West Marine Scuba Shops-Within-Stores - What to you think?

[RJP]

I am interested in neither Mares nor SSI. With that said, I see this as an opportunity to really shake up the scuba dinosaurs...

The marketer in me is intrigued by the move. The strategy has three things going for it that, in my experience, can be pretty powerful...

1. IT'S TARGETED: whether it's good or bad targeting remains to be seen, but the idea of going after people with disposable income and free time that like the water seems intuitively smart.
2. IT'S DISRUPTIVE: tapping into a different market to create a new, relatively distinct value network. The most successful disruptive strategies typically start by taking an existing offering and going after a previously ignored customer base... and then start to attract under-served members of the previously existing customer base.
3. IT'S LOW RISK: on the cost end, there's limited investment required due to existing materials and infrastructure on both sides (SSI/WM) with virtually zero capital expenditure requirements; the ability to test-and-learn as the implementation is scaled up is an added bonus; on the market side, there limited potential to either cannibalize or alienate existing scuba customer base.

All in all it seems to be what we call "a testable proposition" which is a technical term that marketing professionals use to describe a potentially good idea we wish we had thought of.

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2014 at 09:29 AM ----------

I want to buy my air fills from the same facility that stores and sells many gallons of organic solvents, paints and epoxies...

I want to buy my airfills near where I dive. Which may not be an issue in Florida, but the West Marine store locator would suggest that they pretty much have the waterfront covered (See what I did there?) in terms of where the "local diving" is done in NJ.

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2014 at 09:17 AM ----------

Is this going to be like academy sport or dicks or worse yet walmart? SCUBA is a life and death sport. I really don't want to hear about some ding a ling chasing a little white ball through the woods. While Nimrod Nick tries filling my tank or servicing my regs.

Diving is no more a "life and death" endeavor than driving a car.

In fact I used that analogy early on to explain it to my wife: "Diving is like driving a car: It's easy to die, and it's easy to NOT die."

I never hear anyone wonder whether "Nimrod Nick" adjusting your brakes at the auto shop - who dropped out of highschool and was out partying so late last night that he's still drunk this morning - knows what he's doing.

 

[Wookie]

Diving is no more a "life and death" endeavor than driving a car.

In fact I used that analogy early on to explain it to my wife: "Diving is like driving a car: It's easy to die, and it's easy to NOT die."

I never hear anyone wonder whether "Nimrod Nick" adjusting your brakes at the auto shop - who dropped out of highschool and was out partying so late last night that he's still drunk this morning - knows what he's doing.

You have fully partaken of the dive instructor Kool-Aid, you know what we teach our youngsters. We teach them that this is life and death, that if you don't get your regs serviced at the shop we will die, and diving is safe.

If I didn't do this for a living, I'd get crappy regs I could throw away after each use, I'd buy 2 Craigslist cylinders that I could get filled at the local West Marine, and I'd scrape some boat hulls for fun and profit. I did that for a while by the way. I think that the West Marine Scuba shops will kick butt. Not to the vacation diver or the typical ScubaBoard member, but for the guy who wants to have a look at his hull in the marina before leaving for the Marquesas, it's a home run.

 

[RJP]

You have fully partaken of the dive instructor Kool-Aid, you know what we teach our youngsters. We teach them that this is life and death, that if you don't get your regs serviced at the shop you will die, and diving is safe.

Had a professor in grad school who used to say that there's a reason you don't see ads on TV that say "Fly United Airlines... but keep in mind that air travel is an inherently dangerous proposition."

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2014 at 10:01 AM ----------

I think that the West Marine Scuba shops will kick butt. Not to the vacation diver or the typical ScubaBoard member, but for the guy who wants to have a look at his hull in the marina before leaving for the Marquesas, it's a home run.

I hope their business plan is based on selling more than a few OW classes, a few sets of gear, and the occasional air fill. That sounds more like a bloop fly ball that goes over the second baseman's head and lands in for a single, rather than a home run.

 

[Water Boy76]

If they only offer air fills they are losing a huge chunk of the diving community day one.
I suppose they are going for the low hanging fruit, easy sale to the newbies. Not surprising.

On the other hand, if they get more people certified and diving is that a bad thing?
I dunno, but you won't catch me buying scuba gear their.

 

[Wookie]

If they only offer air fills they are losing a huge chunk of the diving community day one.
I suppose they are going for the low hanging fruit, easy sale to the newbies. Not surprising.

On the other hand, if they get more people certified and diving is that a bad thing?
I dunno, but you won't catch me buying scuba gear their.

I don't think their target is the certified diver.....

I know lots of certified divers in Key West. I know just as many who aren't, but still do their own ships husbandry, still like to go snag a bug for dinner, still like to shoot a hogfish. Do you really think the clerk at WM will be asking for a c-card? I don't.

 

[redacted]

I don't think their target is the certified diver.....

I know lots of certified divers in Key West. I know just as many who aren't, but still do their own ships husbandry, still like to go snag a bug for dinner, still like to shoot a hogfish. Do you really think the clerk at WM will be asking for a c-card? I don't.

BUT... BUT... BUT... It is industry standard.

 

[drbill]

Do you really think the clerk at WM will be asking for a c-card? I don't.

So divers don't have to show a c-card in Florida to get an air fill, Frank? They do here on the Left Coast.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I don't think their target is the certified diver.....

I know lots of certified divers in Key West. I know just as many who aren't, but still do their own ships husbandry, still like to go snag a bug for dinner, still like to shoot a hogfish. Do you really think the clerk at WM will be asking for a c-card? I don't.

I would assume that they would have SSI handling the dive operations. I doubt they would go for that.

It would be interesting to see some different ideas in the market, but I doubt this is going amount to anything. They'll do a pilot at their first store and loose interest after that.

 

[Wookie]

So divers don't have to show a c-card in Florida to get an air fill, Frank? They do here on the Left Coast.

I've never seen it, Bill. We ask if someone is going on the boat, but I have folks swing by to get fills at the dock all the time. I don't ask them. I don't charge for it either.

I would assume that they would have SSI handling the dive operations. I doubt they would go for that.

It would be interesting to see some different ideas in the market, but I doubt this is going amount to anything. They'll do a pilot at their first store and loose interest after that.

THAT is a distinct possibility. The Gander Mountain 5406 Mako packages are slowly being released to the public for sale now, along with the 4 nitrox systems. Perfect replacements for mine, except mine don't need replacing. They didn't dump them on the market because they didn't want to kill the used compressor market. If some smart person at WM wants some barely used 5406 Makos, I know where they are. The 5406 block is obsolete now, and parts are starting to climb.

 

[drbill]

Interesting on the c-card issue. When I moved to Catalina back in the summer of '69 (after diving freshwater in the Midwest for 7 years), I was told I had to get certified to get air fills here in the State so I had to get "certified" by someone other than my psychiatrist!