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Speaker 1: This is Pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets. Welcome to

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aquarium Mania.

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Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor royan On, speaking to you from

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the University of Florida.

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Speaker 3: I fis Tropical Agtaculture Laboratory. Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 2: Aquarium retail stores are the primary gateway to.

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Speaker 3: The hobbies for many beginners.

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Speaker 4: How do large retail chains work to ensure healthy, quality

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animals and to provide good fish keeping information? My guest today,

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Jay Springer, is director of Live Animals and Veterinarian Services

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for Pet Supplies Plus, one of the largest pet store

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chains in the US. Join us as Jay discusses his

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professional journey, dedication to quality service, industry challenges in the future.

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Speaker 3: Of the hobby. We'll be right back after these messages.

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Speaker 5: How many of you have pets? My hands raised now.

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Think about how lucky you are to have such a

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sweet little pet in your life, and that pet is

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lucky to have you too. But unfortunately, there are countless

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pets out there that don't have a home to call

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their own. However, Bob's from Sketchers is trying to change that.

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So we developed Bobs for dogs and cats to help

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pets in need. With every purchase of adorable Bob's footwear,

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or fun stylish apparel, or even the cutest Bob's Pet accessories.

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Sketchers makes a donation to pet Co Love to help

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save shelter pets, and with your help, we've already saved

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the lives of over one million pets and raised over

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seven million dollars. So while you're getting style and comfort

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with features like Sketcher's famous memory foam cushioning, you're also

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helping to save an adorable pet in need and helping

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another lucky owner be connected with a future best friend

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and companion. Because happiness is having a loving pet. Buy

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your side find Bob's at a Sketchers store, sketters dot com,

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select pet Co locations, or wherever stylish footwear is sold.

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Speaker 6: Let's talk Pets on Petlifradio dot com.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Aquariumania on pet Life Radio. My guest

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today is Jay Springer, director of Live Animals and Veterinarian

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Services at Pet Supplies Plus.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 7: Jay, No, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.

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Speaker 2: So, as you probably know, I kind of like to

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get a little personal before we talk more shop before

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we get into your current work. Let's talk a little

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bit of history and how you got into the pet

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and aquarium hobby. Do you remember how old you were

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when you first set up or enjoyed your first aquarium

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or your first pet or both.

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Speaker 8: Yeah, no, absolutely, that's absolute where the fun started.

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Speaker 9: You know, I was probably five years old.

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Speaker 8: My mom was very big into not only fish, but

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into pretty much every critter we could get our hands on.

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So we definitely started setting up tanks at about five

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years old, and that definitely went in through my teenage

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years with her. So we definitely enjoyed that and really

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got to play with a couple of different species back then.

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And you know, we started with goldfish, went into guppies,

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went into tetras, and played a little bit with cichlids,

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But her and I really liked you know, guppies and

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tetras and pretty much community type tank. But been going

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since I was a little boy.

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Speaker 2: So for you, that was what maybe six seven years ago,

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I guess, yeah, I'm just kidding eight. So what do

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you remember about the aucuarium hobby back when you were

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growing up? You know, maybe maybe not necessarily talking about

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relative today, but just in general, do you remember anything

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specific and maybe some things that were a little different

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back then.

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Speaker 8: So if I really think back, it's lfs, local fish stores.

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Speaker 9: They were everywhere.

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Speaker 8: My mom and I were able to go into local

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fish stores, you'd see racks upon racks of fish tanks

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and people that were soon super passionate about the industry,

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you know. And over the last twenty years or so,

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you kind of see some of that move to some

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of the big box and some of the different stuff.

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But there's you know, unfortunately, there's less and less local

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fish stores.

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Speaker 9: Out there to really enjoy just fish.

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Speaker 8: But back then it was really you know, the wide

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array of different fish and species that were available, and

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really just you know, since then, seeing the change of

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filtration and water quality and some of the different things

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that have come, you know, over the last twenty years,

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because that back then wasn't as prominent or there definitely

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wasn't the technology.

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Speaker 2: So I guess maybe we can talk now that you're

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you know, kind of a grown up. I guess what

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would you say are your favorite fish species and tank

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setups today?

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Speaker 9: Well, you know, I'm very partial.

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Speaker 8: My daughter and I are very partial to her community tank,

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which has a lot of glowfish in it has some

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some normal tetras and stuff like that. We like to

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keep it, you know, very easy. But I am a

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saltwater guy. I do have a saltwater fish tank at home,

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so I do. I do enjoy that something as.

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Speaker 9: Little harder, a little more difficult.

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Speaker 8: But you know, I spent most of my years and

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especially with my kids, really just focused on the community fish.

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I absolutely love guppies, Molly's plattys tetras to this day.

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They're still a fun industry fish.

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Speaker 2: Great to hear, and obviously I'm always happy to hear

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when you know kids are involved, So I'm glad you're

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hopefully making them addicted to fish. That's kind of what

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we sort of need. So but so kind of been

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doing a little bit of research for this. In one

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of your profiles, I saw that you double majored in

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marketing and also management with organizational behavior. Those are kind

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of heady, you know, business type things. Were you working

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in the pen industry by then and or what made

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you kind of decide on these areas to study?

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Speaker 8: Yeah, no, absolutely. When I was a kid, I of

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course thought I was going to be a veterinarian. I

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thought I was going to be, you know, working in

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a zoo and then real life hit and I didn't

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get the luxury of that. But no, I got my

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degrees midway through my career in my thirties. I was,

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you know, well deep into my career with pet Smart

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at the time, so I was I was doing you know,

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triple duty between work, the kids, and school.

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Speaker 9: But yeah, I got it later in life.

