West Marine Again

[keepondancin]

I went to West Marine this afternoon, both Jensen Beach and Stuart. They are both under going some alteration. They are enlarging the clothing department to about 50% of the store. An outspoken employee was on a rant and said they are increasing the clothing because it is the highest profit department in the store. It reenforces my opinion that they are just maximizing the profit for the share holders rather than paying attention to the needs of their customer base. I receive several emails a day about sales, yet none of the merchandise is in the store. I was looking at small blocks or possibly cheek blocks for something on a kayak. They had one of each in inventory, but could order it. Just makes you want to use Amazon even more. Free shipping to your house and no sales tax. Plus, competitive prices. I need to find some privately owned chandleries nearby.

[Cuttyhunk]

Same thing in the Fairhaven, Ma. store. Tons of clothes, first thing as you come in the store. This store is only a couple of years old and they just completely redid it! Well, their earnings have been dropping and they are publicly traded, so I guess they had to do something. Meanwhile, I read in Trade Only Today that Defender's sales were up 11% last year, over the previous (best) year.

[Horror Hotel]

Just like Harley Davidson, it's all shirts, hats, leather, and lifestyle, the bikes have become very much second to that. It's no wonder they all look the same and the custom chopper/ bike market has grown so much. No real bike enthusiast rides a hog any more, it's so cookie cutter. A bunch of banker weekend warriors (posers) conforming like hell into a crowd of boomers sold on the bad ass image of 60's rebels.
My point I guess is west Marine would rather sell "West" labeled shirts, hats, coats, shoes, bags, ect.. And be the new Tommy Hilfiger selling lifestyle rather then having cruisers complain about the price of bottom paint. My vermont west store has no fishing gear at all, they would probably sell a few ice augers if they had them but they don't. Down in some Florida stores 1/2 to 1/3 of floor space is fishing gear, I bet the return on fish stuff is greater than the massive space that's given to screws and bolts. The money's got to be with fashionable trailer boat fisherman, the cruising sailor I believe is a tiny sliver of the market.

[onestepcsy37]

in daytona beach wm opened a new store a few miles inland after closing the old daytona beach store at the local marina and another store a few miles down the road in south daytona.

it's about 25% clothing, 15% fishing, and the rest boating related. but again, most things are not in stock and have to be ordered. and the prices are, in a word, outrageous....

[Orion Jim]

I was a big part of Defender's 11% increase.

[Jon Neely]

Fisheries ships free witnlh orders over $100.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[bobconnie]

Theres somemore money West Marine won't get from me!! I buy all my clothing at the local Second Hand store LOL!!

[cal40john]

Repeat coming?

From:
Lands' End - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
Lands' End began as a sailboat equipment company in 1963

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by keepondancin

I went to West Marine this afternoon, both Jensen Beach and Stuart. They are both under going some alteration. They are enlarging the clothing department to about 50% of the store. An outspoken employee was on a rant and said they are increasing the clothing because it is the highest profit department in the store. It reenforces my opinion that they are just maximizing the profit for the share holders rather than paying attention to the needs of their customer base.

I'll weigh in. My store (Kemah) did this too. 50% chlothes. But your premise is backwards. You said (correctly) that they do this for max profits for their share holders...but look, that's what they are SUPPOSED to do! Your mistake is this: They ARE paying attention to the customer base... THAT'S why it's more profitable!

I don't shop there. I don't buy Sperry or Costa. And you're right, they are not the place for a small block. I'm lucky to have other options here if I need it now.

If you want to see a really great family chandlery, with good prices and well above average personal service, checkout Duckworks website at:
Duckworks Boat Builders Supply - Home
But you won't find big boat stuff

[Cuttyhunk]

Originally Posted by Jim Walsh

I was a big part of Defender's 11% increase.

Given what I spent at the warehouse sale a couple of weeks ago, I think 2014 will be another big year for them!

[CaptTom]

I've been around long enough to see this pattern over and over. Doesn't matter if it's a home supply store, a department store or a grocery store. It goes like this:

A new store opens up. They have JUST the stuff you need, at good prices. The place is mobbed. Everyone shops there. Their stock price increases at several times the rate of their sector. Investors pour money in. They can't build stores fast enough. They open a huge central office and hire hundreds of administrative and accounting types.

Eventually, they max out. Their investors are pushing them to continue the growth. But they can't cut costs any further, and there are no untapped markets to build new stores in. For a while they try building bigger stores, abandoning the multi-million dollar facilities they just built a few years ago.

That only goes so far. Then the bean counters step in. Company X will pay them to push their high-end product over their competitors. Shelf space for low-profit items like the parts and pieces we all need is given over to big-ticket items they can make more money on. At this point the store is just another high-end boutique selling name-brand, overpriced stuff you don't want.

Eventually, a new competitor comes to town selling JUST the stuff you need, at good prices. And the cycle starts all over again.

[Horror Hotel]

Let's hope the cycle keeps on going. My first trip down the ICW I set out to find locally owned boating stores, I constantly found people telling me about the stores and how they closed up a few years back. Now many of the west stores that took there market share are closed up as well. The west stores used to be on the water to compete with the mom&pop stores already there. Since those stores are now gone, west has little reason to be on the water. Almost nobody goes to west by boat, maybe us cruisers do but we are insignificant.

[Lewis Harry]

The local West Marine in San Diego always has customers despite being over priced... People with large boats with larger yacht club membership fees can and do afford to spend lots of money there..... figure their spending $20 a foot per month at the Marina, a $60,000 buy in at the Marina/yacht club,
plus "'fees""... they can and do afford to pay the outrageous prices at West Marine... Now in San Diego, there is some competition thankfully !!!

Waterfront chandleries are a thing of the past as the Port districts in California stole all the waterfront property by fiat years ago without paying for it.... if you want to do business there,,, you lease ""their"' land plus a huge percentage of your gross AND your buildings belong to THEM !!!

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Walsh

I was a big part of Defender's 11% increase.

Good one!

Originally Posted by Jon Neely

Fisheries ships free witnlh orders over $100.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Oh? Hmmmmm.....

Originally Posted by bethflkys

Given what I spent at the warehouse sale a couple of weeks ago, I think 2014 will be another big year for them!

I think they will too !



West in Newport Beach CA, exotic car capitol of the worls has done the same thing... New store a few miles away from the old "great" store that is now gone... Inside looks like a Macy's/Nordstom... ***Sigh***

[Safari38LH]

Jamestown has good prices too. They often have free shipping weeks - that's when I buy my bottom paint - 40% cheaper than WM.