Times are tough for most tack and feed stores. Even before COVID crushed brick and mortar operations, online retailers had grabbed the lion’s share of the pet-care – including equine – market.
Douglas Tack and Apparel in the Sacramento area’s Granite Bay is having none of that. Owned by the Lyman family since 2007, Douglas Tack and its sister businesses are entrenched in the community and thriving. Douglas Feed and Pet Supply, Granite Bay Paw Spa and Tucker’s Kettle Corn and Lemonade are the Douglas brand’s additional entities.
Community is key, insists Craig Lyman, who purchased the original feed store – then called The Golden Stallion — with his wife DeeDee. Both are hands-on managers and owners. Craig can be found herking feed or bedding bags to customers’ cars and DeeDee often assists baby chicks in the chicken barn, works on large apparel orders and interacts with fellow pet lovers who rely on the store.
“Peep Shows” & Pet-Lovers’ Trust
High visibility for their Douglas Blvd location in the heart of Granite Bay gets credit for some of their success, Craig says. Thirty-one thousand cars drive by on a typical day and the Douglas crew capitalizes on that with clever marketing displays.
Red-lettered “Peep Show” signs with large, lit arrows pointing to the store attract more than the chicken-keepers they’re intended for. “We have people pulling over just to take a picture of themselves with the sign!”
The Douglas brands and their people are equally visible in the community. Local sports teams, parades and fundraisers are generously sponsored. Tucker’s Kettlecorn and Lemonade Truck is famous throughout the region and often present at a wide range of events.
People’s love for their pets and their trust in Douglas’ help caring for them is the biggest driver of Douglas’ success.
The Douglas team is well-educated on the benefits, applications and usage of the products they carry. Manufacturer reps meet employees regularly to talk about their products, the research behind them and answer questions Douglas staff members anticipate from pet owners.
Craig and DeeDee are proactive about finding innovative products that help their customers take the best care of their animals. They attend trade shows to stay abreast of new products and pet care trends.
What’s New?
Occasionally it’s a customer who brings something new to their attention. That was the case for Airlite Cardboard Bedding and Thymox Botanical Disinfectant.
Grace Kamphefner, of Flying Change Farm in Loomis, prioritizes products that support healthy horses and a healthy environment. Airlite bedding came to her attention while searching for stable materials that fulfill both mandates. Made of pre-consumer cardboard, Airlite bedding is virtually dust-free, it neutralizes harmful ammonia odors and keeps horses clean and comfortable.
Equally important to Grace for her 32-stall boarding and training program, Airlite makes great compost material and can be spread on fields or conditioning tracks without adding toxins to the soil.
Thymox disinfectant fit her requirements because it kills 99% of disease-causing bacteria, viruses and mold without toxic chemicals. Its active ingredient is derived from the plant thyme, making it a botanical product with unapparelled disinfecting and cleaning power.
“We are very fortunate that Grace thinks about us when she’s found a new product that’s working really well for her,” Craig shares.
Taking on Airlite bedding also jump-started an unusual delivery adventure for the Lymans last fall — one that illustrates their can-do attitude as business owners.
When Olympic equestrians including the U.S.’s Kent Farrington, Ireland’s Cian O’Connor and Canada’s Tiffany Foster requested Airlite bedding for the 5* World Cup jumping competition at Split Rock Santa Anita, the Lymans agreed to haul a truckload to the famous Southern California venue.
“We’re used to seeing very nice horses in our area,” Craig says. U.S. dressage Olympic bronze medalist Kasey Perry-Glass is a long-time customer and the Douglas Tack and Douglas Feed teams participate in events at their nearby training base. “She’s one of four Olympic medalists in our area, so we see very nice horses.”
The sheer quantity of “stunning horses” at Santa Anita was mind-blowing, Craig laughs. Their owners always seek to improve their horses’ environments, knowing the correlation between healthier environments, improved well-being and better performance. High performance riders have caught onto Airlite’s dust-free benefits for their horses and insist on it increasingly when competing throughout North America.
That level of endorsement, coupled with the local embrace by Flying Change Farm, puts Airlite on the brink of big discovery by his horse-and pet-owning customers, Craig anticipates.
Community Impact
“Helping every animal live a healthy life and providing the best tools or feed to their owner” is a core mission for the Douglas businesses. Airlite and its companion product Thymox disinfectant fit that mission perfectly, Craig confirms.
Douglas’ employees are the businesses’ big secret weapons, Craig shares. Employees know their customers and their pets and, often, their high and low moments with them. On hearing of a pet’s passing, for example, “Our employees will grab a card and start having a few staff who knew the pet sign the card and mail it.”
Employees pay attention to what’s going on with their clients’ lives. “One day one of our delivery drivers saw a customer’s home on fire and that their barn had burned down,” Craig relays. “The driver came back, we loaded the truck with the feed and supplies we knew they needed and had it delivered the very same day for free – even before they called us. They were crying after we showed up and couldn’t believe the community they lived in.”
Savvy Strategies
Business savvy is another source of their success. Craig and DeeDee brought experience from their financial industry careers to the Douglas enterprises. Since buying the feed store, they’ve expanded the business 4 or 5 fold and purchased the land for their 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Along with service to individual customers and the community, multiple purchase incentives and tiered pricing for cash or card purchases engender loyalty. As a general rule, pet owners stick with a good store when they find it, Craig shares. Future plans include adding more delivery service and expanding their apparel line.
The Lymans live on a small ranch in Lincoln, very close to their stores. They had ponies and Quarter Horses when their three kids were young and now enjoy Corgi dogs. Sailing in the San Juan Islands is a favorite vacation and family game nights are a favorite regular activity.
And they relish the daily inspiration of seeing their business success translate to a big and positive impact on their community. Whether it’s helping a veteran horse owner get the best feed and barn supplies or building parade floats for local charities, the Lymans “have a blast having an impact on our community,” Craig concludes. “Nobody does that anymore and we love it!”