Some dealers got bent over the charge, one thing I really expected this year (because traditionally Florida DEMA's are the worst) is the horde of DM's on Friday afternoon and Saturday with the "I brought my busted XXXX, I'm a DM so you really should hand me a new one now even though the busted one has 2000 dives and is ten years old". It didn'y happen this year.... (Zac, remember in Miami when I was handed the petetion for Mares to bring back the Quattro L in size 4-5 for female divemasters??)
I'd like to talk about the choice the shops are being faced with. We have PADI and all of us that participate here begging the dealers to in some way at least understand the Internet and realize that the in store business plan needs to be adjusted and the there is SSI, SP and AL sticking to the anti internet (which translates in shop by some dealers to anti consumer which then becomes anti all LDS on here...)message.
I'm honestly worried, way too high a % of my shops are hurting in the cash flow department and trying to adopt a "just in time" approach to inventory. It make sense until you realize that the online guys are selling selection, convience and availability more than just price. (Price is the door kicker, the other stuff holds their cust)
I'm all for natural selection where the healthy survive, I'm just worried that some great shops are in effect doing exactly what they have been told will work by the "industry stakeholders" they interact with which be to brutal has been a dismal failure. It almost seems sometimes that the ones that remain anti internet are actually doing it because they believe it's what the shops want to hear which means more business from the pie for them than the rest of us. Problem I see is that pie will continue to shrink until there is no room for anybody except Sheiko....
