Aqualung's stance on e commerce

[GreenDiverDown]

If you haven't bought yet, I'd suggest:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/
http://www.fightingchance.com/

Roak

Those are HUGELY fantastic sites. After studying them for some time a few years ago, I used the info to purchase my 6.0 PS 1 ton. Wouldn't do it any other way. What a great way to buy a vehicle!

 

[mdb]

Those are HUGELY fantastic sites. After studying them for some time a few years ago, I used the info to purchase my 6.0 PS 1 ton. Wouldn't do it any other way. What a great way to buy a vehicle!

I agree as well. I used both those sites as well as Kelly Blue Book and Edmonds. I ran my credit score, got quotes from several area dealers and brought at the best price from my local guy. I showed up with a folder with all the details. The salesman copped no attitude. The whole transaction was over in just over an hour. Folks buying dive gear are doing the same sort of research. The LDS and the manufacturers and distributors just need to be fully aware of the current market place. Banning internet sales does not seem to be a real good option.

 

[fire_diver]

got quotes from several area dealers .......... I showed up with a folder with all the details.......... Folks buying dive gear are doing the same sort of research. The LDS and the manufacturers and distributors just need to be fully aware of the current market place. Banning internet sales does not seem to be a real good option.

ARE YOU LISTENING AQUA LUNG????

You are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Your current policies are hurting your dealers. When the dealers drop AL, or fold, your distributors lose sales, then you lose market share. AL makes great products (in my opinion), but if it comes out that only Liesure Pro can afford to sell your product, it will quickly become regarded worthless since no "real stores" carry your line.

FD

 

[JungleJoe]

another very WELL SAID post !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nice one fire diver !

 

[mike_s]

ARE YOU LISTENING AQUA LUNG????

You are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Your current policies are hurting your dealers. When the dealers drop AL, or fold, your distributors lose sales, then you lose market share. AL makes great products (in my opinion), but if it comes out that only Liesure Pro can afford to sell your product, it will quickly become regarded worthless since no "real stores" carry your line.

FD

Pretty funny.


Whats funny is that Aqualung is cutting it's own nose off despite it's own face. What I mean by this is that Aqualung in Europe allows online sales. Only Aqualung USA doesn't. Even Canada Aqualung dealers can sell online I think. (Divetank.com or .net does in their Vancouver store).

So here is a company that though it sales their backbone is through their dealers, they openly allow internet sales in other countries.


BTW... Because of that, Aqualung stuff is a LOT cheaper in other countries also. That's what the real picture is prob about. (back again to price control).

 

[DallasNewbie]

Not all local dive shops can survive simply by providing services.

Right, which is why I said, "Prices will have to go down, but they won't ever need to match online. People expect to pay more at B&M stores, and they are willing to, within reason. But extortion won't do it."

I'm sure you remember when Amazon.com was going to be the end of your local bookstore.

 

[mike_s]

I'm sure you remember when Amazon.com was going to be the end of your local bookstore.

Actually I can respect paying more at a LDS than I can my local bookstore. At least at most LDS's you get service. Some will even work with you or match prices of online places.


All of our small local bookstores are gone now. Replaced by the mega bookstore Books-A-Million. When they came in we thought it was great because of the large selection. But they offer no customer service and cost as much as the other book stores that were smaller.

But what really irks me about these large chain book stores such as BookAMillion and Barnes & Noble is that if you go to their web site, they offer the book at a competitive web price. Typically 30% to 40% off regular price. But you go into their store and it's full price. Yet they won't sell it to you in the store for the same price they hav eit on their own website.

You ask them if they will match another stores price and they say yes....
Show them their own online ad or another, and they say they won't match online prices. Even their own online price.

Why should I pay 40% more plus 9% sales tax and have to drive to the no-customer-service-mega-bookstore when I can get it online for 40% cheaper and pay no shipping?

I'm not trying to turn this into a "book burning thread" but as far as I'm concerned, if they won't match their own online prices, they can just close my local bookstore. I won't support them. Amazon gets that business now. Why should dive shops be any different?

 

[String]

Actually I can respect paying more at a LDS than I can my local bookstore. At least at most LDS's you get service. Some will even work with you or match prices of online places.

You obviously have far better shops than around here.

Here they have very poor stock, typically one brand, customer service is as best poor and as for the advice forget it. They will regardless of need always try to tell you their overpriced limited stock is the best on the market. We dont any longer recommend trainees looking for kit to go to places alone as we've seen a few badly ripped off by the above policy.

A dive shop i get air fills and thats it. Once had to wait 8 days for a simple EAN32 fill from one shop.

Yet to come across somewhere where "service" is worth paying for.

 

[PhilEllis]

Right, which is why I said, "Prices will have to go down, but they won't ever need to match online. People expect to pay more at B&M stores, and they are willing to, within reason. But extortion won't do it."

I'm sure you remember when Amazon.com was going to be the end of your local bookstore.

