Booming Aquariums... Finally!
It is so great to see our industry booming of late. The trigger has been the unusual culmination of factors resulting from the perfect storm driven by the biggest thing of 2020, Covid-19.
This pandemic has sparked a shift in priorities and “back to basics” lifestyle. The silver lining of this pandemic… with social distancing, it has created a return to what I would call ‘home-style living’. Where we’ve been given the opportunity to spend more time at home, with our families, more flexibility with our daily routines, and therefore extra time with home type activities. Many other industries have also experienced a similar booming trend including musical instruments, home exercise equipment, home office supplies, DIY supply stores, board games and puzzles, bicycle shops and the list goes on.
I am so happy to see the aquarium industry turn around and have fresh blood being pumped into it, revitalising it. I am so impressed to see it flourish into what all we fish nuts love so dearly. Before the pandemic, many aquarium businesses were just holding on to make ends meet, so it's great to hear the excitement in my customer's voices when they say things like, "it feels like Christmas everyday of late", "we have been so busy, we haven’t had time to stop and eat", or "I am so tired, but so happy".
The big question that everyone keeps asking me is how long can this level of interest endure? Well we know that the government current stimulus package expires in September and this combined with banks stopping the deferral of mortgage repayments at the same time means that the economic impact of Covid-19 will most likely be felt in this industry around this time too.
Having said that, history shows that global disasters often bring social reforms and post COVID, experts predict people will likely continue to work from home more often. With this, I can only hope that their new found fish-love will continue and influx of newcomers join the fold. We all know how infectious this hobby can be and its huge potential to spread to friends, family and co-workers alike.
Let's continue to work together to plant and nurture all the new seeds joining our passion of aquariums and continue the spread of this Aquatic pandemic!
Long live Aquariums!
Julian Wong B.Sc. HonsJMW International Pty. Ltd. t/as Aquatic Solutions
