Greek aquatics store is a cut above the rest

The store was opened in Kifisia, north-east of Athens, roughly 5 years ago and now covers a retail area of 1 000 m². Establishing the business was a brave move on the part of proprietor Georg Fpa-mapiou, because hitherto aquarium products had normally only been sold in Greece in pet stores alongside products for other pets. Specialising in aquatics was the preserve of small shops up to that point. In opening his speciality aquatics store, the passionate fish enthusiast fulfilled a long-cherished desire. He invested from the outset in a broad and deep range of stock as well as competent specialist advice. The concept proved a success, because Water Inn has increased its sales year on year. With annual sales of €1.74 mio the store even confidently weathered last year’s severe recession. Water Inn has also steadily expanded its customer base in the last couple of years from around 2 000 initially to over 2 400 now. The reported crisis in the aquatics segment really appears to have had no effect on the company. But success has to be earned, and Water Inn works constantly on optimising its concept and adding further attractions to its departments. Marine aquariums in the ascendancy The store extends over two floors. In the basement are a 320 m² quarantine area and smaller sales rooms for aquarium plants, live rock and marine aquariums. The sales room for aquarium plants, created inter alia with considerable support from Dennerle, one of Water Inn’s main suppliers, and the room for marine aquariums were only set up last year. On the ground floor is the heart of the business: countless sales tanks with freshwater and marine fish, corals, live rock, plants and invertebrates and any number of beautifully appointed show aquariums. An additional room houses food and care products for aquarium inhabitants as well as an extensive range of aquarium equipment. There’s also a small outdoor area featuring two fully equipped pond layouts. Enthusiasts would be hard pressed to find a bigger selection of fish and aquarium products anywhere in Greece. The store stocks approx. 1 000 different species of fish. Water Inn has also picked up on the growing popularity of marine aquariums across the country, and this segment alone accounts for 60 per cent of the company’s sales. “Many aquarists start with freshwater and sooner or later they switch to marine aquariums, because they find them more interesting,” says Angeliki Soromani from the marketing department. Are nano-aquariums…