customers think, upon entering your store for the first time, and actually seeing and getting to touch stuff? Time for YOU to be the disruptive source...embark on the Blue Ocean.
Ahh..the wonder of it all..remember?
For all you brick-and-mortar people, or those contemplating a brick and mortar store, I am sure you may have thought of this once before, but here goes:
Re-imagine your store like a website!
Huh?
Think about it: Customers go to a website and browse. If they like what they see, they buy. Crazy concept. Often times, in regards to dry goods, specifically, a customer has questions or needs information about a product that is simply unobtainable by reading or viewing online. They need to handle the product, see how it is built, works, fits in their setup, etc. What has been happening recently is that people go into the LFS to "touch" the product, then race home and buy on line.
Urr.
The disconnect, IMHO, is that the LFS simply cannot stock everything that the online vendor offers, especially not at blowout prices. Or can they? It's no secret that most LFS would gladly order you an item if you want it, even if they don't stock it. Let's face it, with retail store overhead and economic pressures, you simply can't expect the LFS to stock every item.
So part of my suggestion is for the LFS to act more like a point of sale "kiosk" for the dry goods they want to carry. In other words, instead of having 3 of every single cannister filter out there, the store might have a representative model from each line in the "store" for customers to look at. If the customer likes, he/she orders from the store on the spot, and has it in a few days...just like online. They could either pick it up, or perhaps you could drop ship it. I think it's better for them to pick it up. Pricing could be competitive with many online vendors.
Disrupt the model...it's possible.
Not exactly revolutionary, but it's a start. It's known in retailing as "omnichannel retailing", and it's an interesting concept. Potential downsides? There are a few, and you'll have to think through them (I'm not gonna give you EVERY single bit of information here; creativity is needed).
Some examples:
Wholesalers have minimums, and you can't just order a $12 net and expect the wholesaler to deliver it to your store cheerfully in a few days. You may have to wait a day or two until you accumulate enough orders to place an order with your wholesaler.
Other problem. You still have to stock some items for immediate gratification, such as foods, medications, carbon, etc., and you have to decide which ones are necessary to stock...Not a difficult problem, but something to think about.
So the mid 21st century LFS, in this model, will become more of a smaller, lean, clean "kiosk" or "fulfillment center", product-wise- which makes it competitive with the online guys from a price standpoint, time-to-delivery standpoint, and offers the wonderful advantages of direct face-to-face interaction with a genuine fish geek who can answer questions, show comparisons, and interact in a way that's just not possible online. And, you have all of the great potential for "upselling" ("Well, if you're buying that reactor, have you tried "XYZ" media in it? We have some...").
This type of model allows brick and mortar to kick some butt on the Amazon garage vendors that have been hurting them so much for so long. You simply won't get the service that you'll get from a LFS.
It's a bold change, fraught with some challenges, including initial customer resistance to the concept of going in to buy something and not leaving with it, but that is easily overcome with that most elusive of all ingredients- the personal touch and branding that only YOU can provide.
So, what about livestock? Well, this is a bit different, too. There are no doubt ways to approach that. You should definitely have a nice selection of stuff for customers, so that they can walk in and do the time-honored thing of buying a bunch of neon tetras on impulse and taking them home. However, what about having a "virtual inventory", where you have a few tanks filled with your top-selling stuff, and then a couple of iPads of things you can get in 2-3 days...Like corals, speciality fish, etc.
You'll have to do some "curation" of offerings here, and monitor what your suppliers have available...which can change often...and take time and energy. It's at least as easy as maintaining 50 tanks of fish and corals, and you can use your staff in a more sales-driven endeavour. It will eliminate dangerous impulse buying and perhaps even save lives of animals...It will require you to interact with a lot of different suppliers, some of whom will want nothing to do with you. But I'll bet a number of them will work with you. Some might think progressively and embrace it! You can even have "weekly specials" like a restaurant ("This week, we're highlighting Unique Corals Acros, or XYZ Corals Acans", or whatever...). Prices can be competitive with online suppliers to reflect the new realities of lower operating costs. You may have to figure out minimums and such with the suppliers, but these are details that can be figured out.
Who could help you with out-of-the-box approaches to offering livestock?
