Kevin Plazak

Kevin Plazak has a degree in biology and 30-plus years of retail and wholesale pet trade experience. He currently owns and operates 20/20 Tropicals in the Pacific Northwest — a wholesale tropical fish, reptile and dry goods distributor.

Articles by Kevin Plazak

• 10 tips for managing the ‘talent’ in the fish room

  Friday, June 19, 2015

  There are a lot of options for stocking a fish room. There are things you really have to have, would do well to have and things that will set you apart. A knowledgeable fish room person knows about fish that are not commonly available to the public. They probably have seen enough guppies and neon tetras to last a lifetime, and are looking to see something new and different. Here are some suggestions that will allow you manage your inventory and fish room employee.

• ‘Summer is coming’ for fish sales

  Thursday, March 12, 2015

  The Stark family, from the TV show "Game of Thrones", has a popular saying: "Winter is coming." It means that times will be hard and lean for a while. When it comes to fish sales, the opposite is true for pet stores: "Summer is coming." The challenge of summer sunshine and good weather is that it really slows the sales of fish. People are busy outside rather than looking at their fish tank. There are options to improve your summer sales.

• Why you should carry spiders at your pet store

  Friday, February 06, 2015

  Recently, I was asked to stock and sell tarantulas. In my mind, this translated to "pay money for spiders." Big, hairy spiders. Things that get my wife jumping on furniture to get away from them while screaming for me to kill them. I didn’t take the request all that seriously and ignored it. But the requests kept coming in — rose hair tarantulas and pinktoe tarantulas. Every other store wanted them. My customers asked…and I needed to figure it out.

• Pet stores: The smell of success

  Monday, January 12, 2015

  Have you ever had a small child walk into your store and say, "This store stinks," to his/her parent? If you haven't, congratulations! You are among the few. For most pet stores, the nature of the business is dog food sales, live animals and a lot of other interesting fragrances. This leads to noticeable smells — unfamiliar smells that are not comforting to your customers.

• The keys to hiring and managing a fishroom manager

  Thursday, November 13, 2014

  It is often challenging to hire any sort of livestock managers. Trusting someone to know more than you may ever know about a pet you sell is often intimidating. Knowing that you have hired the right person is doubly difficult when it is hiring an "expert."

• Thoughtful merchandising equals easy sales

  Friday, October 24, 2014

  When you put your store together, do you ever consider how your customer sees the merchandise? Do you consider what you put between the front door and the various kinds of food you sell? If you haven't, take a moment and walk through your store. You might be surprised how little of the cool stuff you offer that isn't easily seen by customers who are in a hurry.

• School of thought: Fish sales by the numbers

  Thursday, October 09, 2014

  Selling fish in a pet store generally follows a distinct pattern that takes time. Your cost in the employee/customer interaction is in the price of the fish and your employee's time. Since the amount of time spent with a customer is somewhat at the mercy of the customer's wishes, all you can do is maximize the number of fish you sell to each customer.

• Going vertical: Merchandising at half the price

  Monday, September 22, 2014

  ​Humans are predators. Our eyes are in front like a lion or a wolf, and we search from side to side. We also form a search image of our "prey" like predators do. Customers who are searching for a product in your store have an image in their mind of what they are "hunting." They walk through your store scanning from side to side searching for their "prey."