The holiday shopping season doesn't seem to be the make-or-break time of year for dive retailers that it is for other retailers. We get busy but don't seem to get the mad seasonal rush that other types of stores do.…
Patricia LuebkeNovember 3, 2021
I like to shop. It's kind of an academic thing. Some people do museums, others do art galleries, but I do the local Plaza de Overdraft shopping center. After on-again, off-again gigs in the retail world, the whole store vibe…
Greg LasloFebruary 18, 2013
You only have to draw from your experiences as a consumer to realize that as customers enter any store they immediately begin forming an impression that will influence the duration of their shopping experiences. In many cases, whether you immediately…
Dawn ArcieriNovember 5, 2012
Walk into many dive stores today and you're in kind of a typical retail environment. Customers see dive equipment, accessories, maintenance and training area, an airfill station … but we are not really selling those things. We're selling diving; both…
Stephen G. NobleDecember 9, 2009
One of the goals of dive retailing is to get divers to purchase their own equipment. It's not just a matter of making a sale. Divers who purchase their gear become more committed to the sport than habitual renters. Even…
Melanie PaulFebruary 3, 2009
Between dives, get them talking about other trips and classes they have been a part of. You don't want to do all the talking, but it will be to your advantage to make sure the topics of the day are…
Donna AskewJanuary 21, 2009
It's a pretty good bet that if you gave us a list of topics that you would like to see covered in this magazine, an article about gift cards would be way at the bottom of your list, if at…
Barry K. ShusterJanuary 13, 2009
Take a look at the surf and ski industries. If you attended the surf expo that was going on next to the DEMA Show when it was held in Orlando a number of years back, you were struck that surfboards…
Patricia LuebkeJanuary 13, 2009
According to the Leisure Trends RetailTRAK® report on U.S. scuba industry sales, dive apparel accounted for $5.26 million of retail sales during the first half of 2007. That would make it about $11 million annually. In the first half of…
Donna AskewJanuary 2, 2009
