Having been a supplier to many marine chandleries over the past 20+ years while working for Edson and now Novabraid, there’s definitely been some decline in quality retail access in the past 24 months. Surprisingly many of these issues came in the wake of a huge surge in retail boat and accessory sales during and just after the height of the pandemic and may boat supply businesses had record sales during this period, despite some of the supply chain challenges that occurred. Perhaps those business owners are taking their profits to the bank and streamlining their sales channels to avoid bankruptcy if a recession occurs. Obviously, prices are rising as a function of inflation and transportation costs and many retail business struggle to find qualified employees. West Marine was renowned for hiring retirees who would work part time to get the employee discount but I think most of those folks have weighed anchor and retired for good. My nephew has been an assistant manager at a West Marine for several years and they’ve been forced to scale back to a 5 day work week as they only had two employees for the entire store, a manager and an assistant.
Defender, unfortunately is going through a rather difficult transition under new ownership and most of my sailing friends are struggling with their new website. They’re currently remodeling the retail outlet, downsizing display areas and relying far more on their phone customer service team to help with product applications rather than their in store counter help. I’ve been told it will be up to speed in a few weeks, but this is the start of boat prep season in New England and the Northeast so they could not have picked a worse time to shut down the retail store. One outlet that folks haven’t mentioned is Hamilton Marine up in Maine. They’ve got a pretty comprehensive product selection and pricing is typically a bit less than you’ll find at West Marine. 5 store locations as well. Not a super discount place, but their staff is pretty seasoned without much turnover. You probably won’t find the latest and greatest new Harken carbon fiber maxi yacht winches there, but for hardware, bottom paint, and mooring chain, they do just fine. And there’s always the local “head of the harbor” marine store at the hometown boatyard. Yes, you’ll pay more for that bottom paint, but giving them some business on the retail side means they’re more likely to have the water pump impeller you need when your boat starts overheating the day before you leave on your summer cruise. Have a great season, y’all, Chuck Gilchrest S/V Half Magic 1983 Landfall 35 Padanaram, MA From: Bill Coleman via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Friday, March 10, 2023 11:27 AM To: Stus-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Bill Coleman <colt...@gmail.com> Subject: Stus-List Chandleries Most people I talk to are disappointed at the direction Defender has been going after being purchased by a Hedge Fund, or whomever, and West has been pretty pricey since Randy Repass left years ago, and now that doesn't look too good - <<That same day, S <https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/2954392> &P downgraded Rising Tide Holdings to SD, which means selective default. “We view the transaction as tantamount to a default because creditors will receive less value than originally promised, and we view the exchange as distressed,” S&P wrote.>> I guess Rising Tides, dba West Marine, is ebbing. Does anyone have any favorites for Parts, like BOE Marine, Go2Marine, etc? I can't find my bottom paint for less than $395 A Gallon. Even Fishermen's supply is not that great anymore. Bill Coleman Entrada Erie, PA
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