DEMA review in Undercurrents

[USIA]

As a manufacturer, I really think one of the biggest problems with DEMA over the last 7 years has been the incredible expansion of the Travel Industry at the show. It seems as if half the Convention Center in Houston was dedicated to travel. I realize how important Travel has become as a revenue source for Dive Retailers, but as a manufacturer, it seems half the people who come to your booth are actually the people working the show. We have had to strongly consider whether DEMA is really worth the time or money. If my company relied on the Sport Diving industry for all of our revenue, we would be in serious trouble. We realized that it is getting harder and harder to compete with the overseas market. The main reason we come to DEMA is to promote our products to the Military and the Foreign Military personnel that attend which make up the largest portion of our yearly sales. I'm curious to see if DiveBiz is just DEMA with a different name.

 

[brucebowker]

As a manufacturer, I really think one of the biggest problems with DEMA over the last 7 years has been the incredible expansion of the Travel Industry at the show. It seems as if half the Convention Center in Houston was dedicated to travel.

I attend DEMA only to look at and order equipment which was the original intentions of the show. Again I say DEMA should split the show into two separate sections.

Bruce Bowker
Bonaire

 

[Spratman]

Howdy USIA,

It's interesting, because I spent about two hours last Saturday talking to the LDS owner about the DEMA show in Houston. He told me that it was nothing like in the past. Not a lot of companies to talk to.

It's kinda off subject but we were also talking about the dive industry inflating the number of shops, certifications, etc. to make it look like it's still on the up swing. Eastern PA is pretty much dying off. That's what I like about the guy....no BS, he just tells it like it is.

Some guys like the travel industry being there, but most of the stuff I've read is shop owner's looking for the new technology coming up.

 

[USIA]

My favorite part of DEMA is getting to meet and spend time with many of the people who work for the LDS's around the country. Another part we look forward to is meeting prospective dive shop owners/managers and getting a chance to explain our product, and get them to understand that customer service and fast delivery is many times more important than the overall price. The problem this year in Houston is that many of the large dive shop owners chose not to attend. Especially the East Coast dealers which we had really targeted. It was a major disappointment. The good part about this past DEMA is that it seemed that many of the people that were there were there to conduct business. The problem was that there just weren't that many buyers there overall. My major suggestion for DEMA is to just hold it in Las Vegas every year, period. Everybody likes to go to Vegas and even if they don't need to go to DEMA, the lure of Vegas is a good reason to come on down anyway.

 

[teardrop]

$3,500 in equipment? You can outfit yourself for MUCH less than that if you do a little research and are willing to live with some used gear (after all, if it is a dying sport there are a lot of newbies with equipment that has only been used for 5-10 dives). Let's see, my latest expenses:

$100 7mm wetsuit
$200 used SP BCD
$250 computer
$200 used SP G250/Mk10 reg
$050 fins
$025 booties
$050 Cressi-Sub Big Eyes mask
$010 snorkel
$050 weight belt
$050 hooded vest

Of course if you are diving warm water only, you can do with less than that!

I don't care about buying the newest equipment, but want good reliable stuff. I don't mind diving with used equipment as long as it has been checked out.

Heck, for $3,500 I could add an U/W video housing and camera AND a digital still camera and housing!

Dr. Bill

OK let me see were all my money went as far as gear goes: in the past 2 years

3000. Dry suit
1500. regulators (3 DS4/ATX100)
1000. Set of doubles (Faber 108s 300bar manifold and bands)
1100. primary dive light
150. 2 back up lights (scouts)
700. Back plate and 55# wing
250. Argon set up
100 mask
145. AL 40 (deco tank)
300. lift bag, reel, and spools
1000 dive computer
80. fins
300. dry box for all gear
TOTAL= about $12,000,00 Gear only
plus it's $130. in gas fills for every dive plus boat fees and tip =$100.00

Once bitten by the dive bug it doesn't stop

 

[sealab]

hello:
I was at the dema show in houston and there weren't the crowds that were there at the show in 2003 in miami beach. My buddy who had the booth talked with some people and this is what he was told; it was the location not so much dema. In 2003 at miami beach our booth traffic was heavy every day.
With this years show at vegas i think this will tell if the problems are dema or not.
my humble 2 cents.
good diving!
jimmy

 

[Leadking]

I have exhibited at the DEMA show since 1981 when it was held in the Las Vegas Hilton ballroom. The Miami show (2003) was BAD. The Houston show (2004) was disastous with attendance off over 50% (no one wants to go to Houston). The show timing and location are not good for the industry in my opinion for the following reasons

1. Fall is still busy for many LDS and they are trying to still make money, figure out how they did financially for the year, and are trying to conserve cash for the long hard winter.

