Here's something I've been thinking about. Ok maybe profit margin has come down a bit. But demand has gone up. You can see that more and more people are getting into the hobby and I believe profits are increasing even though margins are going down. This is due to the increased demand and supply. And when both supply and demand goes up, the result is that profits go up too (generally).
The reason I believe this is because there are now way more selection (in terms of stores, stock, and inventory) than ever and the livestock are turning over at a fast pace (often, something I see 1 week is gone the next week or 2). Fresh water stores are now carrying reef animals (Finomenal, Aquariums West, Perky's, King Ed), stores that stopped selling marines are now selling again (Paul's). New stores are popping up (Aquafanatics, Denman Pets, Ocean Aquatics, Hidden Reef,Aquatic Kingdom). Big Al's in Richmond has expanded their marine section by about 30-40% and now has more selection than ever. If it was true that Vancouverites were cheap and that profits in marines are going down, then these situations would not happen. Instead, you would see stores folding, and you would see Big Al's reducing the marine section. Yes, Vancouver reefers have it good here but it seems that the retailers are having it good as well.
Ok, I can believe that margins are down. But I believe the margins in the aquarium hobby are much better than other luxuries such as cars, electronics, computers, etc. It appears that the business side of things is healthy. Business seems good right now to me and it appears that profits (earnings) are up (not for all stores, but in general).
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