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Old 03-30-2022, 05:45 PM   #141
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The other thing he said, was that they made the least money on electronics, and, except for customers expecting to find them at a West Marine, he would be happy to quit carrying them at all.
Even a comment like that reflects a problem. Again, my reference point is hardware. You don't make your money on the nuts and bolts and screws but you must be just as happy selling them and helping a customer. I just watch the various themes Ace has had over the years and it's become more than just words, instilled in most, although definitely not all. However, it's enough that they've gotten JD Power's top award 14 out of 15 years. Last year they were #1 in Staff and Service; In-store Experience; Online Experience; and Merchandise. In my previous life I did turn some businesses around and I only knew one way to do it, customer service. Couldn't do it on price, couldn't do it by cutting expenses, the only way I know is through service. Ace is "The Helpful Place." It was "The Helpful Hardware Place." Jingle is “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks.” Before that it was "Helpful Hardware Man." While the change from Man might be perceived as social, it's actually much more and West should do the same, be inviting to female employees and customers. In Hardware, Paint is a huge area and who makes decisions on paint colors? What about gardening?

Store employees shouldn't even be concerned with profit by item, their job it to help and sell to you. Much higher the products to carry and pricing and mix is made, but if it's in there, they should enthusiastically sell it. I just mark it down as a disgruntled employee who didn't like the effort it takes to handle electronics. Employees making such statements really reflects how deep their problems run.

If L Catterton wanted to turn West around with the purchase, they need to make a statement that is so strong and powerful no one can miss it. It must hit you in the face. New look, new merchandising, new employees, new approach. It cannot be a small tweak. If a year from now, you don't have people posting on TF about the changes they've seen, then you have failed and it will continue to muddle along like it's been.

I think of two major retailers going through transformations today. Bed, Bath and Beyond has changed dramatically. I don't personally like the changes, but they are unmistakable. JC Penney is a bit behind, but their changes are and will be dramatic too. I believe theirs will save and change the view of the company. Target continues to be a champion, always upgrading, always adding, always differentiating from Walmart and others. You can't remain stagnant.

I've seen no signs from West Marine so far and the clock keeps ticking.
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Old 03-30-2022, 08:32 PM   #142
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Even a comment like that reflects a problem. Again, my reference point is hardware. You don't make your money on the nuts and bolts and screws but you must be just as happy selling them and helping a customer. I just watch the various themes Ace has had over the years and it's become more than just words, instilled in most, although definitely not all. However, it's enough that they've gotten JD Power's top award 14 out of 15 years. Last year they were #1 in Staff and Service; In-store Experience; Online Experience; and Merchandise. In my previous life I did turn some businesses around and I only knew one way to do it, customer service. Couldn't do it on price, couldn't do it by cutting expenses, the only way I know is through service. Ace is "The Helpful Place." It was "The Helpful Hardware Place." Jingle is “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks.” Before that it was "Helpful Hardware Man." While the change from Man might be perceived as social, it's actually much more and West should do the same, be inviting to female employees and customers. In Hardware, Paint is a huge area and who makes decisions on paint colors? What about gardening?



Store employees shouldn't even be concerned with profit by item, their job it to help and sell to you. Much higher the products to carry and pricing and mix is made, but if it's in there, they should enthusiastically sell it. I just mark it down as a disgruntled employee who didn't like the effort it takes to handle electronics. Employees making such statements really reflects how deep their problems run.



If L Catterton wanted to turn West around with the purchase, they need to make a statement that is so strong and powerful no one can miss it. It must hit you in the face. New look, new merchandising, new employees, new approach. It cannot be a small tweak. If a year from now, you don't have people posting on TF about the changes they've seen, then you have failed and it will continue to muddle along like it's been.



I think of two major retailers going through transformations today. Bed, Bath and Beyond has changed dramatically. I don't personally like the changes, but they are unmistakable. JC Penney is a bit behind, but their changes are and will be dramatic too. I believe theirs will save and change the view of the company. Target continues to be a champion, always upgrading, always adding, always differentiating from Walmart and others. You can't remain stagnant.



I've seen no signs from West Marine so far and the clock keeps ticking.
So the part I tried to buy - a Blue Sea ATO terminal block - was in stock (3 of them) but website said to call store for confirmation. I did so and was told it was at will call. When I show up, no one is at will call. I tried having someone paged. No dice. Then I remember "gee, they said there were three in stock - should be two more on the shelf" which there were. So I bought one of the two and left the first one stranded in will call. A couple days later I was in for something else and tried to tell the guy at will call to release the part but he was busy and I wasn't interested in waiting. For all I know it's still in will call 2-weeks later.

