Over christmas, i had a thought about diversifying my business a little, well alot but life's no fun without challenges! So, if you don't mind me asking (TBH it's tough if you do ) what do you buy from your LDS, what do you expect to be able to buy etc Can you guess what I'm thinking yet?! (and no, it's not a dive internship company, although.... )
I sometimes buy air at my local dive shop, that's about it as i don't need any more kit. In the recent past i have bought some regulator bits, hired some cylinders and bought some drysuit driers but not bought any proper kit for a long long time. The next things i'm likely to pay for are; More cylinder hire Maybe reg service (But i'll probably get Apeks to do it). Eventually a twinset and another 1st stage (But as my local place does not sell the cylinders i want i'll probably have ot buy online).
I'm still building up my kit, so a good LDS will see a fair bit of my disposable income, but what I want to buy may not be what yor next customer wants. Will you cater to the recreational divers, the techies, or both? Will you try and cover all brands or try to excel at a few? Where is your competition based? If there is none locally, ask yourself why. Your biggest problem will be pricing. You'll need to match the likes of Go Dive and Dive Life. These days, the internet has pretty much killed off the need for customer service beyond getting the stuff shipped/delivered on time. My next large-ish purchase will be a 7ltr ally cylinder. No advice or specialist knowledge required from the shop so my motivator will be price, plain and simple.
I'd envisage stocking recreational products alongside a small selection of techy stuff. Brand wise, I would start by stocking a small range of brands hopefully with accounts with other suppliers so that the more niche stuff can be obtained. Competition is approx 30to 40 miles in a given direction and I get what you're saying about "why is there no one here already", and I like to think it's because they've missed a trick Pricing is the grey area... Obtaining trade prices and accounts is on my list to do hopefully this week and then I'll be able to start making some informed decisions.
I used to own a model shop specialising in Radio Controlled cars, so a similar niche market to diving, if you'd like to sound any ideas let me know. I'm now PAYE again and lovin' it!
Mmmm radio controlled cars, boats, planes....anything! Anyway, you must be mad setting up a business to support a leisure activity, in this economic climate. But what do I know, I'm too chicken to give being my own boss a go. Oh one more thing, I did read over on the other channel how difficult it was to actually gain accounts with the big name brands. Regardless, good luck with your venture.
I already have a motorbike shop that kind of pays it way so am no stranger to leisure type markets but I know I must be mental to even be thinking about it! I've also noticed that a lot of bikers dive, or divers bike or something. I think some people dive anyway, that's what I'm hoping Thanks for the offer too Dom, you may well get random pm's off me
If it's anything like the model trade, you'll need trade premises to get trade accounts, i.e. a proper shop frontage/industrial unit, but no guarantee of actually getting any accounts before signing a lease. You may find it difficult to get the first big account, but it should get easier once you have broken the seal, so to speak. You'll need to weigh up the cost of a prime location with high footfall against a cheaper/larger location off the beaten track. Could you combine a dive shop with another source of income that won't clash? Outdoorsy type stuff could work. On-line presence is of paramount importance, but good websites aren't cheap. Stock control is vital, nothing pisses people off more than advertising goods as in stock when actually you have to order them in,. Conversely, live stock on the website can put people off if most of it is out of stock.
Yeah,I notice a local LDS to me does that. Granted they don't advertise they have it in stock, but you have a week to wait at least from ordr to deliver.
If I a. know I'll be waiting and b. get it at the cheapest price, I don't mind, but being fobbed off that "in stock" item has mysteriously taken 3 weeks to arrive because of the post office pisses me off. I can see when something is posted/shipped from the postmark/tracking information. Don't piss on my head and tell me that it's raining.
My online motorbike clothing site asks customers to allow 5 working days for delivery, this allows for non stock items to come in and get shipped out again but when it'll take longer notify the customer immediately. Most orders are however shipped for next day delivery.
How successful is that? How often do your suppliers "let you down"? TBH, that would put me off ordering unless you are the sole stockist of an item I need or the only place to have it in stock.
It has it's ups and downs, suppliers let me down occasionally but that is always communicated to the customer asap. I'm not singling out dive life,but I happened to have their site open... From their terms and conditions: Your order will be fulfilled by the delivery date set out in the Dispatch Confirmation or, if no delivery date is specified, then within reasonable time of the date of the Dispatch Confirmation, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Any goods advertised by DiveLife will be dispatched within seven working days. If this timescale is likely to be exceeded then we will contact you.
From my LDS air, servicing occasional rash vest, wetsuits, cylinders, torches all the small bits and pieces. Would also buy larger items from them as they do tend to do a good deal but having built up my kit the large items are less likely.
Some shops will take an order and the item gets shipped directly from the manufacturer to the buyer. What do I want from a dive shop? Pretty much what go-dive offers - cheap items mostly in stock, shipped quickly, good customer service, gas, trips and training. Never experienced anything different from them.
I will need a signed loyalty contract from you prior to disclosing your discount structure... Plus I'll also need to know what margins are about!
Good luck JB. I think you need to offer a kit service facility, either from your own resources or as an agency for a kit service operation. That is what gets me back in the LDS, where my kit fetish gets me every time... Cheers Harry
