DEMA 2005 Wrap up

[roakey]

It is sad that is has taken DEMA and some of the mfg so long to look to the internet as a tool, not a hinderence.

It's my observation that the SCUBA industry, from retailers to manufacturers, do not view the internet as a hinderance, they view the internet as an enemy; hence the hatred some people experiece from their LDS when they purchase something online to the manufacturers dire warnings about lack of warranties when you go the online route.

In no other industry have I seen such a resistance to the online environment; heck, even car manufacturers were on board years ago -- my ex-wife's brand new truck was purchased online back in 2000!

Roak

 

[JS1scuba]

Gone are the days, when joe diver walked into a dive store and the line of BS from an employee was believed hook , line, and sinker. Yes - people will still go to a LDS/PDC, but the store needs to know its market, its brands, and that the customer has a clue.

Eric

Eric, I think you undervalue a good PDC. As I explained to roomfulls of Aqualung dealers at DEMA. To be in the game today the retailer needs to know more about the products he DOES NOT sell than the guy who sells them. The top retailers know this. The key for a consumer is to look to the PDC and not the training agency logo on the door. Consumers need to visit a PDC just like they visit an auto dealership. Walk into three of them and see who works best for you. Ask the all important question to the guy at the counter. "If I was to look for the next best dive center other than this one who would it be?" If that retailer cant make a referral to another center within reasonable distance then that's not the retailer you want.

I was in the bank last week looking for a commercial mortgage. I run a LOT of money though this bank. So i asked the guy "If went looking for a commercial mortgage in town here from another bank who would you reccommend?" He could not give me an answer......... he lost the deal just based on HIS ignorance of the marketplace or because he was never trained on how to keep the prospect.

I talk to retailers all the time. For the most part most are only focused on the small area that they serve. They don't think globally. They dont think outside the box. I'm in a town of 52,000 the next biggest town is an hour away -- then we have Vegas 2.25 hours. We have customers come down to us from Vegas to buy a mask because the stores up there wont give them the time of day. But we also know our retail market is finite and will only grow at the pace the town grows. So... as you see I branch out globally. We expand our market place to include the world not just the next town. I head to the UK next week to explore that market too for some of our products. But retailers dont understand how to do this ...... and im not going to tell them how. Today's PDC or dive pro needs to work this business like multi level chess.

If it was easy everyone would do it.

Cheers

 

[JS1scuba]

It's my observation that the SCUBA industry, from retailers to manufacturers, do not view the internet as a hinderance, they view the internet as an enemy; hence the hatred some people experiece from their LDS when they purchase something online to the manufacturers dire warnings about lack of warranties when you go the online route.

In no other industry have I seen such a resistance to the online environment; heck, even car manufacturers were on board years ago -- my ex-wife's brand new truck was purchased online back in 2000!

Roak

I had one of my sales reps call me the other day telling me that I sold tanks to one of his stores customers. I asked him to find out who it was (customer that is) he went back to the dealer and asked. The dealer then admited that we did not sell to one of his customers but that we were posting our tank specials world wide and that cut into his tank business. ............ Yeah so? Wake up. Smell the mold on your old mask. Because this dealer is the biggest in his city he belives that ALL the customers are his. Funny ?

Dive retailers need to appreciate that the customer belongs to the customer. We just ask to do business with you each day. If we are lucky you buy from us and seek advice from us and continue to return to us. You have a choice where to shop. We understand that. If you prefer to shop tonight on our website at midnight and place an order ..... great. If you want to come to our store at 11 am tomorrow when the retail store opens great. Either way we will provide you the service you want. The internet lets me service all time zones and customers from all over the world.

Regards,

 

[USIA]

A lot of your comments on the internet are true. The Internet obviously is the present and the future of most of our economy. Heck, I just signed up for Netflix so I don't have to keep going to the video store to rent Barney video's for my 2 year old. Retailers and Manufacturers do need to embrace it and use it to their advantage. I have said that the decreased interest by retailers and Manufacturers in DEMA has more to do with the fact that we can all go online and get information about any product.

