18/02/2025
As business owners we are all too aware of how difficult it is to run a shop in this financial climate. Please read this post from a local business..... and remember to shop local, and use independent shops!
Hey
This is a difficult post to write, with some important information about Little Beasties.
I'd really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to read it.
I've been putting this off for quite a while, I've been scared about being honest about what we're facing, and going back and forth, trying to decide how I go about this post.
Next year on the 6th March 2026 we will have been open 20 years! 🥳 I can't believe it, when I say it out loud it sounds absolutely crazy to me! 🤯
I can't thank everyone enough for all your support over the years, it means so much to me, Claire, Rose and Tilly ❤️
This is where it gets really hard to write...
At the moment I cant see Little Beasties reaching its 20 year anniversary. We've had many ups and downs over the years but the last couple of years have been the hardest yet financially. Its getting extremely hard to make ends meet and its now got to the point where im not able to take a wage.
Theres many factors contributing to it but below are some of the main ones:
●Like all business owners we've had increased costs in so many areas including licence fees, insurance, utilities, wages, phone/Internet, delivery costs, vet fees, right down to shavings, food etc.
●Since i opened in 2006 people's buying habits have changed, buying online has increased by nearly 800%, I try to support as many local businesses as possible but I am also guilty of buying online, theres lots of reasons why we do it, but such a big change to how we spend our money is badly effecting bricks and mortar shops.
●I don't like the term "competition from big chains" because I've never focused on trying to compete with other businesses, I've always just focused on what we are doing, what our customers want, and what we believe are the best practices in animal welfare, but of course a large business with lots of shops and supermarket chains will get benefits I don't.
●We often hear "I would never buy or rehome a pet from anywhere else but you" and we LOVE this! ❤️ But it's sadly often followed by "I've bought everything i need from X, Y, Z so I only need to buy the pet from you" As much as we love that we're people's go to place for the animal itself, the reality is we cant survive on pet sales alone. We need the extra sales of equipment, accessories and the repeat sales for things like food, bedding etc to be financially stable.
Unfortunately without returning sales we won't be around to provide you with the animals you all love. We also often hear “I didn’t realise you are actually cheaper than XYZ”, people often presume ill be more expensive than large stores as im an independent retailer but this isnt always the case.
●People are facing rising utility costs, higher rents and mortgage rates, the rise in food prices, vet fees etc which means people having to cut back on what they spend on their pets or even look to rehome them.
When i opened Little Beasties in 2006 I wanted to create a pet shop that put animal care, welfare and excellent pet keeping first, offer a place that you could come for advice or help anytime, I wanted it to help support the rescue work I already did and support other local rescues, somewhere kids could come see animals and find out how to correctly care for and respect them and provide a safe place for students to do their work experience.
I feel very lucky that we have been able to do this over the last 19 years and would love to continue to do so.
I'm generally a 'look on the bright side' kind of person and I don't like to worry people, ill put on a smile and pretend its all ok, but I feel it is important to be honest and let you all know how bad it is.
We are determined to keep Little Beasties going and I want to keep my amazing team together but we cant do it without the help and support of our customers old and new.
Below are some of the things you can do to help us stay open:
🛒Shop with us - please if you can, buy from us even if its just a 50p dog treat, each sale will help.
If we don’t stock something, ask us if we can.
🐶 We dont just cater for reptiles! We stock products for all kinds of animals including wild birds.
🚗Have deliveries from us (new delivery service coming to Barrow) We already deliver to Ulverston, Grange and surrounding areas.
🏖Use our holiday service – bring your pets on holiday to us while your away
💅Use our nail clipping service – we clip rabbits and guinea pigs nails for £10
🎣Buy your fishing bait from us – we stock maggots, dead baits, ground baits and tackle
📍Share our posts – share, like, comment, all of these things help us get seen.
🗣Suggest us to your friends and family – Not everyone has social media, maybe mention us to people who may not of heard of us before.
👁If your popping in for a look at the animals maybe consider buying a pet treat or bag of wild bird seed to help support us
I really appreciate that you've taken the time to read this, its been one of the hardest things ive ever had to write for the business and its taken me weeks of anxiety, tears and editing to pluck up the courage to acutally post it.
If you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch.
Love Team Beasties – Mandy, Claire, Rose and Tilly x
