Dive Centre Stock Supplier

Question
Dear Mike,
I am in the preliminary process of opening a Dive Centre in Spain and have 2 PADI instructors as partners who will be offering PADI courses, DSD's / Open Water etc etc. My role (Currently Dive Master) will be in running the shop and arranging the bookings etc, along with providing equipment for resale in the shop.
My question is, where to start looking for reputable equipment suppliers, or do I just contact the likes of Mares, Scubapro, Cressi etc and setup as a reseller?
I was thinking of just having a few diverse products on view for sale, such as BCD's / Regs / Fins %26 Masks and sundry items such as clips, lanyards and the likes.
Any guidance appreciated.

Best regards

Debbie

Answer
Hi Debbie,

Congratulations on starting your dive shop and my best wishes for a successful business!!

It sounds like you're already well on your way and are on the right track.  I suggest contacting the major suppliers such as the ones you've mentioned to get things started.  Some suppliers limit the number of retailers (dive shops) permitted in a geographic area to prevent competition between dive shops for their brand.  Once you've found one to your liking, limit yourself to ONE major supplier for basic dive gear (regulators, BC's, instruments, computers).  You will get better service from the supplier that way since you'll be buying more of their product.  They can give you excellent advice on what's most popular in your area and suggestions on stocking.  They can tell you what sizes in BC's and fins to stock and in what numbers. Use other suppliers for specialty items like t-shirts, surface signaling devices, straps, lanyards, cameras, stickers, clips and other sundry items.  You might also want to consider a separate, and highly rated, supplier for wetsuits and drysuits).  You will find crossover areas between your major supplier and others in such things as masks, snorkels, dive knives, wetsuits and dive bags.  You can experiment and see what will work best for you but you are under no obligation to purchase everything a major supplier offers.  I've found that it's the little items like fish identification books and DVD's, lights, stickers, t-shirts and the like that keep divers coming into the shop and tend to keep them there browsing.  Scatter a few of these things around the shop.  It's inexpensive and a great draw.  In setting up your displays, place some eye-catching things at the front of the shop to lure divers in off the street.  Then place more of them at the back of the shop to encourage customers to walk all the way through your shop.  In the process, they'll look at everything you've got for sale and not just linger in one area.

Keep in mind that all of your suppliers are salesmen and they will push the higher end items and probably try to get you to overstock to increase THEIR sales.  Just take it with a grain of salt and adjust to fit your budget and your expected sales.  It's difficult to predict what your sales volume will be for the first year or so and I would tend to understock rather than overstock.  It's much easier on your pocketbook.  Most suppliers will have volume discounts and some of these are good deals but you have to look them over carefully and decide if it's actually in your best interests to participate.  It's VERY easy to put too much money into inventory but be careful to budget what you can afford to spend and then stick to it.  After a year or two, you'll have a much better idea of what you need to stock.  Just be careful not to go broke in the meantime!!  Many new shops fail because they put too much money in up front and then don't have enough to sustain them while the business becomes established.  Remember, you've also got to budget for the unpleasant things like rent, utilities and insurance!!  These will go on regardless of whether you sell anything or not.

Since you will be teaching classes, you'll also need a separate fleet of BC's and regulators for this purpose.  Your major supplier can give you recommendations and can also provide a special price for rentals.  Of course, rentals can be used for students as well.  I normally keep BC's and regulators for one or two years and then sell them at a price close to what I pay to replace them with new ones.  That way I've always got a fresh fleet for very little cost.  

In closing, you can contact the major suppliers mentioned but you may find that they won't get too excited until you actually open a shop.  In fact most, if not all, of them won't consider setting you up as a dealer until you actually have a shop and can provide air fills for divers.

Debbie, I hope this letter provides the information you were looking for.  If you've still got questions, please don't hesitate to contact me again. I'll be happy to help!!

Sincerely,
Mike Giles
Mike's Dive Center
mikescuba.com