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Speaker 8: And I picked those majors because it applied very well

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to what I had learned so far in my career,

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and the marketing side of it really played to what

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I didn't get to do much in my daily life

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and career and something I was passionate about and really

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liked and you know, to have on the resume if

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I get that chance in the future.

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Speaker 2: So I guess maybe, let's say pre pet Supplies plus,

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what were maybe some of the lessons you learned kind

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of during that process when you were working and going

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through anything specific that you think kind of helped you

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as you started pet supplies Plus.

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Speaker 8: That's a period of my life that really got me

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hooked into the live animal business. I started there when

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I was a teenager. I left Pet Smart in the

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in the mid when I was in my mid thirties,

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so I spent an enormous amount of time there, you know,

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and some of the things I learned, you know, was

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going from any company from the nineties into the twenty

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twelves twenty fifteen era, you watch so much move and

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grow in the learnings that go with that, you know.

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I held multiple you know, management positions there which you

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really see the advancement of what the industry has, what

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the pet industry was back then and what it is

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now and a year after year watching it grow and

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really the learnings there.

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Speaker 9: Was pet retails different.

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Speaker 8: It really is different than most other retails when you

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look at Walmart or Target. So when you look at

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pet retail, you can, you know, have a stressful day

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and turn around and see a cat, a dog, a horse, fish, reptile.

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So it's a great industry to be in. But really

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just the learnings and leadership of what it takes to

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really move a great business forward was a huge learning

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I'll never forget.

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Speaker 2: So you kind of gave us a little bit of

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insight into your professional journey to pet supplies. Plus is

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there anything you want to add to that? And also

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what's your current role in a PSP?

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Speaker 9: Oh?

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Speaker 8: Absolutely, so, yeah, I started in this industry at pet

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Land back in the very early nineties. Then I went

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over to Pet Smart when I realized who they were,

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because I didn't at the time they were that small.

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But then I spent eighteen years with those guys and

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that more or when I transferred and moved up to

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North Ohio, there was, you know, this position open up

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here and Pet Supplies Plus was a very unique retailer

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and that's why I ended up moving over here because

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it's franchise based, and in my Pet Smart world for

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eighteen years, it was all corporate based and really didn't

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get to understand or realize, you know, what the franchise.

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Speaker 7: Model was all about.

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Speaker 8: I had a little bit of taste of it when

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I was at Petland at a very young age. But

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that's really where and why I kind of morphed over

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to Pet Supplies Plus.

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Speaker 9: And in Northeast Ohio.

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Speaker 8: There's thirty locations just in the greater you know, Cleveland, DMA,

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so very prominent up here, well known. My current position

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as director of Live Animals and it focuses twenty four

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hours a day on live animals for Pet Supplies Plus.

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My job and my very small team, you know, We

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are in charge of not only standard operating procedures, but

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the health and wellness the field operations, along with the

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vendor network and getting all.

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Speaker 9: Of the animals to the stores and to the franchise owners.

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Speaker 8: So it's a very fun job, but it is one

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percent focused on live animals and protecting the live animal

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business and making sure it's done well and across the

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entire chain.

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Speaker 2: So about how many stores are there? And you guys

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are primarily US based, right, we are one hundred percent

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US based. We are over six hundred and fifty stores

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and growing. We are growing on a franchise model. We

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open a couple of corporate stores a year, but for.

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Speaker 8: The most part we have franchisees that are opening stores.

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We're roughly opening eighty a year for the next couple

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of years. So it's a it's a very big growth

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phase and fun time for pet supplies.

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Speaker 3: Plus.

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Speaker 2: Wow, that's yeah, that's that's that's pretty major. So what

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are some of the major challenges with running you know,

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this large chain that you are you know PSP, and

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how do you handle the franchises? How do you manage

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you know, and I guess with such variety, I'm assuming

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amongst the franchises.

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Speaker 3: How do you handle all that as well?

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Speaker 8: I guess, yeah, so that's a that's a great question,

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and really it comes down to one people in consistency.

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Speaker 9: So in the.

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Speaker 8: Live animal world, what I've realized over the last twenty

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five years, the more consistent you can be, the easier

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and more simple it can be to take care of

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these animals and really do it really well, the better

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you're going to be, and not only better for the

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pet but for the customers, for the franchise owners, et cetera.

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Because really, when it comes to consistency, the easier it

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is for us as retailers to execute and set very

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high standards is absolutely paramount and key, you know, and

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people play that big part of it, as you know

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that without great people that really, you know, care and

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have the passion for pets, it can be a struggle.

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But again, when you find and help develop some of

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those passionate people that are enthusiasts, it makes taking care

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of live animals, selling live animals, and really growing that

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industry much easier. But that's usually, you know, the greatest

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challenge is can we get consistent execution for the health

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of the animals and start developing passionate enthusiasts along the way.

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Speaker 2: So definitely, you know, I kind of know what you

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mean by consistency. Can you maybe explain to some of

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the listeners, you know, like, what, what are some of

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the things you guys do to try to maintain and

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you know, elevate that consistency.

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Speaker 8: Yeah, no, absolutely, And you know we've learned a lot

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from professionals like yourself. You know that when when we

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set consistent processes in place, that when the fish get

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fed at a certain time, when the tanks get cleaned

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at a certain time, if they're cleaned a certain way

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each and every day, each and every week. Small mammals, birds,

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reptiles are the same way. The more consistent you can keep,

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you know, their diet or their process or their stress

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level mainly is very good for them. And really the

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biggest thing we look at across all species is in

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what I try and train you know, everybody in my

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company when I do my trainings, is to reduce stress,

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especially on fish. Sometimes fish are the forgotten ones because

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they're not warm and fuzzy. But again it's it's really

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looking at how do you reduce stress? And you do

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that with consistent water quality testing or water taking care of,

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you know, of cleaning procedures and feeding them correctly, et cetera.

