First, I'd start by acknowledging how much generous support that both Segrest and Central Pet have provided to CCA. Those awesome fish donations at The Big Fish Deal? The set-ups for the Give a Kid a Tank Competition? These companies gave them to CCA and we need to acknowledge and thank them for supporting our club and the hobby.
That said, industry consolidation always raises concerns about whether the interests of consumers (and, in our case, the niche of the market involving people in freshwater fish clubs) will be better served. Segrest CEO Sandy Moore - who's a friend of the club, an amazing and awesome person - has assured us that it will be business as usual at Segrest. And that's a good thing!
The fundamental issue in our hobby is less about getting people to buy their first aquarium set-up (most likely at whatever-Mart) but increasing the rate of success of those new aquarists so that some of them will become lifetime enthusiasts (and mentors to future generations). This is especially important to many of us, as the fish that many of us would like to see Segrest stock (and the equipment that we'd like to see Central Pet develop and supply) aren't for beginners. There needs to be a business case.
When I was a new aquarist, my LFS was a key bridge for learning and asking questions. I would likely have given up without the hands-on help that I received from the several LFS in town when I was a kid. I'd bet many of us remember the person at the LFS that would answer ANY question with patience (and good advice). While some quality LFS exist, they are few and far between today. I attribute the high failure rate to the absence of the hands-on mentorship that used to come from these stores.
This is a business problem / opportunity that our club (along with the organized fish hobby more broadly) can help address. But we need to think bigger than ourselves and the pet industry needs to think bigger than people in freshwater clubs simply being a small niche of the market.
Sure, people in fish clubs buy fish and supplies from Segrest and Central. But fish clubs - and their members - can play an outsize role in growing the hobby by improving the success of beginners and inspiring people with one or two tanks to expand beyond bread-and-butter fish and basic set-up-kits.
CCA is already a leader among clubs in this regard and all of the new folks at The Big Fish Deal (on our active forum and our meetings are a testament), but how can we do more? And how can we work with other not-for-profit clubs in partnering with industry for our mutual success?
These thoughts reflect my personal views
Matt
