After 20 years building Scuba Com from nothing I have made the difficult decision to finally retire from the dive industry.
What makes it even more difficult is that I have been actively involved in the industry since 1979
(scary how the time flies) and have enjoyed these years immensely.
My long term business plan always had an "exit policy" for when I was around 58 years old (next
year) and a recent cancer scare helped me to now implement that section of my plan.
So it is with much regret I offer my business for sale.
Enough reminiscing, I will now move on and describe the business in its current format.
Business structure.
Scuba Com P/l - is the trading company that does all sales , service work etc.
Within Scuba Com P/l is two other business names - Formation of Australian Underwater
Instructors (FAUI) and Technicians Qualification System (TQS).
Scuba Commercial & Wholesale P/L is the holding company that holds all assets and buys all
stock etc which it then on sells to Scuba Com P/L.
The above structure sounds a bit complicated but has been developed over many years into its
current form to maximise long term efficiency.
Now I will expand on what the company actually does.
Scuba Com P/L business description
Sales of diving and boating equipment
As walk in sales at our showroom at Regency Park Adelaide, we have focussed on private customers and many government departments over the 20 years.
It has always been our aim to provide honest, reliable and efficient customer service to our clients. Our main scuba product brands are Tusa and Scubapro but we have access to most brands on the market.
A Walk in sales showroom
B Walk in sales, showroom
C Walk in sales, showroom
Sales via our web site www.scubacom.com.au
The web site has been developed over about 6 years to cater for the shift in the way retail sales are now
done. Over those years we realised the necessity to make these changes despite many in the industry
resisting and ignoring this powerful sales tool.
The web site is a very exciting way to do business, being open to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The continued growth in this area is mind boggling.
The web site has an Ebay shop linked to it which is a great way to make sales and get people
visiting our web site. The web site usually gets around four to five hundred thousand hits a month and is growing all the time. I have not actually worked out whether walk in sales or web site sales make the most sales but
I would expect the web site to continue to grow overtaking walk in sales in the near future.
Our showroom is well stocked and we usually have around $150,00.00 worth of stock on hand.
Scuba Com has plenty of storage space and utilises bulk buying to supply clients with the best
priced equipment.
D Web servers
Internet office
Equipment servicing (Sport diving equipment)
Over the years I found that equipment servicing was often not well done in the dive industry due to the transient
nature of staff. So I decided to specialised in this area.
Our current clients include The Police Dept, Fisheries Dept, Army, EPA, Adelaide University, Flinders University and many more, not to mention many scuba divers both local and from interstate.
We have a large inventory of spare parts and a modern up to date workshop, with all the special tools and testing equipment etc.
We also service and certify Shark Shields, endorsed by Shark Shields here in Adelaide.
F Service room
G service room
Registered cylinder test station No 365
We do on site cylinder tests and have always offered a fast return service to our customers
which over the years has built up to around 2,000 tests per year. The test station commenced in
2004 and as of 11/2011 we have done 11,952 tests in total.
Most of this work is retail but sometimes includes wholesale work for other dive shops.
The test station is fully equipped and has current SAI Global quality control endorsement.
Some of the equipment inclusds various cylinder adaptors, heavy duty test pump, 3 x air storage
bank cylinders coupled to a Bauer h/p compressor, test panel, master gauge, camera and monitor
for internal inspections, computer generated data base and test sheet production, etc etc
This test station has been set up for efficiency and accuracy for seamless cylinder testing.
I Cylinder check in area
Test area
J Cylinder testing area
Bauer HP compressor
Air bank for pump
Training agency - Formation of Australian Underwater Instructors (FAUI)
I have been in the FAUI system since the late 1970s when it was the largest scuba training agency in
Australia for many years.
Over the years it has run under the names of National Qualification System (NQS), Federation of Australian Underwater Instructors (FAUI), National Association of Scuba Diving Schools
(NASDS) and now back to Formation of Australian Underwater Instructors (FAUI). FAUI has offered quality dive courses over many years and it has been my aim to bring back those quality courses to Australia again. It faded from view for a few years and as more consumers are seeking options for quality training we are regenerating FAUI to meet their needs.
FAUI is in the early stages of regeneration and is doing more business than I had expected.
The FAUI web site is now up and running www.faui.com.au and our data base has over 100,000
names. This business has a lot of growth potential for an energetic new owner.
Internet & FAUI Office
Technicians Qualification System (TQS)
I have developed this system of training and recognition of professional scuba technicians skills.
TQS has three levels of qualification, levels one probationary technician,two Full scuba
technician and three Experienced scuba technician trainer. The aim of this system is to show the industry and clients the qualifications and skills of the person servicing their life support scuba equipment.
When sitting on the ocean bottom at 35 meters it is comforting to know the person who service
your gear was well trained and competent. Our TQS card and certificate will reflect the holders
knowledge and skill.
TQS is designed to work closely with manufacturers technician endorsements and runs as a separate
business module to the rest of the business.