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Speaker 9: So it's really just folks.

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Speaker 8: On can we do the least amount of things the

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best we possibly can.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely makes sense.

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Speaker 2: Now we've kind of talked about your past history with

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an aquarium hobby, how would you describe the current demographics

258
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of the fish keepers now versus maybe the past ten, fifteen,

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twenty five years.

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Speaker 8: I would say younger, and they're becoming more and more educated.

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So the great thing is, I think what I've seen

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over the last twenty twenty five years, the industry has

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gotten smarter. So not only have you know, veterinary professionals

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explored and learned more, product manufacturers have explored and done

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more research our live you know, breeders or distributors have

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done more work in research. So ultimately that makes it

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down to the retail side or my level, to where

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we are seeing much more educated not only consumers, but

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you know, people that are wanting to work for us,

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to where when I started in the nineties, I was

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one of the guys that potentially had the most information

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or most knowledge in my store. When ultimately I probably

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wasn't that knowledgeable. I was learning as I went, But

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it seems like nowadays we are getting more and more

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not only advanced with technology, but with people and what

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the industry knows and expects.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I get Yeah, it definitely makes sense. You know,

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there's a lot more access to infro, you know, good

279
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or bad. And I'm guessing you you probably deal with

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people that maybe have some bad information, but yeah, you're

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right there. There definitely seems to be a lot more

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education out there, so I guess you know, you obviously

283
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are working with a really large number of franchises, a

284
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lot of stores. Do you see differences kind of across

285
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the US, you know, with regard to demographics aquariums, you know,

286
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what type of fish people like. I'm just you know, curious,

287
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you know, West versus East, you know South, any anything

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kind of that strikes you.

289
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Speaker 8: Yeah, So it's it's it's funny that that's you know,

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one of the things my team and I we do

291
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each year and throughout the year, to be honest, is

292
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really look at some of those trends or see what

293
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we could provide to customers in certain demographics, and really,

294
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you know, there is a difference between the California West

295
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Coast versus Texas versus Florida versus call it the New

296
00:14:02,759 --> 00:14:06,200
England area. Midwest is very unique, you know, and really

297
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some of the pockets that you look at, the Midwest

298
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is probably one of the most consistent. When you get

299
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that big giant pocket at the mind of the middle

300
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of the United States. We all deal with the same weather,

301
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the same seasons and all that. So fish cells or

302
00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,799
fish types you know, are very similar in that area.

303
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You get down to Florida, Texas, California, sometimes the species

304
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might get a little bit more unique, or customers consumers

305
00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,080
down there a little bit more hip to different kuoi

306
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or different cichlids or different species that may not be

307
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as prevalent up in the Midwest.

308
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Speaker 9: But salt water always varies, you know.

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Speaker 8: Sometimes there's a myth that when you get to the

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coast or more, you know, affluid areas, that saltwater's big.

311
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I've got just a handful of salt water stores, not many,

312
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but the couple I do, we've put in locations that

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do extremely well and they're not high income or affluent.

314
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It is a great business than the fish businesses is

315
00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,159
wonderful and it's just a matter of getting it in

316
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the right area. But when you look at she's a fish.

317
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The normal fish in the market, the Molly's Platts, tetras, guppies,

318
00:15:05,639 --> 00:15:08,679
all of those great fish are still the most consistent

319
00:15:08,759 --> 00:15:12,720
sellers across the United States and almost every store. And

320
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it's that very unique small piece of the pie of

321
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,720
sick Let's sell really well over here, cooy and goldfish

322
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so really will over here, you know, and stuff like that.

323
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But you know, it's over time, it's still that sixty

324
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seventy eighty percenter still the bread and butters and the

325
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consistent fish across the United States.

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Speaker 2: We're going to take a short break in a sect,

327
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but I had one more quick question before we do that.

328
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I was kind of thinking about, you know, the breadth

329
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of the differences around the US and interest that sort

330
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of thing. And you know, with all the growth you

331
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guys are going to be experiencing or are experiencing, now,

332
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how do you sort of determine where the next franchise

333
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should go? You know, whether the you know, the people

334
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that are going to be working at are the right people.

335
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What are some kind of the processes you all do

336
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to look at that?

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Speaker 8: So We've got a phenomenal franchise recruitment team at the

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office that that does just that.

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Speaker 9: That's what they work on.

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Speaker 8: You know, they work very close with the real estate

341
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team because again a couple factors come in of where

342
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do the franchise owners live, because most of our franchise owners,

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you know, want to be part of the operations and

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want it close to where they live. So sometimes the

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sites are looked at close to them and in their

346
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general city or area. But you know a lot of

347
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times it's looking at we're a smaller footprint neighborhood pet store,

348
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so we can go in some different shopping centers or

349
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different locations that some of the big stores cannot. So

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we're always looking for those a little bit smaller areas,

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those smaller trade markets to where one of our stores

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will fit well.

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Speaker 9: And then from there.

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Speaker 8: It is absolutely just a vetting process to ask a

355
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lot of great questions of a perspective owner and see

356
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what their interest is and why they want to own

357
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a pet store. And normally when you ask a couple

358
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questions of why you want to own a pet store,

359
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it's pretty obvious why they.

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Speaker 7: Want to own a pet store, and it's to have

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fish and pets.

