DEMA - What the hell?!

[friscuba]

I can tell you for a fact you're way off on the big stuff. MOST dive stores work on a 30-40% margin, if they are lucky. I was in the grocery business for 11 years and know that grocery stores works on a 20-30% margin. People walk down the aisle picking what they want, no trying it on, how does it work, let me think about it. They stand in line to pay for it and then bag it themselves at the end. Virtually no returns and problems. AND the grocery business is considered a low margin business. I agree that dive stores make a large margin on small stuff-they have too. Buy one bolt at a hardware store, the margin is huge, but that's what it costs to keep the doors open. I can also tell you that I have been involved with product that go into Target and WalMart that have margins of 80-90%.

Get in the game and you will see owning a dive store is not a get rich scheme.

Margin vs. markup are two totally different things. I used markup, sorry. 50 buck wholesale sold at 100 bucks is a 100% markup, the margin is squat in comparison, cost of the good alone knocks it to 50%. I worked grocery for a couple years, 1.5-3.0 or less margin at the company I worked, but to a person who was clueless about business the numbers sounded huge, heck, we'd do 12-14K the day before easter just in the produce department but the reality is they didn't really make all that much because you can only markup yams so much to make them something that actually draws hundreds of people into your store. I figure any dive shop that works on a 30-40% margin overall is really keeping on top of things.

Perhaps I'm using the wrong terminology, but I think we're coming from the same place. The typical retailer HAS to have a decent markup to cover the cost of doing business.

 

[mike_s]

Not that much mark-up in Lead though. Especially when lead prices are rising and shipping lead isn't cheap either. I would say that it would be one of the less glamorized products of the scuba industry also, though justified as a definate requirement....

Just doesn't seem like selling lead in small quantities to a bunch of mom-and-pop-LDS's that order small quantities could have much of a profit margin regardless of the company.

 

[padiscubapro]

Not that much mark-up in Lead though. Especially when lead prices are rising and shipping lead isn't cheap either. I would say that it would be one of the less glamorized products of the scuba industry also, though justified as a definate requirement....

Just doesn't seem like selling lead in small quantities to a bunch of mom-and-pop-LDS's that order small quantities could have much of a profit margin regardless of the company.

HIgher end products like rebreathers are even worse.. Sell a product for $10k and be happy if you get $1k of that..

 

[BWDscott]

What worries me, after attending this years show, are the "high-dollar" well known manufacturers that did not show up. I was looking forward to talking shop with Atomic and Scubapro. I found the show to be geared more toward the travel side of the industry. At this rate how long before it's the DT(travel)MA show? Just doesn't have the same ring...

 

[mike_s]

so why didn't ScubaPro and Atomics show?

 

[HowardE]

so why didn't ScubaPro and Atomics show?

You'd have to ask them why they chose not to go to DEMA. Since they were the only noteably absent large manufacturers - it wasn't a huge deal IMO.

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The fact of the matter (as I see it) is that dive travel is a HUGE part of the dive industry (I have seen several people comment on the large amount of dive travel destinations at DEMA). Certainly DEMA (which is a business) wants to include as many people in the show who want to pay for booths (like ANY trade show).

One other thing that I have seen in this thread which I will address...
My wife and I own 3 retail gift shops. We attend trade shows (like DEMA) which are closed to the public, and are for registered buyers ONLY. Why should the SCUBA industry be any different? Certainly there are people who live in the locale's of the shows that want access to wholesale pricing on fine jewelry and general merchandise, but they can't get in. This is no different than what I am seeing here. DEMA is a trade show like any other. GES runs trade shows and has contracts with many of the convention centers throughout the US and charges fees for tables, chairs, internet, etc. Does that suck for the exhibitor, sure... it has nothing to do with the host of the show... they cannot make GES change their fee schedule for this or that.

This show is targeted toward the dive shops, and industry professionals that provide outlets for these businesses to sell their product. I see no reason for DEMA to open to the public in the future. Because people (consumers) want it; just doesn't cut it.

 

[RonFrank]

Limiting trade shows to professionals is not uncommon, in fact just the opposite.

Photography has very similar types of shows. The PPA show (Pro Photographers of America), requires one to be a professional. Joining this group requires that you can show that the bulk of your income is generated in a photo related field.

I've found that if you are into a hobby/sport, you can often find a way to attend. I'm very positive I could get into DEMA through our LDS, SB, or somehow, if I really wanted to go. OTOH, it would be difficult for a non-PPA member to attend that trade show, and I'm sure that holds true for a number of the trade shows out there today.

But image if they required one to be a DM or better AND make better than 50% of your gross income off of professional diving! Few diving pros could attend!

 

[RJP]

But image if they required one to be a DM or better AND make better than 50% of your gross income off of professional diving! Few diving pros could attend!

Why? 50% of "not much" would be easy to scrape together!

 

[SteveC]

But image if they required one to be a DM or better AND make better than 50% of your gross income off of professional diving! Few diving pros could attend!

This is an interesting question. What percent of the Dema attendees could honestly say that they make there living with the dive industry. I know that in the mid west there would not be many instructors that could claim this.