The changing Scuba Industry

[stuartv]

What is the incentive to become to a diver? I'm kind of a new diver and I really love it but I have no disillusions that I am going to watch the reefs die over the next 20 years.

There is more to diving than just looking at pretty reefs. I love diving, but I rarely do reef dives. Teach your kids some history and take them to dive some cool wrecks. I am 50 years old and I have learned more about WWII in the 2+ years since I started diving than I ever really learned in all the time before that.

 

[2airishuman]

Has the rent vs buy ratio changed? I have never rented. I can tell you with some authority that sales are plummeting in traditional dive shops.

I think that a substantial number of people who buy their gear get it from large nationwide retailers: Leisure Pro, DGX, Diver's Supply, etc. This is not unique to diving or to adventure sports. Highly specialized retail shops in other markets have disappeared due to national competition. Musical instrument sales, gun shops, bicycles, mountain climbing gear, boating equipment, same story.

 

[noj3333]

Does anyone else think this is just a classic case of, "The chickens are coming home to roost"? It seems like, from my limited experience, this is not a local bad egg (pun intended) but a industry that's fun itself in a predatory manner for a long time...

 

[stuartv]

I think that a substantial number of people who buy their gear get it from large nationwide retailers: Leisure Pro, DGX, Diver's Supply, etc. This is not unique to diving or to adventure sports. Highly specialized retail shops in other markets have disappeared due to national competition. Musical instrument sales, gun shops, bicycles, mountain climbing gear, boating equipment, same story.

Indeed. And my mom-and-pop LDS that is doing well is doing so despite expressly NOT competing on price with places like LP and DGX. Where they compete and win is on making people feel good. I think it's really as simple as that.

Even with the premium prices they charge for training, I don't think they actually turn a profit on an OW student. I'm sure they do turn a profit on selling a full kit of gear, though.

And they don't make any money running trips. They charge basically the same price for a slot on one of their trips as what you could book it for yourself. But, the owner flat-out told me, he makes money indirectly on the trips. That is by selling gear to people going on the trip. There's a night dive on this trip? You're going to need a light. His attitude and personality engenders so much loyalty in his customers that they will buy a light from him for $200 even though they know full well that they could get it for $100 online somewhere. They ALSO know that if they have ANY problem with it, he is going to take care of it for them with NO issues.

And I have to add that what I am saying about this shop would be one thing if I had done all my training and bought all my gear there. But, I have a wallet full of C cards now and I never took a single class there until I did SDI Solo back in November. And I didn't buy any of my gear there. Yet I go by there quite often. Sometimes just to hang out, drink a beer, and shoot the shbreeze with the owner. I take a 12-pack or so of his beer of choice every so often to try and at least keep up with what I drink. So, even though I didn't train there and have spent almost no money there, they treat me just the same as if I had done ALL my training and bought ALL my gear there. They really don't care - they are just happy to have more people diving, talk about diving, etc., etc.. The result is that I did make a point of doing my most recent training with them. And I have switched over to getting all my fills, VIPs, Hydros, reg servicing, etc.. there. And, of course, I tell anyone that asks about them, too. In the long run, I hope to feel like I have actually earned their friendship.

 

[mdb]

Does anyone else think this is just a classic case of, "The chickens are coming home to roost"? It seems like, from my limited experience, this is not a local bad egg (pun intended) but a industry that's fun itself in a predatory manner for a long time...

The "old timers" have refused to change their flawed business model for years.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I think that a substantial number of people who buy their gear get it from large nationwide retailers: Leisure Pro, DGX, Diver's Supply, etc.

That's really kind to call DGX and Divers Supply "large nationwide retailers." They do have a large on-line presence. DGX caters to techie type diving, which despite what one might be led to believe from reading SB is still a small niche. Divers Supply has four retail locations in the South--two in GA, one in FL, and one in NC--but they aren't any or much bigger than any other local dive shop. I use the Atlanta Divers Supply, which is a little store in a strip mall, as my local dive shop. The Macon, GA store is a bit bigger. I wasn't even aware of their on-line presence until I had been going there for some time, and I still haven't ordered anything from them on-line. Anyway, not really disagreeing with you, just putting it in perspective. LeisurePro, of course, is the 800 lb. gorilla of on-line sales.

 

[2airishuman]

The standards seem to be more geared toward the occasional diver who's going to be spending that one vacation a year in a tropical location where they will have someone setting up their gear for them, and taking them on guided dives in relatively benign conditions. It's not well-suited for people who dive more locally in more challenging conditions, without the assistance of a dive guide. My perspective is geared more toward the needs of the latter, since those are the students I spent 12 years catering to. As a consequence, I tended to create my own training materials that were considerably more in-depth than what had been offered by any of the mainstream agencies.

Shore dives, freshwater lakes and streams with limited viz, current, debris, cold, lack of surface support, need for navigational ability -- these are difficult dives. I figured it out through practice and reading stuff online. I haven't found anyone who truly teaches it.

 

[diver0008]

The "old timers" have refused to change their flawed business model for years.

What is the solution?

 

[mdb]

What is the solution?

Independent Instructors teaching a good and long complete course of instruction.

Encouraging local diving.

Bonding the new divers into the existing community of local divers.

Scheduled dives, local and abroad.

 

[2airishuman]

That's really kind to call DGX and Divers Supply "large nationwide retailers." They do have a large on-line presence. DGX caters to techie type diving, which despite what one might be led to believe from reading SB is still a small niche. Divers Supply has four retail locations in the South--two in GA, one in FL, and one in NC--but they aren't any or much bigger than any other local dive shop. I use the Atlanta Divers Supply, which is a little store in a strip mall, as my local dive shop. The Macon, GA store is a bit bigger. I wasn't even aware of their on-line presence until I had been going there for some time, and I still haven't ordered anything from them on-line. Anyway, not really disagreeing with you, just putting it in perspective. LeisurePro, of course, is the 800 lb. gorilla of on-line sales.

Thanks, I realize this and thought about including something on it but it didn't make the final edit.

What is large. DGX is large in the sense that they have, as you call it, a large on-line presence. They have an organized, detailed, informative, accurate web site. They have a highly curated product line, most of it private label (that is, products manufactured by others which they sell under their own brand), and their own fulfillment operation that is very effective. They have fantastic customer service. I don't know how much they sell but I bet it's more than all the LDSs in Minnesota, combined.

Leisure Pro, Divers Supply, DRIS, Piranha, various ebay and amazon sellers. Are they large? Some more so than others but compared to the traditional, privately owned Mom & Pop local dive shop, on a gross sales basis, yes they are.