New fish and aquarium store in Fort McMurray

[FMMreefer]

Hello fellow reefers in Fort McMurray. I am currently studying the market feasability of opening a store for us hobbyists locally. With only one store in town selection is limited. Please post your support if you live here.I am also looking out to the business community who may be interested in opening a store in Fort McMurray burn turned off by the cost of doing business here. There may be ways we could together to ease into the area. Please PM me if there is any interest.

[NorthernCoral]

Desperatly needed! There is actually no reef store in town as Northstar pets does not rank amoung the poorest quality of stores in existance. I think if there was a place that would reflect what the hobby is about , there would be alot of newcomers to the reefing community.

[reefgirl189]

I used to live up there for 6 years. The only pet store up there (at the time, I believe there is a dog/cat food/grooming store up there now) was overpriced to say the least. And you know what? That's perfectly okay! I understand rent is high and the cost of staff is also, but both the management and staff in there were absolutely horrendous. The manager/owner was the most rude person in the store if you can believe it.

Yes, you have a huge market for a store up there. Especially if you have even a small idea about what customer service is. The customer isn't always right, but when they are wrong there's no need to tell them what an idiot they are! LOL

BTW There was at one time a lady who opened up a fish store out of her house in Thickwood or Timberlea. She didn't do too well and closed down less than a year after she opened. I can't remember the name of her store at the moment, sorry.

[NorthernCoral]

Originally Posted by reefgirl189

I understand rent is high and the cost of staff is also, but both the management and staff in there were absolutely horrendous. The manager/owner was the most rude person in the store if you can believe it.

+++++1 Lol when I asked where her liverock was from she refused to tell me. She also wouldn't tell me where her absolutely minimal livestock was from, like I was going to contact her supplier and cut her out of the deal.

[chris88]

the reason there isnt a large backing of people up here is because there isnt a quality pet store to help build the hobby.with a population of 110,000 which is set to double in 5 years there is a huge opportunity. i think someone would have to start it out of thier basdment and slowly grow the backing. after that, move into a small commercial space.

[Jeff000]

Another issue is most of the population is transient and won't commit to a reef tank.

[chris88]

true but with a population of 120,000 and growing fast there should be atleast 3 pet stores. Its the third biggest city in alberta and on route to reach 200,000 in less then 5 years and it will have one dingy poorly run pet store.

[scuba ken]

Originally Posted by chris88

true but with a population of 120,000 and growing fast there should be atleast 3 pet stores. Its the third biggest city in alberta and on route to reach 200,000 in less then 5 years and it will have one dingy poorly run pet store.

And the majority of transient people there live in camps, there is a huge permenemt base of people there, me for 1, I have lived in FMM for almost 8 years, toyed Witt he idea of setting up a coral world in a garage for the longest of times.

NorthStar pets is bloody disgusting, it's filthy the manager is most certainly the rudest person I have ever spoken to, and the level of knowledge is only 2nd to the Feeder fish who just seem to be there to die .........................

The display tanks are nasty, the prices are crazy and everything you buy comes with its own little disaster waiting to happen.

I bought a sea lone skimmer (emergency) 100 from there for $315.00, they retail for between 85-110$
Rip off ! ! !

[intarsiabox]

According to the Chamber of Commerce the city itself has about 77,000 people which is plenty for a large well stocked pet store. I lived there myself years ago and at the time Northstar was pretty good and the owner was always friendly. Now would a dedicated saltwater store work, I'm not sure. I can already get all of my dry goods cheaper online than locally and shipped directly to my door, salt would be the only exception, so the same already stands for residents of FMM. Livestock would be great to have locally and lack there of is probably why there isn't many reefers there, but I would be concerned about the shipping mortality rates for the winter. Have you found a wholesaler willing to ship there with a guaranteed survival rate of any sort? Prices would also have to be high due to labour and building lease rates but people would probably be OK with that if they didn't want to make the trip to Edmonton with a cooler and heat packs. A large full serviced pet store would probably be a sure money maker but start up cost would be astronomical. You could always test the waters by starting out in your home with livestock and a small selection of dry goods to see if there is an appetite for it and make the jump from there. Good luck!

[scuba ken]

I (and a mate) already import fish direct from international suppliers, we don't do many, but have put several orders through, we were amazed at the prices, the shipping seemed to run at about $1000.00 and that didn't seem to move much regardless of the fish ordered.

Clowns $4
Bi color angels $6
Tangs $4-12 a piece
Clown trigger 2". $9
Blue face angel 2" $14
Juvenile Emporer Angel $10


Corals similar prices

We have sold and ordered fish for friends and work mates, they were fine, the biggest problem we could see was "how do u man a store a d keep working in the oil sands?" there is a way, we are still working those details through.