It will involve coordination with your suppliers, and forging a new type of supply model...Some wholesalers and purveyors of products will hate you for it. Others will recognize this as a new model for retail and support you. Yeah, forging a new direction is scary, hard work, and often times fraught with frustration. But it can be hugely rewarding.
I'm sick and tired of seeing local fish stores beaten down, berated, and out-flanked by online vendors of dubious quality...Or even of good quality. It's time for the venerable institution of the LFS to take a stand and fight back. Re-imagine the business model. Run a store like a website...do something to shake up the concept. Don't be afraid. Of course it's weird, and there area hundred reasons why it can fail...and an equal number of reasons why it will succeed spectacularly. This won't work for every LFS in every market...But it can help a few hard-working people who are willing to be bold and think differently.
Would he be afraid to chart a new course? Should you be?
Wow, I've really stuck my foot into it this time, huh? Shaking up the industry a bit? I know for a fact a lot of people will just hate me more for this. I could care less. The LFS is what built the hobby, and a newer, leaner, more creative LFS will keep it going into the future. Actually, it can benefit everyone! The online guys win, brick-and-mortar wins. They hobby wins. A new model for supply and distribution can emerge that can help everyone.
Okay, I'll shut up for now. However, if anyone cares to keep this one going, I'm open for it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the LFS is not on the decline...it's in a Renaissance, and is ripe for re-imgaining.
Long live the LFS!!!
Stay focused, stay creative...stay positive...
And Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Online vendors moan about how Amazon and eBay are killing their sales, brick and mortar stores complain about how online stores are hurting them...urghh...It is frustrating sometimes. For some weird reason, the "business guy" in me wanted to come out to play today and throw out some ideas for the much beleaguered "LFS's" out there.
There is a better way..I think.
Now, don't get me wrong- I'm no expert on running a brick-and-mortar store (and it can be argued the same in the online arena, too..), but I do like to think and ponder and sometimes, I come up with ideas that, in talented hands (not mine) might just work. None of the stuff I'm talking about here hasn't been entertained by someone at one time or another...But no one has done it...yet. People are convinced that we can't because "it's not done that way."
Urrgh...Get that crap out of your head...NOW!
I read a lot in various business publications about how Amazon entered as a disruptive force back in the day and shook up the online market forever. It did. Recently, I read that Amazon has applied for a patent for a point of sale (point of sale) system...Well, point of sale systems are used in...brick-and-mortar stores! Could it be- the mighty Amazon has reached its asymptotic limit and is looking for more fertile fields? Could it be that I simply don't know what the ------- I'm talking about?
Yeah, more likely.
Anyhow, not knowing what I'm talking about has never kept me from talking about stuff...often to my own downfall.
Oh well, here's my idea for today.Go back to the wonder, the awe, and the experience that only you can deliver. Imagine if the internet was here before the brick and mortar store. What would customers think, upon entering your store for the first time, and actually seeing and getting to touch stuff? Time for YOU to be the disruptive source...embark on the Blue Ocean.
Ahh..the wonder of it all..remember?
For all you brick-and-mortar people, or those contemplating a brick and mortar store, I am sure you may have thought of this once before, but here goes:
Re-imagine your store like a website!
Huh?
Think about it: Customers go to a website and browse. If they like what they see, they buy. Crazy concept. Often times, in regards to dry goods, specifically, a customer has questions or needs information about a product that is simply unobtainable by reading or viewing online. They need to handle the product, see how it is built, works, fits in their setup, etc. What has been happening recently is that people go into the LFS to "touch" the product, then race home and buy on line.
Urr.
The disconnect, IMHO, is that the LFS simply cannot stock everything that the online vendor offers, especially not at blowout prices. Or can they? It's no secret that most LFS would gladly order you an item if you want it, even if they don't stock it. Let's face it, with retail store overhead and economic pressures, you simply can't expect the LFS to stock every item.
So part of my suggestion is for the LFS to act more like a point of sale "kiosk" for the dry goods they want to carry. In other words, instead of having 3 of every single cannister filter out there, the store might have a representative model from each line in the "store" for customers to look at. If the customer likes, he/she orders from the store on the spot, and has it in a few days...just like online. They could either pick it up, or perhaps you could drop ship it. I think it's better for them to pick it up. Pricing could be competitive with many online vendors.