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Speaker 2: Well, it sounds good and yeah, definitely sounds like you

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have a great team. Let's take a short break and

364
00:17:00,159 --> 00:17:02,799
continue our discussion with my guest, Jay Springer, director of

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00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,720
Live Animals and burn air Services at Pet Supplies Plus.

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00:17:05,759 --> 00:17:10,119
Speaker 3: After these messages, take.

367
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,559
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377
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378
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:58,759
Speaker 6: Let's talk fast, Let's done, PETO Radio, Petline Radio, pet

379
00:17:58,799 --> 00:18:00,640
Live Radio dot.

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Speaker 2: We're back and continuing our conversation with my guest, Chase Springer,

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director of Live Animals and Veterinary Services at Pet Supplies Plus. So, Jay, Yeah,

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we're kind of going into some of the kind of

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challenges and some of the cool things about you know,

384
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working with so many different stores and so many different

385
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parts of the US. I guess a few more things

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that that kind of are coming to mind. Question wise,

387
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Are you seeing anything interesting with regard to new trends

388
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in aquatic related areas, any kind of new items or

389
00:18:37,799 --> 00:18:41,000
you know, pieces of filtration or you know that sort

390
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of thing, or even maybe new species that are are

391
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of interest.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, a couple things there, you know.

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Speaker 8: And the great thing is is through the last couple

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of years, you know, especially through you know, some of

395
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the COVID times, it really I think helps some of

396
00:18:53,039 --> 00:18:55,920
the companies and manufacturers out there kind of ramp up

397
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and really come out with some new innovations. You know,

398
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when we talk about some of the new glowfish that

399
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,440
are coming out the corridors and some of the different,

400
00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:05,880
you know, really cool ones out there. When we start

401
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,839
looking at the amount of different betas that are being offered,

402
00:19:08,839 --> 00:19:11,200
the amount of different guppies that come in and out

403
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,240
are absolutely phenomenal, you know, And and when we look

404
00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:16,839
at it, the great thing about the fish industry is

405
00:19:17,319 --> 00:19:20,000
plants and ornaments are are similar to you know, what

406
00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:23,200
I would consider sweaters and apparel for dogs and cats.

407
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Speaker 7: They coming in and out.

408
00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,519
Speaker 8: There's always cool stuff coming, new colors, new caves and

409
00:19:26,519 --> 00:19:29,000
stuff like that. But where I really think, you know,

410
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,079
the fun part of the industry over the last you know,

411
00:19:31,079 --> 00:19:33,880
a couple of years, mainly has really been the advancements

412
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,680
in filtration, the bioballs into the industry now to help

413
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:39,839
with the cycling of the water and to really help

414
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,960
you know, protect some of the breakdowns that people have,

415
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,920
you know, have been a great advancement because you know, honestly,

416
00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,559
that's the biggest issue that we deal with out there

417
00:19:48,559 --> 00:19:52,319
as retailer, is you know, people struggling to keep their

418
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:55,240
fish alive or to keep the water right, and that's

419
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:56,680
our job to help them with. And I think some

420
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of the advancements there are significantly helping not only the

421
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retail but the end consumer do it better.

422
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Speaker 2: So kind of a great lead into my next question,

423
00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:07,319
what are some of the important things that beginning hobbyists

424
00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:09,839
should know and what are some of the things that

425
00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:12,799
you and PSP are doing to help educate the.

426
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,960
Speaker 8: Hobbyists absolutely, you know, and I think the biggest thing

427
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,279
is we always look in what are the frustration levels

428
00:20:19,319 --> 00:20:22,160
and fish being one of the most abandoned pets you know,

429
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:22,960
in the United States.

430
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Speaker 9: We're here to help that. We're here to stop that.

431
00:20:25,599 --> 00:20:28,880
Speaker 8: If we can get people not frustrated or successful or

432
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,119
more successful fish, then we're succeeding. And that's really what

433
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,160
we work on trying to train our teams on and

434
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,359
really work with them on, is you know, how do

435
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,720
you get a fish into a new tank or a

436
00:20:39,759 --> 00:20:43,039
new environment and acclimate them correctly? And really what we

437
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:44,720
try and educate them on is do they have the

438
00:20:44,759 --> 00:20:47,319
right setup? Are they mixing with the right fish? We

439
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,559
have great care guides that we help use and train

440
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,519
our team members with to help educate the customers we

441
00:20:53,599 --> 00:20:56,200
call them neighbors, but help educate the neighbors on what

442
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,839
they should be picking or buying to really do it correctly.

443
00:20:59,079 --> 00:21:01,519
But some of the biggest things we work on or

444
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,319
try and prevent is water quality issues. A lot of

445
00:21:04,319 --> 00:21:07,039
our fish we sell, I firmly believe a lot of

446
00:21:07,039 --> 00:21:10,640
the industry sells really great, high quality fish and when

447
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,359
there's issues or struggles, it comes down to inconsistent water

448
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,839
quality kind of like we talked about with our tanks

449
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:18,960
of you know, are they changing the filter correctly, do

450
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,599
they have the right filters that's big enough, And really

451
00:21:21,839 --> 00:21:24,880
they don't understand the water and for us to help understand,

452
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:26,759
you don't have to be a water chemist. You just

453
00:21:26,759 --> 00:21:29,039
have to be able to test a couple parameters and

454
00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:30,640
know how to react to those. If you do those

455
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:32,960
couple of little things, you'll be in good shape.

456
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,039
Speaker 2: All it makes sense and definitely yeah important, And you

457
00:21:37,079 --> 00:21:40,039
mentioned both this and the previous question. There are a

458
00:21:40,079 --> 00:21:42,279
lot of advancements. There's a lot more information. You all

459
00:21:42,319 --> 00:21:44,720
are doing a great job trying to educate the hobbyists.