My point is WM is way behind Home Depot and competitors in online shopping. And Home Depot is a ways behind Amazon. No hope for WM without major investment.

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Old 08-06-2022, 04:22 PM   #143
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For what its worth.

I've been in several West Marine stores lately, and I've purchased stuff there as well as online.

Some serious sales have begun there. If shopping its now worth checking out. Pulled the trigger on a Vulcan anchor and got it 20% off there. List price was the same there as any other source I checked, so it was a true 20% off. Some other items suggest pricing has come into the range of normal available pricing. Their current sales make it a bargain. Shipping was free, which was an additional significant savings on a heavy anchor.

I picked up a dingy anchor too, online, at a serious discount. Well under 50% off.

Fulfillment seems to be shipping out of any of their stores that have the item in stock, not a central warehouse.

The stores are lightly staffed but the staff quality I experienced was decent. Not bothersome, but quick to assist if you flag them down. Not underfoot. I didn't need anything with complex knowledge.

It appears to me the new owners are at work, but its a work in process. Possibly just trying to dump some inventory ahead of some other adjustment. Time will tell.

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Old 08-06-2022, 04:39 PM   #144
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I was at West marine recently and realized they have few things I need.

I do not know anything about their fishing stuff.
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Old 08-06-2022, 04:58 PM   #145
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Hi Peter,
Don't forget Fisheries Supply in Seattle Good prices and stock. Thay have saved me a lot of money. All orders are out the next morning.
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Old 08-07-2022, 07:30 PM   #146
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Hi Peter,
Don't forget Fisheries Supply in Seattle Good prices and stock. Thay have saved me a lot of money. All orders are out the next morning.
Don Souza
And if they don't have it in stock, Fisheries Supply has an interesting policy that can save a bunch on shipping for some items. I wanted to put disc brakes on a small boat trailer and had to get a larger axle. I could get the axle in a week. The manufacturer would ship it to Fisheries and I'd pay shipping. But if I put in my order and was willing to wait until Fisheries got their next scheduled order from this East Coast manufacturer (which was only once or twice a year), there was no shipping. I was told that they planned on making an order in a few weeks. So I put in my order, waited a month, and saved +$120 in shipping. It wasn't like I was without a trailer and I had plenty of projects to keep me busy until the axle showed up.
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Old 08-08-2022, 12:43 PM   #147
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Went to Waste marine as needed butt connectors. Heat shrink and needed 16 out 12 in. They had 3 that would work at $9.95 each. Needed 6. Bought 10 of them with next day for $12 and change. Total. Now have 4 spares and job done for less than 2 from WM.

Expect WM to fold. Maybe they make their money as a clothing store but you don’t go in there unless you need something now. They don’t make any sale if you stop going there. Even Amazon is cheaper. Now becomes next day and is still cheaper.
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Old 08-08-2022, 12:47 PM   #148
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Went to Waste marine as needed butt connectors. Heat shrink and needed 16 out 12 in. They had 3 that would work at $9.95 each. Needed 6. Bought 10 of them with next day for $12 and change.

Expect WM to fold. Maybe they make their money as a clothing store but you don’t go in there unless you need something now. They don’t make any sale if you stop going there. Even Amazon is cheaper. Now becomes next day and is still cheaper.
I see pricing stuff like that with WM all the time. But sometimes I do find stuff where they're surprisingly reasonable. A couple weeks ago I needed a 3 gallon gas tank for the dinghy. Soonest I could get one anywhere online was about 3 days. WM had them on the shelf so I could get one the same day, and oddly, it was within a dollar of the cheapest reputable choice from Amazon, Defender, and everywhere else I looked.
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Old 08-09-2022, 09:02 AM   #149
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i've had a west marine commercial account for many years. when i first signed up things were pretty good. decent price discounts, decent part procurement. through the years they slowly got worse and worse, eventually they didn't carry anything i needed in store. 95% of what i wanted needed to be brought in and the discount schedule went to a tiered system that didn't work well with my purchase habits. staff got increasingly disinterested in helping, etc...
i went in a couple of weeks ago as they had a part i needed listed as being in stock at my local store.
things are different there now, just recently they brought back one of the best store managers we ever had there. she explained that they were trying out the new online ordering system and the website was evolving. her store was kind of a model that the rest would be looking at to see how the changes go.
turned out that the part i needed wasn't actually in stock as the website still has a few glitches they're working through. but she was really proactive getting what i needed coming in, and fast. she's sort of re-tooling the store, cutting staff but getting higher quality people. all in all i got a good feeling that things would be getting better. time will tell, but i'm going to start putting a regular amount of business their way again to see.
prices are still a crapshoot, some good, some horrible. but if they start carrying things in store again i would be happy to pay the premium for the convenience of same day availability.
it's hard to beat fisheries supply, and they'll continue to get the lions share of my business, but i'd like to see west make a comeback.
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Old 08-09-2022, 09:58 AM   #150
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Here’s the store front of the West Marine store in Anacortes Wash. Been like this for many years.

