Saltwater Fish - Interview w/ Chris Buerner
Chris Buerner, President of Quality Marine, believes proper education and an understanding of local demographics can lead to unequivocal success in the saltwater fish category.
Q: Pet Business: What do retailers need to know if they plan on selling marine fish?
A: Chris Buerner: One of the most important things retailers must do is identify the demographic to which they plan on selling their aquarium products. More affluent areas may be a better model for selling rare, more expensive animals, whereas in a less affluent area the focus should be on the bread and butter animals. Market demographics really predict and dictate what range of fish retailers should carry. Retailers also must make sure they carry healthy animals. Absolutely, unequivocally, retailers have to make sure the fish they are selling are going to live for the consumer. The consumer is going to be coming back over and over if they are happy. After a couple of problems, the hobbyist is either no longer going to remain with the hobby, or hell find another fish store that will give him a better quality product and better advice.
Advice is also something that is very important for retailers to be able to provide a consumer. Information like compatibility among fishes, mixing of species in the same aquariums and giving customers direction in what type of tank theyd like to establish whether its a reef type tank or a more fish oriented tank is very important. There is a lot of knowledge that retailers can impart on a new hobbyist thatll keep that hobbyist coming back.
Q: Why get involved with this category?
A: The local pet store has a big advantage in selling marine fish, in that the big superstores dont really handle this category. While local pet shops may have dwindling margins on the freshwater side of the sector- because the Wal-Marts, Petcos, and Petsmarts are involved - we have seen a lot of local pet stores develop their marine sections because its an un-impacted market. Every pet shop carries freshwater fish, but not every pet shop carries marine fish.
If done correctly, the category can be profitable. If done incorrectly, like anything, it can be a disaster. In many cases the storeowner is a hobbyist himself. Generally, like any business, if you dont enter out of love for the hobby, its got to be because its a profit center. There are a number of retail shops that are successful selling only marine fish. If they are in an area where there isnt a lot of choice for the hobbyist, then they can capture that segment of that market just by beginning to offer marine varieties.
Q: As an importer and distributor, how do you help these retailers succeed?
A: The first thing we do is offer the widest variety of fish we can so we can cater to the many different types of establishments that handle marine livestock. The smaller shops are going to focus on the more common varieties, while the marine-only shops area going to have a real broad range of fish and some of the more exotic harder-to-find species. Depending on the kind of demographic they are trying to cater to, we try to steer the retailer to specific livestock that will sell well for them and they will do well by. The next thing we try to do is steer the retailer towards the healthiest livestock available.
Our sales staff has a level of expertise that we feel is second to none. We try to impart that knowledge to the local fish store owner and help them out whether its with filtration advice, water quality, livestock or husbandry issues. They are all various things weve gained experience in over the years.
Retailers can gain knowledge on their own by going to various conferences around the country. One of the best ways to gain knowledge is to employ a young hobbyist in the area. Young hobbyists spend a lot of time educating themselves and, in turn, can educate customers.