Dacor reboot / West Marine

[DevR]

I was in a West Marine in Sarasota this morning and saw that they were selling new Dacor BCDs.
I was confused about why Mares would bring back the brand. So, I went to a LDS and they, too had Dacor BCDs. The manager said that he thought that West Marine had wanted their own brand, but that somehow the deal went bad.

Does anybody know the details on that?

I'm personally annoyed, because I used to work in a shop that sold Mares, and at that time, Mares made techs attend a workshop every year. They also had the other normal dealer requirements, (teach classes, offer trips, etc).

Any insight?

 

[Wookie]

I also saw dacor in the west marine in Key West. My wife looks in the lds in Key West, and mares just pulled their dealership because the lds doesn’t carry the full line. So there is no place in Key West to get your Mares or dacor serviced, yet they get sold there.

 

[DevR]

They used to do all sorts of annoying things, like sending us non-weight integrated BCs when we had ordered weight-integrated, and then trying to charge a restocking fee. I like their masks and fins, but I'm not a huge fan of their other lines.

 

[JackD342]

I have no special "inside" info, but you can bet that the primary driver for the West Marine Dacor line is so that Mares can protect the Dacor trademark. (Use it or lose it!) From what I can see on the West Marine site, the Dacor products/designs have little or no relationship to the current Mares products - probably just sourcing from an OEM manufacturer. My impression is that regulator is premium priced and the BCD is value priced, so I don't know what that business plan was. And right now all of the Dacor and Mares items on the West Marine site are marked clearance, so that relationship may have ended.

I am surprised you say you saw Dacor BCDs (current, or 20 years old?) in a local shop. I hope to find out more at the DEMA Show in November. If that BCD is added to the Mares line at that retail, I will definitely add it to my store. Looks very similar to the old Aeris/Oceanic EX100, which was a great value. Probably from same factory in China.