460
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,440
So hopefully, yeah, that's definitely changing kind of the way

461
00:21:47,519 --> 00:21:50,680
fish are approached and they're being kept a lot better.

462
00:21:51,039 --> 00:21:53,440
So I guess you talked a little bit about some

463
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,400
of your top sellers. Which fish would you recommend to

464
00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,960
beginning hobbyists and maybe which ones might be a little

465
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,400
more advanced but still you know, doable for the next

466
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:04,039
kind of level.

467
00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:05,440
Speaker 7: Yeah, so we you know.

468
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,880
Speaker 8: The the good thing is is a lot of our

469
00:22:08,079 --> 00:22:10,640
customers in neighbor Base is the beginner, you know, and

470
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,839
potentially slightly intermediate, and really where we find the most success,

471
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,319
especially setting up new tanks, is neon tetris, some guppies.

472
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,559
Guppies we do really well with. We've got great guppies

473
00:22:22,559 --> 00:22:25,480
coming in now the stores. Goldfish, We've definitely got some

474
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,640
great goldfish to come in down the stores. You know,

475
00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,359
really where we try and urge. You know, some caution

476
00:22:30,599 --> 00:22:33,319
is your angel fish can be a little bit more delicate.

477
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,680
Some of your cichlids we try, and especially South American

478
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,359
cichlids and some of those guys that they're actually really

479
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,119
hearty fish and they're great, but they can have a

480
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:44,680
lot of uniqueness to them, whether they're aggressive, whether they

481
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,640
get too big, or different foods to where it doesn't

482
00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,279
make a great starter pet. Doesn't mean it's not easy

483
00:22:50,279 --> 00:22:52,039
and a great pet for the industry, it's just sometimes

484
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:53,119
not the best one to start with.

485
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,920
Speaker 2: Now, I guess obviously, working with all of your team

486
00:22:57,039 --> 00:22:59,200
and all of these different stores all over the place,

487
00:22:59,279 --> 00:23:03,079
you must have a lot of FAQs frequently asked questions

488
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,160
you know, potentially from your team, but also you know,

489
00:23:05,279 --> 00:23:08,880
more specifically from a lot of the your neighbors, your clients,

490
00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,319
or customers. What would be maybe some of the top three,

491
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,240
four or five ten questions that you get asked that

492
00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:16,480
you know, are really important.

493
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,319
Speaker 8: You know, usually you know, the first thing that comes

494
00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,880
comes to my teams are what fish can I put with?

495
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,680
What what the compatibilities are? You know, how do I

496
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,279
start a new tank, how do I cycle my water?

497
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,759
What is cycling my water? What ornaments and decorations do

498
00:23:31,799 --> 00:23:34,880
I need? And you know, what's the best filter? You know,

499
00:23:35,079 --> 00:23:37,400
really where do your fish come from? Some of those

500
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,160
kind of things out there, I think are probably some

501
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,799
of the top five that we work on, you know.

502
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,319
And you know, the great thing is is some of

503
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,720
the advancements in the industry has really helped it. Is

504
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,519
you know, the number one question our stores get is compatibility.

505
00:23:50,839 --> 00:23:53,400
And we've worked with with the industry over over the

506
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,240
years to really work on how do we provide that.

507
00:23:56,319 --> 00:23:58,599
And we've got different charts and different colors and stuff

508
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,000
to say you've got a top, middle feeder and a

509
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:02,920
bottom feeder, and kind of how to mix it up

510
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,319
in the tank, and you know, really just look at

511
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,000
where they come from and really understanding what kind of

512
00:24:08,039 --> 00:24:10,599
temperament they have. But that's that's probably the biggest thing

513
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,480
outside of water quality issues or asking questions about water.

514
00:24:13,759 --> 00:24:15,440
Speaker 3: And you had mentioned, you know, and I've been in

515
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:15,799
and out.

516
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:17,880
Speaker 2: I haven't like maybe looked at some of the new

517
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,799
things really closely kind of related to this question. You

518
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,680
mentioned the bileballs. They've got the bacteria in them. Can

519
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:24,839
you talk about that a little bit.

520
00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:28,279
Speaker 8: Yeah, they're they're a great design right now they're being

521
00:24:28,319 --> 00:24:31,160
put out by Aquayan. I know Casco pet was a

522
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,119
big driver, if not the number one driver, and the

523
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,240
technology around these and it is basically a bacteria ball.

524
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,359
It has, you know, what you need to basically cycle

525
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,839
a tank almost immediately. The main goal is and I'm

526
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,359
not going to get into too much water quality when

527
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,599
I'm talking to the expert, but you know, really trying

528
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,839
to get that bacteria to reduce or eliminate your ammonia

529
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,279
so that the good bacteria can really grow and help

530
00:24:54,319 --> 00:24:56,839
the water and healthier fish. And the ball doesn't solve

531
00:24:56,839 --> 00:24:59,839
all the problems, but it solves a significant amount of them,

532
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:04,039
really helps people be successful almost immediately versus trying to

533
00:25:04,559 --> 00:25:06,559
take that couple of days to seven days to kind

534
00:25:06,559 --> 00:25:07,559
of figure out on their own.

535
00:25:07,839 --> 00:25:10,039
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was great, and yeah, definitely water has always

536
00:25:10,039 --> 00:25:11,680
been kind of an issue, and it looks like there's

537
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,119
a lot more ways that people can get ahead of

538
00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,599
that problem. So we're kind of out of it to

539
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,680
a degree. Obviously there's still things popping up here and there.

