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. However, there are options to improve your summer sales.
Pond season is nearly upon us. For some there is a sheet of ice over every pond right now. For others of us, the warm weeks approaching spring have led to customers asking for pond supplies and plants already. Whatever your weather, pond season can take you through July without a dip in sales if you make a plan.
Shubunkin and Sarassa are becoming available as small fish at amazing prices right now and for the coming weeks. Seek out the deals, set up your ponds and price those fish appropriately. If you buy carefully, you might buy the whole season's worth of fish right now, and you can inch up the price as the fish grow — and in a warm store, they will grow quickly.
Small Koi, sometimes called "pond run" or "shipper's choice" are also available now at some amazing values. Fish that grow to 36 inches will grow quickly from 2 to 6 inches, especially indoors, so you can stock up now.
Start shopping today, and you will see a little bump in your sales come spring while the spring showers drive aquarium customers into your shop. If you take a little time to make your pond section pretty, they will see it and consider a pond purchase. Butterfly Koi (Long Finned) can be purchased this way, too.
Fancy Koi varieties are available from domestic farmers and importers all over the country — it would not hurt to look at their lists critically. Mixed Ogons, Kohaku, Ginrin and Showa all sound exotic, but they are just metallic scales (Ogon), red and white scales (Kohaku), sparkly scales (Ginrin) and tricolor — black, white and red (Showa).
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Pond fish food, pond filters and pond equipment should be on hand, because there is nothing like a $1,000-plus ticket for the customer who really wants to do it right. Know your product lines, and know what is offered by your vendors. If you can't stock it all, know when you can have it for your customers. Ponds are just like big fish tanks with big fish. They are worth supporting.
UV sterilizers are the best and easiest way to rid a pond of algae. It takes about a week. I've seen some brilliant UV rental programs where the UV sterilizers almost never come back — they get purchased almost 100 percent of the time. You rent them by the week; the deposit is the total purchase price of the UV and bam, happy customer.
Pond season starts to slow around July 4, so keep that in mind when bringing in fish. You may have them a long time if you haven't sold them by then.
People will be in their backyards soon, looking for ways to make the yard beautiful. Stay ahead of their dreams by setting up your ponds soon for them to see and ponder in your store.
