Info Aqualung Financial Troubles

[lowwall]

Sometimes things that are expensive are worth it.

I'll agree with the "sometimes".

 

[Wibble]

List price for a 30m apeks spoil is £117 or US$150. It is only some string on an aluminium reel, cost of production has to be less than $10 and probably less than US$5, they seem to have the pricing / profit / volume model very very wrong

I bought a few Apeks spools 5ish years ago at a dive show for $40ish. Very shiny but absolutely not worth the piss-taking pricing that Apeks think it's worth.

The itty-bitty reels gets my goat: £220/$275/€275.


Baaaaa

 

[cerich]

I didn't say a heart attack.. LOL
Everything hinges on if AL can deliver the double digit growth forecast in Horizon 2027. They are the biggest brand in diving, that makes double digit growth more difficult. Look at their forecast for 2023 that says 30% growth and yet only having Q1 and 2 growth forecast of 7.5% in dive. Hmmm, well, let's see how that pans out.

Well, just gonna say, it didn't pan out.
The cash wood stove they have been burning seems to have burned ALL the cords of wood and most of the furniture and now looking at the wallpaper wondering how well it will burn.

 

[Bob Evans]

From our side of the fence, we are seeing a rough road ahead. I have used Aqualung equipment since the start of the 1960s. A leader in the industry. Really sad.

 

[iain/hsm]

From our side of the fence, we are seeing a rough road ahead. I have used Aqualung equipment since the start of the 1960s. A leader in the industry. Really sad.

Happy Christmas Bob.

On your side of the fence in the 1960's Aqualung didn't exist yet and neither did the Grateful Dead,

But back in your day you would have been diving using US Divers fins made by an American outfit with the catchy company name of: The Shamrock Rubber Company.

It wasn't until Air Liquide started promoting the La Spirotechnique folk into management that you got U.S. Divers buying fins made by Diverplast in Genoa from Guido Zoffoli and the lovely Beatrice.

To complete our 6 degrees of diving fin separation out of interest the moulding machines used by Diverplast were made by company back then called Sandretto whose chairman lived in the next village to me. I still go to the same cafe for breakfast next the church in Blockley Cotswolds where he lived and on a clear sunny day get to pass the other grateful dead lined up neatly next door.

As for a rough road ahead look on the bright side what could be worse. Iain

 

[Bob Evans]

Happy Christmas Bob.

On your side of the fence in the 1960's Aqualung didn't exist yet and neither did the Grateful Dead,

But back in your day you would have been diving using US Divers fins made by an American outfit with the catchy company name of: The Shamrock Rubber Company.

It wasn't until Air Liquide started promoting the La Spirotechnique folk into management that you got U.S. Divers buying fins made by Diverplast in Genoa from Guido Zoffoli and the lovely Beatrice.

To complete our 6 degrees of diving fin separation out of interest the moulding machines used by Diverplast were made by company back then called Sandretto whose chairman lived in the next village to me. I still go to the same cafe for breakfast next the church in Blockley Cotswolds where he lived and on a clear sunny day get to pass the other grateful dead lined up neatly next door.

As for a rough road ahead look on the bright side what could be worse. Iain

Thanks, you are right. I have a Doxa U.S. Diver watch from 1968. I am lost in time now and, hopefully, will remain here for a bit longer.

 

[Endler's]

Social media may very well hasten Aqualung's demise. 'Have seen posts on r/scuba and even YouTube comments, admonishing divers not to buy their product, 'cause of the company's uncertain future.

A self-fulfilling prophecy in the making!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So have we concluded in scubaboard expert land that Aqualung is indeed done and falling in slow motion about to make a thunderous rumble as it hits the ground?

 

[lowwall]

So have we concluded in scubaboard expert land that Aqualung is indeed done and falling in slow motion about to make a thunderous rumble as it hits the ground?

Remember that they are in this mess because they were not profitable enough to pay off their creditors. While the immediate pressure of making large debt payments is gone, I doubt the current owner is interested in running a company that produces a modest return at the best of times. Instead they'll be looking to quickly ameliorate their losses.

My guess is AL will be kept alive, but shrinking, while the more attractive bits (Apeks, PPS, ?) are sold off. Once those are gone, the remainder of AL will be sold for whatever they can get. Perhaps there's a buyer who will keep it relatively intact, but I think it's more likely that an existing player in the industry will pick it up for their dealer network and maybe the name. I won't even hazard a guess about how many of their products will survive the short term cuts and then the sale.

 

[iain/hsm]

Well, just gonna say, it didn't pan out.
The cash wood stove they have been burning seems to have burned ALL the cords of wood and most of the furniture and now looking at the wallpaper wondering how well it will burn.

Heck Cerich You nailed it. How did you knows soon? You should have said this three weeks ago.