540
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:22,559
But you know, I think we've talked about it over

541
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:25,400
the past, you know, or I by email or text

542
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,759
over the past year or two. How would you say,

543
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,000
and you alluded it to it a little bit, how

544
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:34,319
did COVID nineteen affect you, you all, your company, the industry,

545
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,839
you know, from twenty twenty to maybe the year after,

546
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,440
and you know even up till today, what would you

547
00:25:40,599 --> 00:25:42,880
say are some of the major things that happened?

548
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 3: You know?

549
00:25:43,559 --> 00:25:46,440
Speaker 8: So I think some of the big things that happened

550
00:25:46,799 --> 00:25:49,880
was again it revolves around people, you know, really changed,

551
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,799
not only people and team members in the stores and

552
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,079
kind of you know, how it was to take care

553
00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,000
of the animals, whether you had more animals or less

554
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,920
animals coming in depending on locations, you know, but really

555
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,960
the you know, consumers, you know, as they were somewhat stockpiling,

556
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,599
staying home, you know, kind of changing the mentality of okay, well,

557
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,920
you know, normally we'll want to add the extra guinea

558
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,920
pig or two, or add another fish tank, but you

559
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:14,519
know what we're going to be home, so why don't we.

560
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,440
So at the beginning there was a lot of fear

561
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,519
factor there of what it was. We were able to

562
00:26:19,839 --> 00:26:22,720
stay very well staffed. We were able to continue to

563
00:26:22,799 --> 00:26:25,640
bring in fish and provide the fish and pets that

564
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,559
the did our neighbors and consumers wanted. So we we

565
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,920
had a great you know, entry level into the start

566
00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,240
of COVID and understanding what some of those needs.

567
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 3: Were going to be.

568
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 8: So, you know, at the beginning of COVID, we did

569
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,920
have a great positive trend into the live animal world

570
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,359
that carried through most of the first almost twelve months

571
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,279
of COVID. Once we kind of started anniversaring it, you know,

572
00:26:48,319 --> 00:26:50,680
we all kind of thought it would level out and

573
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,680
settle down a little bit in our world.

574
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:53,079
Speaker 9: It did not.

575
00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:57,119
Speaker 8: Twenty twenty two was a huge year for us, which

576
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,559
was on top of a great year the year before.

577
00:27:00,039 --> 00:27:02,400
So as we fast forward through it, I think the

578
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,880
benefit of the industry was that there were so many

579
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,799
pets that were acquired in homes, or whether they acquired

580
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,119
more than one of the same pet. That's where I

581
00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:15,799
think a lot more of the evolution of learning and

582
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,240
knowledge and what people know out there grew even more

583
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,440
in the last two years because not only did they

584
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,160
add more pets, but they were home a lot with

585
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,880
the pets and research the more learned a little bit

586
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:28,759
more about them. And to your point, you know, would

587
00:27:28,799 --> 00:27:32,240
we like them to go to professionals like yourself versus

588
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,039
other parts of forums on the internet. Yes, But the

589
00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:36,920
good thing is is they went out and they tried

590
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,079
to learn, They tried to educate themselves, and that always

591
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:42,119
is going to advance the industry. And you know, that

592
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,960
leads us into now to where parts of twenty two

593
00:27:45,079 --> 00:27:47,039
and at the tail end go and definitely where we're

594
00:27:47,039 --> 00:27:49,400
at now. You know, things tapered off and we've got

595
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,839
back to were stronger or better than pre COVID numbers.

596
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,599
But again at that same time, we've definitely leveled off

597
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,519
because the live industry, at least on my side, is

598
00:27:59,839 --> 00:28:02,799
very is predictable, it's very seasonal, and we're back to

599
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,000
some of those same trends so that we can really understand,

600
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,559
you know, what the customers and consumers want and when

601
00:28:08,759 --> 00:28:10,640
at what parts of the year, which is a great

602
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,480
thing at least for me and my job, because for

603
00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:15,240
two years we weren't able to predict anything, and we

604
00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:17,559
just hoped and prayed that we had what everybody wanted

605
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,559
at the right time. But you know, so it was

606
00:28:20,599 --> 00:28:22,960
a great run the last couple of years, and I think,

607
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,839
to be honest, I think it was really good for

608
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,759
the industry to see more and more household ad different pets,

609
00:28:28,799 --> 00:28:31,759
exotic pets, unique pets. The amount of fish and tanks

610
00:28:31,759 --> 00:28:34,240
that were sold and set up, I think was fantastic

611
00:28:34,279 --> 00:28:34,920
for the industry.

612
00:28:35,279 --> 00:28:38,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, that definitely, I can tell you from my own experience.

613
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:40,480
I definitely sat at home and did a lot more

614
00:28:41,559 --> 00:28:45,519
things here and you know, over just in general. So

615
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,720
we talked a little bit about some of the kind

616
00:28:47,759 --> 00:28:50,640
of good changes over the past twenty twenty five years.

617
00:28:50,839 --> 00:28:53,119
What would maybe be some of the challenges that you

618
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,119
see and or things that maybe a little bit more

619
00:28:56,119 --> 00:28:58,720
difficult than they were twenty twenty five years ago.

620
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,559
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know, when I think about this question, is

621
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,400
a lot of the difficult things that we've been presenting

622
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,640
with you know, the great thing is the industry has

623
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,039
gotten rid of a lot of the struggles. And the

624
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:14,640
great thing about live animals is when there's living creatures involved,

625
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,200
there's a lot you know, for the most part, we're

626
00:29:17,519 --> 00:29:19,680
taking much different approach than if we had an issue

627
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,599
with a bag of dog food. So a lot of

628
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,559
those problems, whether it be you know, health related issues

629
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,960
or compatibility issues, stuff like that, have really gone away.

