Pet Safari
Westerly, R.I.
Valerie Faulise, Owner

How’s business going?

Right now, business is a little bit quiet. But that is typical right now, because people are more into their gardens here in New England. I mostly do fish around here. Ponds have been big because people are doing ponds again. I do the seasonal stuff, such as flea and tick stuff, which is doing well right now.

Any trends in your business?

Generally, I’m finding trends in seasonal stuff. People are more interested in natural stuff. On the dog food side, I’m trying to get more into the organic stuff. Even for my fish, I’m trying to use fewer chemicals. We’re a small town, so things don’t change a whole lot. I carried some organic dog toys, but I don’t get a lot of people asking for them.

I sell a ton of bettas and small betta setups. I used to sell more hermit crabs, but the kids are getting out of school. Rhode Island has been hit hard by the job situation. A lot of people are out of work; they’ve been laid off. There just aren’t a lot of new jobs that come into the state. Right now, we’re more seasonal as restaurants open up for the summer. We’re still feeling the effects of the economy, but I’ve had my store for 28 years, I have a very loyal customer base. I have customers I knew as kids now come in with their kids, which is pretty cool.

Anything new?

I just rotate stuff around, my fish are still my biggest sellers. I handpick my own stuff, I do a lot of special orders and I try to give customers personalized service and that’s what sticks with customers.

When we had flooding in April, like 10 inches of rain, I took in a lot of local pets and animals. I don’t charge for it. There were a lot of buildings and apartments that were just totally gone.

Also, there are more and more regulations on animals. They just passed a law where I have to have permits for certain types of hamsters now, my customers have to fill out an application for them, so it’s just crazy. These are some of the challenges that I’m having.  But I still love what I do and I still enjoy the animals.

What kind of livestock do you sell?

I sell fish mostly, but I also carry small animals, degus, rabbits, guinea pigs and small birds, such as parakeets and finches, but I don’t carry larger birds. I don’t carry dogs or cats. We do some small lizards and hermit crabs. Freshwater tropical fish do especially well. I try to go up to my distributor once a month and hand-pick my stock. I do a lot of trouble shooting for people, too.  --EM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goody’s Pet Supply
Wayne, Mich.
Tom Swim, Manager

How’s business?

In our particular area, our numbers seem to be higher at the beginning of the month versus the end of the month. Business seems to be relatively stable and showing some signs of minimal growth.

Here in Michigan, we’re centered around the automobile industry, which of course has taken its knocks, so we’re pretty grateful to have our business about the same and even [showing] minimal growth.

What’s new?

There seems to be a trend for better nutrition. Pet owners are concerned about their pet’s health and well-being and are feeding their pets healthier foods.

There seems to be an increased appreciation for things that are made in the USA, and in some cases, we have some items made in Michigan, and for us, that’s important.

It’s also kitten season, and we act as kind of a placement center for kittens. We’ve been very successful in getting our kittens placed in loving homes.

I guess being an independent pet store, one thing in general that might be helpful is that our relationship with our customers is very important, and we exercise having dialogue with them as much as we can. Getting feedback reaffirms where we’re at with our customers. It helps us adjust our inventory.  --KI

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Critters N’ Things
Morrisville, Vt.
Maxine Plante, Owner

How’s business going?

It’s okay. It’s been slow. It’s better than it was over the last year. I thought this year was doing better, but we’re probably still down.

I’m in a pretty rural area, so everyone is struggling. We carry a lot of aquarium supplies, small animal, bird. Dog and cat are a smaller part of my business. I don’t do any dog or cat food or anything like that.

Any trends in your business? What’s selling well?

I’m selling more reptile products. At least, there are more reptile owners. There’s more in the area, I’m near Burlington, which is a larger market, I don’t sell a lot of them myself. I sell the supplies for reptiles, the food, frozen food, things like that.

The aquarium stuff is selling well. Some of the fish sales are starting to pick up a little bit. We’re getting near the end of the school year, so I’m getting more small animal sales. The kids are picking up pets.

Anything new?

No, I’m sticking with my usual stuff. I’m trying harder to stay well stocked. I’ve probably added a few little things to catch customers’ eyes. Suppliers have run a few good show specials, so I’ve taken advantage of that. Even though the dollars weren’t there, it was a savings, so I decided to do it.

What’s your best-selling livestock?

The fish are doing the best, then small animals and smaller birds. I don’t carry a lot of birds. I’m not a real fan of the larger birds. People don’t know what they’re committing to.  --EM