Future of DiveShops?

[Bob DBF]

Right on Ray!
I hope this works out for you!

I'll bet Ray will be just fine regardless, I hope it works for the SCUBA industry.



Bob
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"No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously" -Dave Barry

 

[mjrob]

Interesting thoughts, but I see the elite rich diver as not really helping the industry much. For training, they'll hire a private instructor, likely not affiliated with a LDS. For gear, since they do everything else online, they'd buy gear online, and bypass the lowly LDS and his dingy shop in a strip mall entirely. Plus, they like getting a deal and possibly working towards a small savings on a package deal. High end gear makers might see some return on this elite diver, by selling more titanium regs and high end computers, etc, but I doubt the LDS would see anything from him to make a difference.

I can tell you for a fact that, save for the "dingy shop in a strip mall" that you are completely wrong. Replace that dingy shop with a clean, well-stocked and welcoming store and those people WILL sign up for classes, they WILL buy gear from you and MANY of them will travel with you.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

Congrats on the new venture. Talk to everyone you see @ DEMA. I'd seriously love to hear what YOU hear there. Do LDSs even think there is a problem? How would they solve it? Do they feel DEMA hears their concerns?

Can't wait for the consensus from there!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

.. speaking of advertising ...

[video=youtube;OM5vLcwJmZ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM5vLcwJmZ0&feature=player_detailpage[/video]

 

[mjrob]

I am in shock. Of course, this is only on youtube. This is exactly what we need to see but it needs to be on television. Would I like to have this (if we were PADI affiliated--that's a whole 'nuther story) and tag it with our store information right there at the end. Well DUH!!

This is the kind of thing that manufacturers and certifying agencies need to provide their stores with. Sure would save us some time and money as we're shooting footage for two new commercials today.

Very nice! Now if we can just get it to non-divers.........

 

[MrCultureJammer]

It's long, so I'd trim it for public 30 (or 15?) second consumption, but with the right focused media buy you could do worse. The idea/feeling is there.

 

[redacted]

The pitfall comes when potential customers start asking about the price tag to put themselves in the position of any one of those pictured divers.

 

[mjrob]

That's not a pitfall, that's an opportunity.

 

[J_Rod]

The "business model" plays a part, but certain industries are a victim of our own attention spans (or lack thereof)...People are simply spending less and less time in the "real" world....Experiencing new, exciting activities are, to the even 30 somethings, only an X-Box controller away...at best, people have their bucket list and try something once to say they did it and then they move on. Skydiving and Scuba are prime examples, then it's on to the next thing to try. Fewer and fewer are getting into these hobbies deeply enough to do anything but rent gear a couple of times. I believe it is a function of society (certainly economics). I still listen to music from the 60's forward and LOVE it. Kids today listen to a new song for a few months then they get bored and move on. Expensive, time consuming, equipment intensive activities, do not lend themselves well to where we have gotten to. I grew up watching Cousteau on Sunday evenings and was riveted!! (Maybe because it was all that was on) Now people watch Jack-ass type programming until the commercial, then they flip without even having to get off their aces! None of this change signals the growth or resurgence in MANY businesses, particularly diving. Even my own children, when given the opportunity to dive in The Keys have said, "But we just did that last month!"....It breaks my heart, but hopefully things will pendulum back before only the Home Depot's of the dive stores are all that are left. Until then, I get fills, certain service, and odds and ends from my LDS...even if it's a few dollars more...We support local business!!

 

[boulderjohn]

People are simply spending less and less time in the "real" world....

Pretty much all outdoor activities are in decline. Try this. Go to google and type in the following phrase: decline in golf popularity. Skim a couple of the many articles you will see there. Then repeat the exercise using other active sports words in place of golf. I tried tennis, hunting, snowboarding, and fishing. I imagine I could have tried others and gotten the same results.

In each case, the decline in participation is huge--probably more than scuba in the five I looked at. You will see articles about the financial woes of sporting goods stores as they struggle with declining sales.

If you are looking at a scuba-only reason for what is happening, you may be missing the bigger picture.