peoples thoughts and opinions on calgary lfs???

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by kien

It really boils down to perspective. As this thread suggests, we all have or own ideas of how we would run a fish store. What would seem to make complete sense to one of us can easily sound ridiculous to another. Consider this though, one store in particular that we all love to bitch about has been around for ages without changing their business practices one iota. I'm not trying to defend their practices here. I'm just sayin'. They have managed to stick around and have seen hobbyists come and go. They've out lived much nicer, posher, more updated, more connected to customers, more tech (online) savvy stores that have come and gone. Go figure

while this store has been around for ages you would be surprised to know of some major changes about to happen there...i know this for a fact


so while we like to think that they dont care ...some do.

it took sometime but that particular store owner is about to change his whole business around......why??

because times are forcing him to do so or the business goes downhill, years ago you would drop in to see what the store had...now people are ordering stuff online.in order to compete a business either needs to out do the other business in what it sells or improve oon their own business.


business has gone down over the years because of a few things one is the internet, its easier to ship now adays and with the improvements in the hobby and how much easier it is to keep things alive most people are willing to ship and do business online.

its become the norm for alot...

[Reef_Geek]

They should care... because BATfishMAN will make them pay... oh he'll make them pay...

[kien]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

Real estate is not cheap. Take the location of the stores and it says alot, they are not located in overly desirable locations, the 2 on 16th ave are not bad, the one on 17th...hmm, but I know rents are alot cheaper than if they were located at South Trail Crossing or Crowfoot or Beacon Hill (sorry for those in the south, not overly familier with shopping centres your way).

This is a very good point that a lot of people don't consider. I live in the south and I would LOVE to have a store in the south. However, there is virtually NO cheap real estate in the south. The locations that are cheap are very sketchy. Take for example Red Coral's previous location. While the store there was awesome, I would personally be concerned to leave my car there for an extended period of time. And even at that location it was still MORE EXPENSIVE than their previous location in the north. Anyway, what this means is that virtually any reasonable location in the south is going to mean that prices will be higher. And well, we all know how we feel about high prices right? Take for example the fish store that we used to have right off of MacLeod Trail South. Personally I thought it was a nice store. Great location, nice layout, decent stock. However, I hardly ever saw any foot traffic in that store and even I myself rarely frequented that store due to their high prices. I certainly can not blame them. They have to make ends meet like all the other stores.

[kien]

Originally Posted by reefwars

while this store has been around for ages you would be surprised to know of some major changes about to happen there...i know this for a fact

I'm going to hold you to that!

[reefwars]

ok some more lol


what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the good things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

[kien]

Originally Posted by reefwars

ok some more lol


what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

SHARKS! And lots of them! Kids love sharks! Bonus points for sharks with lasers, but not required. Just a nice to have.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by kien

I'm going to hold you to that!

personally i think this guy is a great man , hes obviously has done great things and his business being around after so many years is proof of that.

but yup the changes have already started, its not something a business can do over night without costing alot but sometimes its the small things that build up to something better.

i wouldnt be surprised if you seen him as a sponsor on canreef in the future

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by kien

SHARKS! And lots of them! Kids love sharks! Bonus points for sharks with lasers, but not required. Just a nice to have.

we all know that any sharks with lasers are snatched up as soon as they arrive....they make great pets lol

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by reefwars

ok some more lol


what about kids....people like to bring their kids to the stores and see all the pretty things , whats some of the things or concerns parents may have when doing the family trip to the store??

It may not be that people like to bring their children to the store, but are required to. There are plenty of times when hubby is working on the weekend, and I have to bring #2 son with me if I want to go.

Basically, open tanks on the floors (especially with things like stingrays in them) and exposed plumbing, valves, and switches are a big no-no if curious children could be in the store.

[Reef_Geek]

10 years in a LFS, actually I've seen far too many parents when they're not really into the hobby themselves, but wanted something that their kids can look at. Not a big customer segment, and not typically long lived hobbyists either. Hobbyists with kids... you're either a hobbyist who happens to have kids, or you're not a hobbyist and stay that way. It's too bad.

can I suggest... BATfishMAN?