Disrupt the model...it's possible.
Not exactly revolutionary, but it's a start. It's known in retailing as "omnichannel retailing", and it's an interesting concept. Potential downsides? There are a few, and you'll have to think through them (I'm not gonna give you EVERY single bit of information here; creativity is needed).
Some examples:
Wholesalers have minimums, and you can't just order a $12 net and expect the wholesaler to deliver it to your store cheerfully in a few days. You may have to wait a day or two until you accumulate enough orders to place an order with your wholesaler.
Other problem. You still have to stock some items for immediate gratification, such as foods, medications, carbon, etc., and you have to decide which ones are necessary to stock...Not a difficult problem, but something to think about.
So the mid 21st century LFS, in this model, will become more of a smaller, lean, clean "kiosk" or "fulfillment center", product-wise- which makes it competitive with the online guys from a price standpoint, time-to-delivery standpoint, and offers the wonderful advantages of direct face-to-face interaction with a genuine fish geek who can answer questions, show comparisons, and interact in a way that's just not possible online. And, you have all of the great potential for "upselling" ("Well, if you're buying that reactor, have you tried "XYZ" media in it? We have some...").
This type of model allows brick and mortar to kick some butt on the Amazon garage vendors that have been hurting them so much for so long. You simply won't get the service that you'll get from a LFS.
It's a bold change, fraught with some challenges, including initial customer resistance to the concept of going in to buy something and not leaving with it, but that is easily overcome with that most elusive of all ingredients- the personal touch and branding that only YOU can provide.
So, what about livestock? Well, this is a bit different, too. There are no doubt ways to approach that. You should definitely have a nice selection of stuff for customers, so that they can walk in and do the time-honored thing of buying a bunch of neon tetras on impulse and taking them home. However, what about having a "virtual inventory", where you have a few tanks filled with your top-selling stuff, and then a couple of iPads of things you can get in 2-3 days...Like corals, speciality fish, etc.
You'll have to do some "curation" of offerings here, and monitor what your suppliers have available...which can change often...and take time and energy. It's at least as easy as maintaining 50 tanks of fish and corals, and you can use your staff in a more sales-driven endeavour. It will eliminate dangerous impulse buying and perhaps even save lives of animals...It will require you to interact with a lot of different suppliers, some of whom will want nothing to do with you. But I'll bet a number of them will work with you. Some might think progressively and embrace it! You can even have "weekly specials" like a restaurant ("This week, we're highlighting Unique Corals Acros, or XYZ Corals Acans", or whatever...). Prices can be competitive with online suppliers to reflect the new realities of lower operating costs. You may have to figure out minimums and such with the suppliers, but these are details that can be figured out.
Who could help you with out-of-the-box approaches to offering livestock?
It will involve coordination with your suppliers, and forging a new type of supply model...Some wholesalers and purveyors of products will hate you for it. Others will recognize this as a new model for retail and support you. Yeah, forging a new direction is scary, hard work, and often times fraught with frustration. But it can be hugely rewarding.
I'm sick and tired of seeing local fish stores beaten down, berated, and out-flanked by online vendors of dubious quality...Or even of good quality. It's time for the venerable institution of the LFS to take a stand and fight back. Re-imagine the business model. Run a store like a website...do something to shake up the concept. Don't be afraid. Of course it's weird, and there area hundred reasons why it can fail...and an equal number of reasons why it will succeed spectacularly. This won't work for every LFS in every market...But it can help a few hard-working people who are willing to be bold and think differently.
Would he be afraid to chart a new course? Should you be?
Wow, I've really stuck my foot into it this time, huh? Shaking up the industry a bit? I know for a fact a lot of people will just hate me more for this. I could care less. The LFS is what built the hobby, and a newer, leaner, more creative LFS will keep it going into the future. Actually, it can benefit everyone! The online guys win, brick-and-mortar wins. They hobby wins. A new model for supply and distribution can emerge that can help everyone.
Okay, I'll shut up for now. However, if anyone cares to keep this one going, I'm open for it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the LFS is not on the decline...it's in a Renaissance, and is ripe for re-imgaining.
Long live the LFS!!!
Stay focused, stay creative...stay positive...
And Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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