It has been my aim to liaise with technicians and manufacturers to produce quality
service work for clients into the future.
Two Air filling Stations
Air filling station - One
This is in the sales show room area and fills the "walk in" clients cylinders.
There is an up to date stainless steel plumbed panel coupled to ten storage bank cylinders with two
wall mounted Dominic Hunter filtration towers.
It has a procedures manual for air filling complying to OH&S.
L Fiters and storage bank
Fill pannel one
Air filling station - Two
This is located in another warehouse next door where clients with large numbers of cylinders can
back in and unload (and load) efficiently without disturbing up the show room area.
It also has the same design stainless steel panel as fill station one so if you can operate one panel,
you can operate them both without any confusion.
The panel is coupled to seven storage bank cylinders and five more wall mounted air purity filters.
M fill panel two
N Fill panel two
Air filling compressors
Compressor 1 - Bauer K14, fully automatic (runs at night to fill storage cylinders) , auto water
dumps, auto low oil shut down, timer to run no longer than 8 hours, pressure switch to shut down
when the storage banks reach full pressure.
Compressor 2 - Bauer K14, manual machine which is used as a back up or can run in line with the
main machine if we need more air during the day.
Compressor 3 - Bauer Mariner, another back up machine which can be used when maintenance is
being done or in the event of a breakdown.
Compressor 4 - Ingersol Rand - this machine we purchased recently with a spare pump, skid and
electric motor. Even though we have enough compressors these are extra spares if ever needed.
This is a big machine (20 cfm) and is included with the business.
The compressors are regularly maintained and have service log book to verify all work
done.
O Bauer K14
P Bauer Mariner
Q Bauer K14
R Ingersol Rand
S Ingersol Rand
T Filters & storage cylinders
Commercial diving servicing and specialist stainless panel building etc.
I have been an offshore saturation systems technician for many years.
I do commercial diving
service work and special projects like building air distribution panels etc.
This work includes servicing of Interspiro AGA masks and Kirby Morgan helmets.
For our regular clients we do service work and repairs on high pressure compressors.
Scuba Com operates out of two warehouse units in a strata group.
Warehouse 1 (95 squ mtrs)
Houses the scuba servicing work area, air filling station 1 and sales
show room.
It is air conditioned (2 x split systems) and has a mezzanine floor (about 30 squ mtrs) for
storing "lay by" and "Ebay" items.
Warehouse 2 (330 squ mtrs)
Houses the stores bulk buy stock which will not fit in the showroom, air filling station 2, air filling compressors, cylinder test station, commercial service work, Offices for FAUI ,admin, meetings etc.
This warehouse also has a mezzanine with a floor space of about 50 squ mtrs.
Things that we do NOT currently do.
The above structure has kept us busy (currently four staff employed) and you will note that there
are some strange differences between Scuba Com and most other dive shops. You would be right in that
thought.
The things that we don't do are:
Dive courses
Dive Clubs
Dive travel
Open on weekends ( possibly one of the few dive shops in Australia that do not open on weekends)
Dive charters or, in fact any conducted dives at all.
These items could be added to the business but the things we specialise in now make a great
business and allows everyone including myself weekends off for long term business and family
sustainability.
Facts and figures.
Specific statement of figures for years ending '08, '09', '10 and '11 have been compiled by my accountant
and are currently available.
I would be happy to have any potential buyers accountant meet with my accountant to clarify any
questions they may have regarding the numbers.
Sale Price for the whole business is $550,000.00 and I am happy to discuss perhaps keeping some
areas like the test station if they are not wanted.
There are a number of options to discuss but the above pricing is for walk in walk out for the whole business.
Conclusion
Scuba Com has allowed me to purchase seven properties over the years including the two
warehouses the business operates from.
Not to mention making wages for myself and staff for 20
years so I think you could say it has been a very successful dive shop.
When I started scuba Com here in Adelaide twenty years ago there were about twelve dive shops
if my memory serves me right and the are now about seven with none of the original owners still
running those shops.
Scuba Com has slowly buit up through the 1990's recession and is still moving ahead despite world and local financial downturns.
There is a comprehensive business plan which will take us into the future.
We have managed to grow a strong business over those years and have proved "the test of time".
Twenty years with the same owner is a good achievement for Scuba Com of which I am quite proud
of.
Scuba Com would be an ideal business for an experienced business manager wanting to grow
the company into the future. Having many years of scuba knowledge is not essential because the
business has well trained staff that can do all day to day work.
Management is the key to continued success and I have priced the business as a walk in, walk
out arrangement.
If the new owner needed assistance for a period of time I
would make myself available to help with any problems that might arise.
References from wholesalers or major clients can be supplied on request.
Anyone wanting to step into Scuba Com and continue its successful path do not hesitate to contact
myself, Steve Robinson, on steve@scubacom.com.au or (08) 8346 0911
Very kind regards
Steve Robinson
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