I think I have a pretty good idea of what will ACTUALLY happen as this model (LDS vs LDS with on-line shopping) will effect the scuba diving business.

On the Number of Local Dive Stores: I think over the next year we will see a reduction in the number of local dive stores here in the United States. That reduction will certainly be at least a 10% change, but the possibility for a 30% reduction clearly exists. In the larger cities, you may well see no change at all......they have a larger demographic market, allowing them to build volume through local business. While there will likely be some reduction in prices, it will not be gigantic. Their larger market will allow them to continue to attract new divers at a fairly high rate, without the need to greatly reduce prices. In the smaller city markets, it will be quite different.
Remember, I have argued that many of these stores opened in places that never could really be expected to support such a speciality business. The price, service, and delivery ability of the online stores will add enough pressure to make it even more difficult for them to survive in a limited market. Many are already marginal and even slight reductions in annual sales will create a brutal situation. I fear the days of the "dive shop in every town" is fast becoming obsolete.

On the General Price of Scuba Equipment: What you will see on price will be a two fold change. As the number of local dive stores with an internet sales presence increases, you will see slight increases in the price of equipment on the internet. If there are a large number of internet store competing for a rather slow growing sales market, they will need to increase prices a little to cover the normal costs of doing business. Margins at internet dive stores right now are about as low as they can afford to go. At the same time, you will see decreases in the prices asked for goods in the local scuba store. They will not be able to continue to demand list or list-plus with the variety of internet competition that will be present. Eventually, you will see the prices level so that both in-store and online (with a few exceptions) will offer about the same prices.

On the Continues Growth of Online Scuba Shopping: Nothing happening with the local scuba store will not stop the growth of on-line shopping for scuba gear. The current growth is driven less and less by price and more and more by the natural desire of the "new" dive customer age group to shop over the internet. As the online shopping practice of this generation continues to mature, you will see a preference for online shopping, just as there is a preference among this same group to get their information, news, music, movies, and other things over the internet. In fact, we are already seeing the contraction in the number of ads in yellow page books, as these "new" consumers prefer to use the internet for finding contact information for local businesses to fill their needs. The internet will eventually do to the mall exactly what the mall did to downtown shopping districts. Scuba retail will, of course, continue to grow with the tide of growth for shopping for other types of items.

On the Fortunes of the "Grey Market" Scuba Retailers: They will continue to be the lowest cost suppliers in this business. However, their very small margins will dictate that there will be very few of them, like it is today. They will grow larger, but their "impact" on the overall internet shopping market will diminish as the competition from factory authorized online dealers continues to grow. Our friends in New York will always be there, but their margins will be razor thin and they will have to improve on their already excellent business practices to survive.

On the Impact of All of This on Scuba Divers: We will probably see an explosion in the number of scuba divers entering this sport. As the entry cost of this sport is lowered by the falling prices of scuba equipment, there will be more new divers who are able to cross the cost threshold. In addition, programs like PADI's eLearning will capture diver through the "impulse" sale mechanism that drive literally millions of other products and activities. More information will be available on our great sport, and more people will be attracted to give it a try. Of this larger group attracted, some number will continue as life-long divers, probably in the same proportion we have today. The biggest impact on divers will probably the the increased product selection that will be driven in both online and local dive stores. As consumers and new divers get additional information about scuba products, the stores (both online and local) will be forced to inventory to meet those needs.

On the Impact for the Scuba Manufacturers: In the medium term, I think you will see several things. Those manufacturers that are already "friendly" toward online sales will be "forced" to develop slightly more aggressive MAP advertising programs. Allowed advertising discounts will get larger. Those manufacturers that do not get this whole change will do nothing, until the market share starts to noticeably change. This is already beginning and will continue to grow in seriousness over the next year or two. Eventually, the loss in market share will be serious enough to cause even the most strident to change their policies. We may even see manufacturers start to design slightly "less feature rich" products just for the internet market. I have always thought this was one solution for the current problem. In short, the manufacturers will probably change considerably. It is possible that the "direct from the factory" distribution model will need to change. The current distribution model, with the high dealer buy-in demands, prevents the small dealer from showing variety, an essential in the new scuba market to come. In fact, we may even see some brave scuba companies attempt a "direct to the consumer" marketing strategy over the internet. Smaller third-tier manufacturers are already doing this. In the end, the only for this need for variety in the local store may be a distributor model like that used in other industries, where manufacturers sell to distributors and distributors offer expanded brand offerings to the scuba store (Peter Skop Industries here in the southeast is a model for such distribution).

Wow. I didn't mean to write a book! i write like I talk.........using too many words and too little judgement. Anyway, just my viewpoint.

Phil Ellis

 

[mike_s]

So.... Here's something for Disucssion for all, since this is about Aqualung's stance on E-commmerce.

Where do you think that Aqualung will be in 5 to 10 years with their stance on E-commerce?

Will the be better off? worse off? left behind? or any other variable.


Anyone?