Need some input from fellow Red Deer & Area reefer's

[Slick Fork]

Without a storefront I think you're really going to be looking at strictly frags and coral colonies. And at that you'd need enough of a unique/rotating inventory to keep local people stopping in. Even then you're competing with guys like Coral Master who has a pretty solid reputation, eating his lunch won't be easy.

Possibly inverts, ever since "A Marine Experience" quit there hasn't been anyone specialising in that area to the best of my knowledge. Plus you could generate enough interest there I think to ship province wide. I like the handle "Snail King"

I think fish would be more trouble than they're worth on such a small scale.

Forget about hardware, food, salt etc. You simply won't be able to sell enough volume from your house to compete price-wise and still make it worth your while. Unless you branch out into something nobody else has meaning people HAVE to go to you.

When doing your calculations, always remember to ask yourself why would people buy from me? Being local is nice but there is another place that carries some SW stuff in Red Deer (don't know if I can mention names but we all know who he is) and that's not enough for me to go see him. Are people going to come see you because of price? or Unique Inventory? Without a location right in Red Deer you lose convenience and drop in traffic

I'd really like to see something open up locally but it's a really tough market and I'd hate to see you dump a ton of cash and time into this and get burned. If you're not going to go with a storefront, I would suggest starting really small with the goal of subsidising your own tanks. Grow when and where you can but take really small steps to start.

[Llamarama]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

I'd really like to see something open up locally but it's a really tough market and I'd hate to see you dump a ton of cash and time into this and get burned.

+1

[Seafan]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have to agree with most of the comments on this thread so far. Many times the same idea has crossed my mind as I am a stay at home mom that has had it with household duties, and looking to get out of my rut so to speak. Anyways, I just haven't personally seen enough potential in the area without doing it all the way either (storefront and large array of product). With such a small group of reefers, and many of us probably use different product, you can't carry enough to please everyone and get them in your door to shop. I'm very much an impulse buyer, I always go to calgary for my salt, with the intention that this time I'm only getting salt, but always come away with quite a few other items that were not on my list. That's how the store's all make their money. I am probably the only one in the area that uses my brand of salt, unfortunately, so I will always have the need to go to the city meaning they will get the most of my reefing dollars. Not that I wouldn't support a local business, I would try when I could. Good luck and I hope things turnaround for you soon. It would be so nice if one of us could actually get a real storefront up and operating sometime in the near future.

[The Grizz]

Another thought I had was if one of the shop in the big city's would be interested in a distributor in this area. For special order livestock and coral, equipment and anything else one might need.

I don't know what would work but if there was a way to get the things we need / want and save some $$ on traveling cost, that would be a few extra $ to spend on our hobby. And who know it might lead to a full store something that is really needed here. I know for a fact that there are way more salties here in Red Deer area that are not on CanReef.

Just a thought

[Slick Fork]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

Another thought I had was if one of the shop in the big city's would be interested in a distributor in this area. For special order livestock and coral, equipment and anything else one might need.

I don't know what would work but if there was a way to get the things we need / want and save some $$ on traveling cost, that would be a few extra $ to spend on our hobby. And who know it might lead to a full store something that is really needed here. I know for a fact that there are way more salties here in Red Deer area that are not on CanReef.

Just a thought

That might be handy, but how would you make your money? You would have to charge over and above retail price to make it worth while for both you and the retailer which again puts you as the most expensive option.

For me personally, I like to go look at a fish a few times before I buy it. Corals are a little more spur of the moment but I still have to see it before I pay for it. So I would be down in Calgary or Edmonton for that anyways. With hardware, if I am special ordering something then price becomes king and Canada Post gets it (almost) to my door.

With livestock you REALLY need to get that drop in traffic, and I won't go to someones house to Window shop and impulse buy like I would in a store. Others might, I'm just speaking personally.

I don't doubt that there is a non-canreef SW population in the Red Deer area, but without the visibility that a store-front provides... how will they know who and where you are?

If you really want to do something out of your house, then make it something that we don't have in Alberta. Mail order hardware and livestock is so abundant right now I just can't see you having a competitive edge there. The invert thing was a suggestion, I am really happy with the stand you made for me and I would bet there's a market for custom built stands, especially if you looked at common door manufacturers like Ikea and figured out how to build your stand so that it's compatible with their doors so people could finish it off by themselves easily and to their taste.... I know if you whipped up light racks/light stands you would sell those (just look at how many posts you see in a month along the lines of "I got this light fixture and don't know how to hang it").

If you get something going that's unique then you not only get the Red Deer market but you will get people travelling from Calgary and Edmonton as well.

[Snufflupagus]

I'd love to see a store locally opened, whether it be out of yournhouse or some store front. Whatever you choose to do, I would gladly support your efforts. I'd think some kind of mini store, maybe rent part of another store out to star would be a good idea. More of the population would get into the salt water hobby, if there was some kind of identity along with the business. I'm sorry to hear about you troubles lately.

[Slick Fork]

If you were to open a very small storefront... I don't know that you would even need to have it in an expensive neighbourhood. You could probably get away with something in riverside industrial or one of those tiny little shops downtown, and run it from, say 4-8. I think that's what the guys at Red Coral Lethbridge are doing... evenings and weekends. That would allow you to keep your day job until the store was self sufficient. That would give you exposure + keep people OUT of your house and allow you the drop in traffic to expand the Red Deer market.

I don't think you need to buy a franchise, if you were to be the only game in town then the franchise fee is just an expense and it limits you to what you can bring in. I will guarantee that NOBODY in Red Deer would say "Oh boy, a new shop, if only it was a Blue world Red Deer, or Red Coral Red Deer" If there were 4 or 5 other shops in town then a recognizable name might give you an edge. For now, people will be happy to have something.

[The Grizz]

I do hear you about a store Slick but I don't have the $30 - $40K to do it or it would already be open. The one bonus in doing it out of my shop / office building is that there is plenty of RO water on site and if anything was to go wrong I am right here not 1/2 hr away.

[Slick Fork]

Your startup costs will be the same though except for Rent. (if we're comparing opening a shop at your house vs a shop in Red Deer). You would still need several tanks for corals and fish and a small startup amount of dry goods. You will need those no matter where you set up. The million dollar question becomes will the increase in business from a storefront offset the added expense of the rent.

You can minimize some of the startup costs by inviting established coral/fish businesses to put some stuff out there on consignment. You could do the same with local reefers. Let them put some frags out and just take a sellers fee.

As for being a half hour away if something goes wrong. Unless you plan on checking up on your home tanks on a regular basis through the night then if you spring a leak your screwed either way. You still won't find it until the morning.

[Wingin It]

"Reefers Closet"!!!!