GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
West Marine has been in business almost 40 years also.
They have apx 200 million in annual sales, 10 million EBIT.
How does that compare to your sales?
West Marine Scuba Shops-Within-Stores - What to you think?
- Thread starter johnmckenzie
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West Marine has been in business almost 40 years also.
They have apx 200 million in annual sales, 10 million EBIT.
How does that compare to your sales?
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Your point!!! I missed it!! Just a small shop trying to deliver a professional product at a fair price!!!! West Marine is in the boat business until a few months ago!!! I am in the dive business!!!
GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
Point is most small dive shops are owned by dive enthusiast. Not business professionals.
Look at west marine's growth and profit, compare to yours. Who has the most business sense?
I am not trying to slam you. You may run a nice professional business and be the nicest guy in the word. Maybe you intentionally kept your business small to enjoy life. That's your choice and business. Just does not make sense to slam them for being stupid when they are growing and profitable.
Its like Walmart, many people don't like them because they are predatory and sell crap and generally full of some very unusual people. Those are legit complaints. But they are not stupid, they know how to grow and make money by driving down cost of goods and making an efficient distribution system.
I want to buy my air fills from the same facility that stores and sells many gallons of organic solvents, paints and epoxies...I like my fills to have a little "bite" to them..
I was just thinking that. WM does boat repairs and such, right? Toxic fumes and air intakes dont mix well no matter how good your filter system is. Kind of like having an airfill station right next to a paint booth.
But, I am sure things will be regulated properly in the long run.
In Florida the lawsuit would be huge
Water Boy76
Contributor
No West Marine does not repair boats they are only a retailer of those products. The only thing toxic in a WM store is employee attitudes and their prices.
i have tried to look at most of the posts in this thread as i find the topic quite interesting. i recently spent a little time with some of the key people involved with SSI and this arrangement with West Marine was mentioned.
it is not for me to speak for anyone at SSI of course, but i personally think perhaps the idea may be to tap a new market of the proper age and disposable income etc that may never have taken up the sport unless exposed to it through this kind of route. so if this is what will happen (who knows) then i don't see it taking any potential business away from the established dive shops. but it could add newcomers to the sport with a lot of extra money to spend, and that should be good for everyone in the area, as well as good for the shops/resorts in destinations these folks may travel to.
i also don't see this company (west marine) as one that would like to try and take over the entire market place by under cutting all its competitors etc. i would hope they see the better value is in selling good quality gear at fair prices, not selling anything they can for a bottom of the barrel mark up just because they can.
yes it does seem this may be a way for mares to get a boost but whats wrong with that. it's got to be better than forcing all current SSI dive centers to carry mares whether they want to or not ?? that would be a disaster.
just to maybe clarify a couple of points brought up in some posts...... SSI does offer "free" online materials for the academic sessions. and once registered they would be directed to an SSI facility in their area. so even if they are first exposed to the idea of scuba through WM, and perhaps even buy gear from them, it will still be their choice which lds or resort to use for their practical training. so my advise to any shops in these areas would be to step it up. bring your "A" game and realize that to acquire customers from this (hopefully new) demographic you will have to offer top notch service because that is what these guys and gals will demand. the up side is, you can charge accordingly.
also, SSI instructors do have to be affiliated with an SSI dive center or resort so they will not be able to use "independent" instructors. i have no idea how this "guardian scuba" fits in the big picture but as is usually the case, the best will succeed and the others will fail.
having a relatively solid grasp of the SSI philosophy, with them being so connected to the retail sales side of the scuba industry, i think this move only makes sense for them. whether it works out for the best for everyone involved is yet to be seen. hopefully there is enough to go around for everyone
it is not for me to speak for anyone at SSI of course, but i personally think perhaps the idea may be to tap a new market of the proper age and disposable income etc that may never have taken up the sport unless exposed to it through this kind of route. so if this is what will happen (who knows) then i don't see it taking any potential business away from the established dive shops. but it could add newcomers to the sport with a lot of extra money to spend, and that should be good for everyone in the area, as well as good for the shops/resorts in destinations these folks may travel to.
i also don't see this company (west marine) as one that would like to try and take over the entire market place by under cutting all its competitors etc. i would hope they see the better value is in selling good quality gear at fair prices, not selling anything they can for a bottom of the barrel mark up just because they can.
yes it does seem this may be a way for mares to get a boost but whats wrong with that. it's got to be better than forcing all current SSI dive centers to carry mares whether they want to or not ?? that would be a disaster.
just to maybe clarify a couple of points brought up in some posts...... SSI does offer "free" online materials for the academic sessions. and once registered they would be directed to an SSI facility in their area. so even if they are first exposed to the idea of scuba through WM, and perhaps even buy gear from them, it will still be their choice which lds or resort to use for their practical training. so my advise to any shops in these areas would be to step it up. bring your "A" game and realize that to acquire customers from this (hopefully new) demographic you will have to offer top notch service because that is what these guys and gals will demand. the up side is, you can charge accordingly.
also, SSI instructors do have to be affiliated with an SSI dive center or resort so they will not be able to use "independent" instructors. i have no idea how this "guardian scuba" fits in the big picture but as is usually the case, the best will succeed and the others will fail.
having a relatively solid grasp of the SSI philosophy, with them being so connected to the retail sales side of the scuba industry, i think this move only makes sense for them. whether it works out for the best for everyone involved is yet to be seen. hopefully there is enough to go around for everyone
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Didn't catch the prior posts about the SSI/Mares part, thanks for that
With that said, we have a SSI/Mares LDS Fairly close to our local West Marine store (10 minute drive) that IS NOT going to like that.
That very well could be the end of them.
I bet they WILL like it. Assuming SSI/Mares is taking a holistic approach and, in that particular situation, they are smart enough to use the WM location to tap into a new customer base that can be funneled over to the LDS.
Simply churning and cannibalizing their own customers by shifting them from an LDS to WM does SSI/Mares no good whatsoever. Hopefully they recognize that.
JEScholz
Contributor
After 30 years as a sport diver, I just started to work at a local dive shop part time. We are in a area that is a 30 mile or more drive to a WM store and not a major store at that. I wonder how many local dive shops who will be competing with WM directly for sales will continue to carry Mares equipment? I know I would drop them and pick up a competitor line to differentiate my shop from the big box. WM may bring in some new customers to the industry and I am sure they will get some cross over sales from walk in/impulse buyers but until they develop a full service model that includes trips, regular local dive site outings, support and multi brand offerings, I don't see them as a major threat to the industry. If other manufacturers sign on and we have multiple brands available there, then the game changes. Thoughts?
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