When I took over USIA's sales department, the first thing I did is redesign our website, make it more user friendly and invent our "Design Your Suit" that let's you design the style and color of your suit. That $10,000 investment has reaped USIA an unmeasurable amount of business. It benefited consumers and Dealers alike. We do not sell direct, so we were able to have consumers place orders and we would funnel the business to the nearest dealer. We have also signed more dealers off of Information requests from the internet than we have at the last 3 DEMA's. I still see a lot of older Drysuit Manufacturers doing the same thing they have done for the past 20 years. They complain about on line sales and whine that DUI has a corner on the market. Think outside the box and take some chances. Use your competitors to your advantage. Stop opening up Dealerships with every store with a white and red flag and concentrate on putting your products in the right stores with the right people running them.

And there are a lot of dealers who are doing an incredible business right now by concentrating on customer service and relationships and not just selling all the high priced name brand gear with lousy margins but by putting in product lines that yield the best profits as well as the best quality.

 

[The Chairman]

Think outside the box

That's the real fallacy: there is no box. It's all psycholigical and the limitations are not real. "We have always done it this way" is a sure fire way to fail. If not this year, then maybe next. It's like paddling a canoe up the river... once you stop pulling you lose control and start to go backwards.

As Joel pointed out, with the internet you are always open for business: whether you are there or not. Instead of being trapped by the local economy, the internet savvy shop can sell to the world, literally! There are no limits but your own imagination.

 

[ericfine50]

Joel,

You make a lot of great points - the good LDS/PDC, Personally, I think I have gone into maybe one or two shops like that. Internet, good customer service skills, realistic prices that are market driven, not made up with the roll of the dice is what is going to keep stores in business.

A while back I had an idea of a LDS consulting company - go into stores around the country and analyze the store from soup to nuts. See if the store had a vision and a mission statement. You never know, it may work.

 

[USIA]

Joel,

You make a lot of great points - the good LDS/PDC, Personally, I think I have gone into maybe one or two shops like that. Internet, good customer service skills, realistic prices that are market driven, not made up with the roll of the dice is what is going to keep stores in business.

A while back I had an idea of a LDS consulting company - go into stores around the country and analyze the store from soup to nuts. See if the store had a vision and a mission statement. You never know, it may work.

Don't groups like SSI do that? I remember the old NASDS trainers. As a manufacturer, there is nothing better than dealing with the old NASDS crowd. They knew how to sell gear.

 

[Tom Winters]

Don't groups like SSI do that? I remember the old NASDS trainers. As a manufacturer, there is nothing better than dealing with the old NASDS crowd. They knew how to sell gear.

In the late '80's, I worked in a NASDS shop - I loved the instructional tapes with Richard Basehart pushing gear about every 30 seconds. We were not mere instructors - we were NASDS instructor/counselors - "You may find the need to have more than one knife; in fact, many divers own three or more dive knives... Your NASDS instructor/counselor can help you make the appropriate selections..."
It sure was good for moving inventory. Divers rocked!

 

[mdb]

In the late '80's, I worked in a NASDS shop - I loved the instructional tapes with Richard Basehart pushing gear about every 30 seconds. We were not mere instructors - we were NASDS instructor/counselors - "You may find the need to have more than one knife; in fact, many divers own three or more dive knives... Your NASDS instructor/counselor can help you make the appropriate selections..."
It sure was good for moving inventory. Divers rocked!

My first certification in 1971 was @ San Diego Divers Supply, home base for the NASDS "College" Each student had a "counselling session" where it was pointed out that you would die unless you brought the SCUBA-PRO regs and gauges, a Bailey wetsuit, Jet fins-of course etc. Since I was stationed at the USMC Recruit Depot and had access to the post exchange I did not buy all the recommended gear. I had a Nemord BC, a Parkway wetsuit, Sportsways tank, but I did buy my SP Mark V and Jet fins and was able to keep diving with the SDDS crew. The old NASDS crowd did keep us diving and buying gear. I quess it worked. I'm still selling snorkels for a living.

 

[The Chairman]

I still own my original pair of Jet Fins, circa 1969.