630
00:29:28,279 --> 00:29:30,680
But I would think probably the biggest struggle that we're

631
00:29:31,039 --> 00:29:33,839
always going to fight with that's still a struggle and

632
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,119
not getting better, is you know, some of that consistency

633
00:29:37,519 --> 00:29:41,720
you know, around people, or turnover in the education of water,

634
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,400
the education of different fish. That institutional knowledge has become

635
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,720
a struggle and it's something that we, at least in

636
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,759
my company work extremely hard with, you know, at all

637
00:29:51,799 --> 00:29:54,279
times to how do we protect that and how do

638
00:29:54,319 --> 00:29:56,920
we grow that because again, you know, the industry has

639
00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,319
benefited from that, So some of the struggles there have

640
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:03,599
just been such fast moving new trends, new innovation that

641
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:07,759
sometimes you know, what worked in the past, you know,

642
00:30:07,839 --> 00:30:11,240
why change something that's not broken. Sometimes things kind of

643
00:30:11,279 --> 00:30:14,640
went away for new, better or thought to be better technology,

644
00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,759
which makes it more difficult, especially when some of that

645
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:20,759
long term institutional knowledge, you know, may not believe in

646
00:30:20,799 --> 00:30:22,680
some of the new technology. And I don't think it's

647
00:30:23,319 --> 00:30:25,960
a bad thing as long as we're able to get

648
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,160
the credible sources and that's why I've come to you

649
00:30:29,279 --> 00:30:32,119
and and different people in the industry because that's probably

650
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,720
the most negative challenge we face, is the misinformation that's

651
00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:38,000
out there, and a lot of my teams and myself,

652
00:30:38,119 --> 00:30:40,519
you know, on a regular daily basis have to fight

653
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:44,279
sometimes misinformation and get the right information out there.

654
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,119
Speaker 2: So I know we've talked about this, you know, in

655
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,160
the past, just you and I, but and I kind

656
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,839
of did some additional reading up. I know Petsuplies Plus

657
00:30:52,839 --> 00:30:55,799
has a lot of great community based initiatives, you know,

658
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,160
with fishing with a lot of the other animals as well.

659
00:30:58,279 --> 00:31:00,319
Can you maybe talk a little bit about that and

660
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,400
are there any maybe initiatives looking on the aquerd fish

661
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:06,839
side as well as the ones that you're going to discuss.

662
00:31:07,279 --> 00:31:09,119
Speaker 9: Yeah, so it's a great question.

663
00:31:09,359 --> 00:31:09,519
Speaker 3: You know.

664
00:31:09,559 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 8: I've been happy to you know, be on the board

665
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,079
of directors for the pet Agfcy Network and WPA, you know,

666
00:31:16,119 --> 00:31:18,000
and a lot of that is how to grow and

667
00:31:18,079 --> 00:31:21,240
protect the industry and really have fun, you know, with

668
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,480
programs like Pets in a Classroom and different things they're doing.

669
00:31:24,559 --> 00:31:26,799
We're a huge supporter and always have been of Pets

670
00:31:26,839 --> 00:31:29,599
in a Classroom and teachers can get grants to set

671
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,000
up fish tanks and stuff like that. But you know,

672
00:31:32,039 --> 00:31:35,240
when we look at whether it be any kind of program,

673
00:31:35,279 --> 00:31:38,880
whether it be theray program or any kind of different

674
00:31:39,319 --> 00:31:42,359
supporting groups that we can do, it's very hard to

675
00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:43,160
do with fish.

676
00:31:43,279 --> 00:31:44,799
Speaker 7: You know, the small mammals.

677
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,599
Speaker 8: The birds, the reptiles, they can go home at night

678
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,680
or on the weekend or during the summer and stuff

679
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:50,440
like that. Fish tanks, once you set them up, you

680
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,640
don't move them, and it makes it much more difficult

681
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,519
to where when pets in a classroom I think really

682
00:31:55,559 --> 00:31:58,200
started and it grew, especially at least for us, and

683
00:31:58,240 --> 00:31:59,960
I can only speak for us, we had a lot,

684
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,680
a lot of success with teachers wanting the grants for

685
00:32:02,839 --> 00:32:05,519
fish tanks and actually setting up fish tanks and doing

686
00:32:05,559 --> 00:32:07,279
a great job with it. You know, I think the

687
00:32:07,319 --> 00:32:10,279
last couple of years, the warm and fuzzies, the ferrets,

688
00:32:10,319 --> 00:32:13,640
the hamsters, the guinea pigs, bearded dragons, you know, those

689
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,079
kind of things that have really been the fun, cool

690
00:32:16,119 --> 00:32:18,240
things coming out. But there's still a lot of fish

691
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,839
tanks being set up in classrooms and a lot of

692
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,640
you know, not just under beliverous kids, but a lot

693
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,160
of classrooms that would never be you know, experiencing some

694
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,680
of these fish, getting to see them every day and

695
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:31,680
looking forward when they go to school. So we're we're

696
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,599
a huge supporter there. I love working in the communities

697
00:32:34,599 --> 00:32:36,599
and doing that fun stuff. If I could find a

698
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,240
way to do more fun stuff with fish, I absolutely would,

699
00:32:39,519 --> 00:32:40,920
And we're always looking for stuff.

700
00:32:41,079 --> 00:32:42,519
Speaker 2: So it sounds like you got to work with a

701
00:32:42,599 --> 00:32:46,039
company to develop a like a mobile aquarium that the

702
00:32:46,079 --> 00:32:49,200
teachers can take home that's like self sustaining and they

703
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:49,960
don't have to worry about it.

