When did petco?

[homer1475]

Just got an email from petco.

When did they start carrying tropic marin products? Seems like they carry the full line, and it's cheaper then most "reef stores".

 

[Reefing102]

Not sure specifically about Tropic Marin but I know online has carried a vastly larger selection of saltwater products than what is in store.

 

[homer1475]

Yes this was online.

I haven't been into a physical store in years as there is none by me.

 

[GlassMunky]

probably when they partnered with quality marine to do all their online shipping. when you order from petco.com any fish are drop shipped by QM, and QM sells the full Tropic Marin line.

 

[homer1475]

Just noticed the email said "looks whats coming in new for March".

So maybe they just started carrying their products?

@Lou Ekus

 

[lil sumpin]

When I got into the hobby back in July, they had TM products. I remember seeing AFR in store

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I recently saw a livestream with Lou (I think it was on melevsreef) where he talked about Tropic Marin now being sold by Petco. Apparently he was strongly against the decision and has stepped down as the CEO over it. His belief was that Tropic Marin should have been only sold in LFS.

 

[homer1475]

I recently saw a livestream with Lou (I think it was on melevsreef) where he talked about Tropic Marin now being sold by Petco. Apparently he was strongly against the decision and has stepped down as the CEO over it. His belief was that Tropic Marin should have been only sold in LFS.

Lou stepping down as CEO is huge for that company(he essentially started it). The presence he has had on here alone is worth it's weight in gold. Could almost be a death blow, time will tell.

A link to the vid would be awesome if you have it handy?

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Lou stepping down as CEO is huge for that company(he essentially started it). The presence he has had on here alone is worth it's weight in gold. Could almost be a death blow, time will tell.

A link to the vid would be awesome if you have it handy?

He didn't leave Tropic Marin, he just took a different role. You can tell he was not happy with the Petco decision. I don't remember the specifics. Here is the link to the livestream. I don't remember the timestamp of when he mentioned it.


Edit - found it, it begins at the 1:13

 

[PR_nano]

Seen lots of products on local Petco (Florida). Started seeing salt a few months back and recently lots of other products in the shelf.

 

[Troylee]

This has gotta be the dumbest thing I’ll read today lol… he stepped down cause petco sells his product? I think it’s awesome as it’s hard to find most of the time! Petco sells all kinds of top of the line dog foods etc so what’s wrong with stepping up their saltwater department?

 

[Gill the 3rd]

This has gotta be the dumbest thing I’ll read today lol… he stepped down cause petco sells his product? I think it’s awesome as it’s hard to find most of the time! Petco sells all kinds of top of the line dog foods etc so what’s wrong with stepping up their saltwater department?

I mean its exactly what he said in the video...his words, not mine...

 

[Lou Ekus]

Thank you all for the kind comments. Let me clear up a few items…

I was against the decision to make our products available in PETCO stores. And, yes, I initially was going to step down as the CEO of Tropic Marin USA and step into a position of “Tropic Marin Product Specialist”. I truly love and believe in the Tropic Marin product line and the wonderful people on the Tropic Marin team that I have worked with for over 28 years. That new Product Specialist position would have maintained all the aspects of my job that I treasure, like working closely with hobbyists like all of you, and at the same time let me step away from administrative decisions the company was making that I did not agree with.

However, after many internal discussions, I have made the decision to stay with Tropic Marin USA as the CEO and help the company with this new venture. Part of that decision was due to PETCO being very active in following our MAP policy. They have indeed held to our pricing requirements. This lessons the blow, slightly, to our very important LFS owners. The up side of this decision, for the hobbyists, is that this new outlet will make a much larger range of Tropic Marin products much more available to most local markets.

While I still question this direction that ownership has chosen. My decision is to stay in my position so I can do what I can, from the inside, to make this work for everyone. The video interview with Marc Levenson was done during my initial knee jerk reaction, and I apologize for the incorrect presentation of my position.

I hope this clears up any questions anyone has.

 

[TX_REEF]

lots of good deals at petco - order online for store pickup to find some discounts, I often find salt and tanks cheaper this way.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Thank you all for the kind comments. Let me clear up a few items…

I was against the decision to make our products available in PETCO stores. And, yes, I initially was going to step down as the CEO of Tropic Marin USA and step into a position of “Tropic Marin Product Specialist”. I truly love and believe in the Tropic Marin product line and the wonderful people on the Tropic Marin team that I have worked with for over 28 years. That new Product Specialist position would have maintained all the aspects of my job that I treasure, like working closely with hobbyists like all of you, and at the same time let me step away from administrative decisions the company was making that I did not agree with.

However, after many internal discussions, I have made the decision to stay with Tropic Marin USA as the CEO and help the company with this new venture. Part of that decision was due to PETCO being very active in following our MAP policy. They have indeed held to our pricing requirements. This lessons the blow, slightly, to our very important LFS owners. The up side of this decision, for the hobbyists, is that this new outlet will make a much larger range of Tropic Marin products much more available to most local markets.

While I still question this direction that ownership has chosen. My decision is to stay in my position so I can do what I can, from the inside, to make this work for everyone. The video interview with Marc Levenson was done during my initial knee jerk reaction, and I apologize for the incorrect presentation of my position.

I hope this clears up any questions anyone has.

That's great to hear. I always watch when you are peoples livestreams. Always learning something.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Thank you all for the kind comments. Let me clear up a few items…

I was against the decision to make our products available in PETCO stores. And, yes, I initially was going to step down as the CEO of Tropic Marin USA and step into a position of “Tropic Marin Product Specialist”. I truly love and believe in the Tropic Marin product line and the wonderful people on the Tropic Marin team that I have worked with for over 28 years. That new Product Specialist position would have maintained all the aspects of my job that I treasure, like working closely with hobbyists like all of you, and at the same time let me step away from administrative decisions the company was making that I did not agree with.

However, after many internal discussions, I have made the decision to stay with Tropic Marin USA as the CEO and help the company with this new venture. Part of that decision was due to PETCO being very active in following our MAP policy. They have indeed held to our pricing requirements. This lessons the blow, slightly, to our very important LFS owners. The up side of this decision, for the hobbyists, is that this new outlet will make a much larger range of Tropic Marin products much more available to most local markets.

While I still question this direction that ownership has chosen. My decision is to stay in my position so I can do what I can, from the inside, to make this work for everyone. The video interview with Marc Levenson was done during my initial knee jerk reaction, and I apologize for the incorrect presentation of my position.

I hope this clears up any questions anyone has.

As a side note - Is TM still planning on selling the 5g buckets of the AFR powder in the US?

 

[Lou Ekus]

As a side note - Is TM still planning on selling the 5g buckets of the AFR powder in the US?

Yes, you can special order it at any of our Tropic Marin Preferred Dealers. Here is a link to the Preferred Dealer locator map:

Preferred Dealers

Many stores throughout the US carry Tropic Marin products, but our Preferred Dealers carry a larger selection of our line and are also using Tropic Marin in their store systems. Some of the...

www.tropicmarin-usa.com

 

[Troylee]

As a side note - Is TM still planning on selling the 5g buckets of the AFR powder in the US?

Say what???? A 5 gallon bucket?

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Say what???? A 5 gallon bucket?

Yea that was my reaction as well when I heard that lol. Depending on the cost I might give it a shot on my 300g system.

 

[Troylee]

Yea that was my reaction as well when I heard that lol. Depending on the cost I might give it a shot on my 300g system.

That’s where I’m at but I can only imagine this is like a million dollars! I mean the 800g is like a quart and around $70 alone.. haha