pet shop / groom shop demand? (Raleigh, Durham: house, business, move)

[raynesdad97]

I was wondering if there is much demand for a decent pet shop in the Raleigh- Durham area? I'm not talking a Petco or petsmart, A small family owned shop. Is fish keeping a major hobby there? It is huge in Ohio. Just curious. Thanks.

[ADVentive]

I don't know about fish, but we have dogs and you would have a lot of competition from PetSmart which is all over and has grooming services and also sells fish. We also have Pet Depot and Pet Supermarket, but I don't know that they do grooming there. There is a groomer pretty close to our house and I think there are some others out there. My mother-in-law used to use a groomer that made house calls. I don't know if that helps much, but that's what I know.

[raynesdad97]

petsmart does not sell saltwater fish, at least not here. Major chains only business edge is advertising power. Quality of fish, animals, and service is not superior. I am contemplating opening a shop when we move down there. I was just curious if any hobbyists thought the area was lacking a quality pet shop. My GF is a groomer for petco and could easily go out on her own, so I can also offer grooming. Thanks for any responses.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by raynesdad97

I was wondering if there is much demand for a decent pet shop in the Raleigh- Durham area? I'm not talking a Petco or petsmart, A small family owned shop. Is fish keeping a major hobby there? It is huge in Ohio. Just curious. Thanks.

There is an independant fish keeping store in Wake Forest, Aquarium Outfitters on S. Main, but at the same time, another small pet shop went out of business in less then two years. I have no clue what is available in other areas of the Triangle.

[southward bound]

There's a mobile grooming service ("Aussie Pet Mobile") that goes to the house. Don't know their number, but you could google it and see how much business they have. Also, check the kennels - some of them might offer grooming.

There are some small pet shops around, but they have limited choices and don't ever seem to have a lot of traffic. Don't know how they make it. I do my own grooming, and can do an occasional acquaintance's dog.

[RaleighRob]

I think there are enough fish shops here...at least in Raleigh proper. I saw one go out of business recently due to lack of sales.

A small locally-run independent pet shop, though, could be promising. I can't think of many around anymore.