2. LDS are looking for a trade show destination that offers good airfares, reasonable hotel rates, and other recreational opportunities so that they can take a mini vacation and get their significant other to join them.

This debate has been going on for years and the above is my 2 cents worth.

 

[iain/hsm]

You can sum up the DEMA show in three words: Location. Location. Location!
As an exhibitor for the last 10 years either Miami or Orlando have been good for our business and well attended. However Las Vegas, Houston, or worse still San Francisco, Santa Ana or New Orleans in cold January mornings have been poorer.

If DEMA suffers from a loss in divers then reduce the age limit that people can attend. As a 50 years old my diving purchase is pretty minimal, however I started at age 14.
It seems a great pity that no children are allowed inside at the show any more. It is therefore IMHO no wonder that kids prefer computer games, skateboarding. As an industry we have excluded them from the show, we will pay the cost of exclusion.

Regarding the big diving companies not attending DEMA. It’s not about exhibition cost, or stand size. If it was just that then they have to option to rent a smaller stand! Besides DEMA stand cost represents the smallest cost per square foot per attendance of any show in the world I have attended. The problem with the big four is that of market share.

Most big companies have as many distributor they can handle within turnover for a given area. There is no new business for them at DEMA there is only market share.
The smaller leaner companies need the DEMA show to exhibit there product to the world audience and have in doing taken away some of that market share from the big groups. Just look at the initial negative response regarding Nitrox in the early days from the big groups. ( I disclose I was Marketing Manager Europe for U.S. Divers products 1980>)

Back to my original point. Keep your DEMA shows in a warm sunny location, invite the whole family, allow kids, Like it or not we have lost the manufacture bit of DEMA to the pacific rim factories anyway, thanks in the main to the big four. Besides that the fashion industry hijacked the rest of DEMA well before the holiday destinations did !! However look on the bright side at least you get to book a great holiday each year. Iain Middlebrook.

 

[The Chairman]

Last year's figures for the Scuba Industry came out last year. As an industry we were pretty flat. The small loss in instruction revenue was ofset by the equally small increase in gear sales. I think it's going to take some drastic action by one or two "big players" to get the ball moving again.

No, I don't blame the movie, the terrorists or the economy for this. It's all about how we market ourselves. As an industry we are incredibly SLOW to accept the internet as a source of revenue. Magazines are GREAT, but the average Joe who wants to buy diving equipment or travel is turning to the internet in HUGE numbers. Unfortunately, they are being offered a myriad of ALTERNATIVES other than SCUBA when they do. When approached correctly, they will change the venue of their disposable income to the latest "seducer" on the net.

 

[Spratman]

Absolutely, NetDoc.

During my discourses with the LDS owner this is what continually came up....He told me the dive industry started going downhill in 1998. All your points hit the nail on the head. Because of the Net, people can easily comparison shop for the same product on multiple sites. I use the net to get pricing baselines and then go my LDS. I've talked to him about putting up a website, for information purposes. It is still being worked on. Caution is good, but you need to put up some pertinent information in the interim. The dive industry seems to be paralleling the old big dog wars of mainframes vs. PC's. When IBM finally did jump on board they were way back in the pack and priced expensive compared to the competitors.

I would have thought that the industry would pick up the ball and run with it. I see some old timer's with websites. Early adopters have the edge. Business models just don't work the way they used to and I suspect that we'll see an oligarchy where a couple of key players own all the brand names. I guess that has already happened. But it is nearly impossible to make the accusation of price fixing, I suspect that it is alive and well.

People have money. People are looking for new interests. I am trying to promote diving to all my friends as a means to escape the rat race, plus all the cool stuff you see untersee.

For what IAIN/HSM said I believe is the key for the shows. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. With the LDS side, it needs to be advertising, advertising, advertising! Yes, I know there isn't much money for it, but low cost adds can be taken out in all the local papers, and periodicals. People don't think about diving in my neck of the woods, because they aren't confronted with it.

Jack