There’s an image of a heavy cruiser and a sizable OB boat. One can only assume the two images represent the powerboating community w a big cruiser and OB boat common on Puget Sound.

The big cruiser has a big Bruce type anchor like many many heavier and slower yachts in the area whilst the OB, representing a modern and lighter pleasure boat has a Danforth type anchor that is also popular.

You’d think they would be representing their product by displaying the most popular high performance anchors of the day but the Claw has been around since the 70’s and the Danforth since 1938. Both anchors sell well despite their drawbacks but these images show that having the brand new thing that is very popular among consumers isn’t everything.

This image on the front of the very popular marine pleasureboat store amuses me every time I see it. Must be that for the anchoring most people do the Claw or the Danforth must be adequate for their needs.

However I’d much rather no one commented on the performance of either anchor at all much less other anchors. The image and where it is is (to me) is rather humorous and odd. That’s all
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Old 08-09-2022, 10:05 AM   #151
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Here’s the store front of the West Marine store in Anacortes Wash. Been like this for many years.

There’s an image of a heavy cruiser and a sizable OB boat. One can only assume the two images represent the powerboating community w a big cruiser and OB boat common on Puget Sound.

The big cruiser has a big Bruce type anchor like many many heavier and slower yachts in the area whilst the OB, representing a modern and lighter pleasure boat has a Danforth type anchor that is also popular.

You’d think they would be representing their product by displaying the most popular high performance anchors of the day but the Claw has been around since the 70’s and the Danforth since 1938. Both anchors sell well despite their drawbacks but these images show that having the brand new thing that is very popular among consumers isn’t everything.

This image on the front of the very popular marine pleasureboat store amuses me every time I see it. Must be that for the anchoring most people do the Claw or the Danforth must be adequate for their needs.

However I’d much rather no one commented on the performance of either anchor at all much less other anchors. The image and where it is is (to me) is rather humorous and odd. That’s all
I'm sure the average customer is just looking at the boats and will never notice what's on the bow. Only the crazies like us around here would notice!
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Old 08-09-2022, 11:01 AM   #152
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I think the West marine near me must be a test store too. When I had to wait 3 months for a length of 1" exhaust hose, that is too much. I went to BOW (Boat Owners Wearhouse) and walked out the door holding the hose. I order the hose at Wm, I gave up and went to BOW and then, went to Atlanta for 3 months. When I got back and in 3 weeks later, WM said my hose had arrived. Told them I went to BOW and bought the hose. I did tell them I was not pleased.

The clothing at this store.... if I want a large or xlarge, they have it but, medium or small they dont have at the closest store.
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Old 08-09-2022, 11:19 AM   #153
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Absolutely West has a long way to go.

But I just had delivered a 2.5lb Mantus dingy anchor with a list of $168, that I bought at West for $40.

At list I'd never spend that on a dingy anchor. At $40? Sure. For the one and only dingy anchor Panope recommends.

Not suggesting anyone become a fanboy. Just take advantage of what can be taken advantage of.
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Old 08-09-2022, 11:43 AM   #154
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Absolutely West has a long way to go.

But I just had delivered a 2.5lb Mantus dingy anchor with a list of $168, that I bought at West for $40.

At list I'd never spend that on a dingy anchor. At $40? Sure. For the one and only dingy anchor Panope recommends.