704
00:32:50,079 --> 00:32:53,240
Speaker 8: We've yeah, absolutely could if we could solve that problem

705
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:54,960
where it doesn't affect the health of the fish and

706
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:55,680
the water quality.

707
00:32:55,759 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 9: Wheel it in, wheel it out all day long.

708
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 2: So are there any long term or few your goals

709
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,200
for PSB that you can share anything?

710
00:33:03,599 --> 00:33:05,759
Speaker 3: You know, kind of cool on the horizon.

711
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:06,079
Speaker 10: You know.

712
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,759
Speaker 8: Really, the biggest thing we're we're always looking at is

713
00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:11,160
do we have the right locations right? Are we We're

714
00:33:11,519 --> 00:33:13,480
one of the biggest things in the coolest things is

715
00:33:13,519 --> 00:33:16,279
like I said, we're a much smaller footprint and really

716
00:33:16,279 --> 00:33:18,400
we're just trying to get to a lot of neighborhoods

717
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:21,519
that need us that don't have a quick, easy access

718
00:33:21,519 --> 00:33:23,920
to a great pet store. But at the same time,

719
00:33:24,119 --> 00:33:26,440
it's what we're offering, right you know, We're we're offering

720
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,960
great foods, great products for dogs and cats. But we

721
00:33:29,039 --> 00:33:32,000
continue to look at what specialty products do we have

722
00:33:32,079 --> 00:33:34,799
and do we have the right specialty products? And my

723
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,920
job all day long is do we have the right

724
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,559
pets in the store? Are we offering the right fish,

725
00:33:39,599 --> 00:33:41,400
the right mix of fish. I look at that every

726
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,720
couple of months to make sure are we doing the

727
00:33:43,799 --> 00:33:47,279
right thing and really making sure that we're making people successful.

728
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,160
But you know, some of the you know, I think

729
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,559
that's probably the biggest thing in the horizon is with

730
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:55,400
our growth rate not changing or wavering on our standards

731
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,319
in our commitment to where you know, if we're going

732
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,960
to add eighty plus stores a year for the next

733
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,960
couple of years, you know, are we you know, our

734
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,839
goal is we're going to open them and they're going

735
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:05,599
to be just as great as the ones that are

736
00:34:05,599 --> 00:34:07,599
already open, and we're not going to waiver from that.

737
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,000
And that's where it can be a challenge for me

738
00:34:10,079 --> 00:34:12,639
when the live animal world trying to add enough live

739
00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:13,679
animals for another.

740
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 9: Eighty stores each year.

741
00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:17,079
Speaker 8: But that's also the fun part of the job because

742
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,199
the industry, even on that side of breeding and distribution,

743
00:34:21,519 --> 00:34:24,239
is amazingly advanced from where it was twenty years ago,

744
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,679
and it just makes my job fun.

745
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,559
Speaker 2: Well, unfortunately we're out of time, and I definitely appreciate

746
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,400
all the time and information and your expertise and knowledge, Jay,

747
00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:36,159
So thanks very much for that. Thanks to our producer

748
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,920
Mark Winner for making the show possible. I did want

749
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,360
to ask Jay if you had any final thoughts, words

750
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:45,360
of wisdom, you know, maybe secret numbers for the lottery,

751
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,719
anything you want to share with our listeners before we close.

752
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:50,719
Speaker 8: I don't think I have any secrets that will make

753
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,039
anybody any money. Wish I did, I would share, but no,

754
00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:56,920
you know, I appreciate you having me on. I appreciate

755
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,599
all the efforts and everything you do on the fish side.

756
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:01,679
You do some great things down there in Florida, and

757
00:35:02,199 --> 00:35:04,760
everybody across the country knows it. I'm glad that I

758
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:06,119
got to be a part of it over the last

759
00:35:06,159 --> 00:35:08,519
couple of years. And the biggest, the biggest thing I'd

760
00:35:08,519 --> 00:35:11,480
like to leave people with is let's make tropical fish

761
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,639
fun and exciting again. Let's not let it stay stale

762
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,480
or stagnant. There's so many cool fish, there's so many

763
00:35:17,519 --> 00:35:21,039
cool innovations out there to make fish keeping easy. We

764
00:35:21,159 --> 00:35:22,960
just got to make sure people know that and get

765
00:35:23,039 --> 00:35:25,079
rid of the stigma that it's boring or that it's

766
00:35:25,119 --> 00:35:26,199
too hard, because it's not.

767
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,960
Speaker 2: We can fix this great great words of wisdom. I

768
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,079
love that, So thanks again for joining us. Jay, really

769
00:35:32,119 --> 00:35:35,000
appreciate it. I see that you the listeners can't see

770
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,639
what You've got a background at the beach, so I'm

771
00:35:37,679 --> 00:35:39,599
assuming you're you're actually not at the beach.

772
00:35:39,639 --> 00:35:42,760
Speaker 7: I know, so I might be next week. I think

773
00:35:43,119 --> 00:35:43,519
next week.

774
00:35:44,119 --> 00:35:44,599
Speaker 3: Awesome.

775
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,800
Speaker 2: Awesome, Well, thanks again for joining us. Everyone, please be

776
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,639
sure to check out Jay's weblinks, which will be found

777
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:54,079
on He's Aquarium Media guest page. Until next time, visit

778
00:35:54,159 --> 00:35:57,440
your local cram stores definitely petsiflies plus, and keep your

779
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,880
tanks clean and your animals healthy, and stay tuned for

780
00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:02,400
the next podcast.

781
00:36:03,159 --> 00:36:08,239
Speaker 6: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlifradio

782
00:36:08,519 --> 00:36:25,400
dot com.