Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
TEMPE, Ariz. — Marine One LLC, a national network of regional independent marine distributors, recently introduced a new marine parts and accessories e-commerce store for boat dealers.
The program, developed, in association with Web Site Management, Inc., (WSM), a Tempe, Ariz.- based Internet development company, is much more than an enhanced e-commerce parts and accessories store, according to executives of the companies.
“Looking at most bolt-on online parts and accessory stores, boat dealers have no control over the products in the store, no control over the pricing, and frankly they make very little profit from products sold on their web sites,” said Don Magary, WSM president.
“We wanted to take a fresh approach and develop a program that would benefit the dealer … offering them a program that would let them control pricing and make the full mark-up on products sold. [And] also allow the dealer to include in their online store, products they sold in their physical store but not available in the standard online catalog.”
Kit Rehm, president of MarineOne, and Mike Keller, president of Keller Marine, a participating distributor in MarineOne, met with WSM to explore creating an alliance to develop the new concept. Rehm said when he heard WSM’s concept, he believed it to be exactly what the company’s dealers had been asking for. He acknowledged the MarineOne’s original online program for BoatSmart dealers had not met expectations for the MarineOne partnership nor for participating dealers.
“Our dealers wanted more,” he said. “They wanted to offer more products than were available through the BoatSmart program, have some control over pricing, be able to sell items they carry in the store but not available through the MarineOne network and promote the sale of new and used boats and motors. So we were delighted to hear Web Site Management’s plan and decided to work with them through an informal strategic partnership.”
Magary said that the online store now has more than 15,000 items – compared to the 1,500 in the original BoatSmart program. “Our program allows dealers to identify specials, set prices, include additional items in their store and make full markup on items sold on their web sites,” he said. “It’s a total Internet strategy for the entire dealership, not just parts and accessories catalog.”
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