Not suggesting anyone become a fanboy. Just take advantage of what can be taken advantage of.
When Wm was bought, the policy was, 'we'll match any price.' That went away.
Yes, I knew I was paying more but at least, I waked out the door the same day.
Now they may not have it in stock so why should wait 5 days when I can buy it for less and wait the same 5 days.
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Old 08-16-2022, 07:54 AM   #155
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If anyone from West Marine is following this thread suggest:
Play to your strength. You are one of few brick and mortar store chains left in this market.
First cashier and stocking help could be anyone but floor help should have personal experience as a seasoned mariner. All to often I go into a West and spend 15- 20 minutes explaining to the help what I want and why. They are mostly clueless as to what the things in the store do or have no useful knowledge of which is the best product for a given application or problem. Use retired boaters/sailors or others who have actually used/installed the products you sell. I loved the now disappearing small , privately owned chandleries. Walk in with a problem they tell me how to solve it and collect the things to buy. Walk me through the installation. Your advice on your internet site is nearly worthless.
Second, as stated here people go into your store for a “I want it now” item”. Basic marketing tells you once you have them in your store it’s more likely they will buy another usually unrelated item. I’ve given up on going to your stores for fasteners, stainless, line, electrical fittings, wire, hoses and the various small items needed on a boat. Similarly have stopped buying lubricants and filters from you. Rather go to a fastenal, auto/truck supply, cordage store because they actually will have the needed part/item on the shelf. Don’t pay attention to what you have sold in the past when restocking as your only measure. Pay attention to what may possibly bring in foot traffic. When the bride comes with me we seem to always buy the part(s) I need and the stuff she wants. Think about rethinking your stocking policies. If you don’t bring anyone into the brick and mortar stores they will close. Change to the “go to”store not the first have a 15-20 phone call to see if you actually have it. Then half hour drive to your store only to find out floor help had no idea about the specifics so the parts on the shelf are worthless to you. That happens a few times customers stop calling first and stop going at all.
Have had Port Supply for decades. Now told I’m no longer eligible. Change your discount policy. Think of customers as three groups. Low volume and spending, medium and high. Taxing is a separate issue. Discount accordingly. Your current discounting doesn’t incentivize people to differentially spend money with you. Rather the incentive is to buy at the best internet price given its all to commonly not available in your store to buy on the spot.
Offer next day free shipping on small weight items and discounted shipping on heavy items. If you reach a certain threshold of spending all shipping is free.

Brick and mortar has several advantages. It’s right there. You can see and hold it. You can talk to someone about it right then and there. You’ve minimize those advantages and maximized opportunities for the customer to be disappointed with the experience of taking the time and effort to go to one of your stores. End of day that’s what this thread is about. Many salient comments above from many posters. Listen to your potential customers. You are losing them becoming a store only for the casual, small boat owner rather than those dedicated to boating and willing to spend the bucks involved. That’s not a recipe for success. Then you’re competing with Walmart and the like. Given their sales volume you will lose out on price and margin.
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Old 08-16-2022, 09:37 AM   #156
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West Marine and Bed, Bath & Beyond share many similarities. Both are investor owned, both carry debt, both under invest in systems and infrastructure making it compatatively difficult and frustrating for shoppers. Both present incredibly disappointing and inconsistent customer experiences. Both seek margin improvement via private label brands without a trustful differentiator such as Costco/Kirkland offers (and as Sears Craftsman/Kenmore once did - their decline started almost 30 years ago). Both lack a clear vision and value proposition. Both used to be a first-thought for consumers. Now? No thought whatsoever.

In the end, poor leadership and focus on fast buck have left both squeezed out of the retail marketplace. Perhaps they survive, but thrive? Unlikely. In the end, West Marine has squandered so many opportunities I just can't imagine what a recovery might look like. Over the last 15 years, they've had more "fresh starts" than Italy..

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Old 08-16-2022, 10:48 AM   #157
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I think a clear and achievable goal of West Marine is having supplies sold by the foot in stock as well as the basic hardware and components necessary to complete common installs. This would play to their strengths of having physical locations and would require rather simple inventory management and not require extensive technical experience from the staff.

I understand the potential value of knowledgeable staff to advise on projects but am skeptical of the company achieving this at all locations.

My local West Marine is on the grounds of a large boatyard with multiple repair and shipwright companies operating out of it, I'm sure that they order the vast majority of supplies from wholesale distributers and have near daily deliveries but I have noticed that this particular west marine does keep a decent stock of intake and exhaust hose in stock in the back. This is a great resource when you are in the middle of a major install and you either failed to order all of the supporting parts for your install.

What does surprise me is a lack of complete inventory of basic components, for example there will be several common sizes of bronze thru-hull fittings not in stock and when they are in stock, there is only 1 or 2 of each. I wouldn't expect a full line of expensive components and systems like charger/inverters, heads, winches, etc. but the basic supporting hardware necessary to complete the install of such a component would be great and worthy of paying a premium price so you can get a project completed.

I order extensively from Defender and receive my orders the next day even when choosing ground, I try to order all components necessary to complete major repairs and upgrades but there is always something I forgot or ordered the wrong size.
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