Getting Rid Of Competition- West Marine
 

As of 1-14-03 West Marine is the new and proud owner of BOATSUS..... I found this out last night at my West Marine store. The Boat US name will be gone in a few months. From what I understand, the Boat US sales catalog goes too!! The catalog sales will be restricted to the current West Marine selections.

This is a real shame to lose the competion as well as a broader selection of merchandise (buy'em & bury them!!). I wonder what will happen to the Boat US insurance program??? Towing???
A sad day...:(

By reading Boat US web site it doesn't sound all that bad. I'll guess we'll have to wait and see.

WOW!

They just opened a BoatsUS damn near across the street from a West Marine in Newport Beach SoCal

:confused:

So that must have had something to do with BoatUS laying off 45 people in their main office.

Told them on Monday that their last day would be this Friday.

This looks OK. If I read the press release right, Boat US stores will still be around:

WATSONVILLE, CA - January 14, 2003 -West Marine, Inc. (Nasdaq:WMAR) announced today that the Company will acquire BoatU.S. retail stores, catalog sales and wholesale operations for $72 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) will continue to operate its Association which represents the interests of, and offers numerous services to, boaters across the country. In making the announcement, John Edmondson, CEO of West Marine, said, "This acquisition marks a major milestone in the evolution of the boating products industry."

Edmondson characterized the deal as "a long-term strategic alliance that will enable both West Marine and BoatU.S. to maximize their respective strengths in order to better serve the boating public." According to Edmondson, "We intend to continue to operate the BoatU.S. stores under the BoatU.S. name. BoatU.S. has an excellent reputation and a loyal customer base. It is our intention to have no disruption in the level of service that their customers have come to expect."

Richard Schwartz, founder and chairman of BoatU.S. said, "BoatU.S. will now concentrate its resources on developing new programs of value for boat owners to complement the Association's marine insurance, towing, boat financing, consumer advocacy, and government representation programs." According to Schwartz, "The market for marine equipment has changed markedly in the past two decades. Marine outlets have become more readily available and West Marine, the largest boating equipment supplier in the world, has proven its ability to deliver quality merchandise at competitive prices while sustaining an impressive growth rate of stores around the country. The time is right for us to partner with West Marine."

West Marine, headquartered in Watsonville, California, is the nation's largest boating supply chain with 258 store locations in the U.S. and Canada. The acquisition of BoatU.S. retail operations will add 62 store locations, as well as the BoatU.S. catalog and wholesale sales channels, which is anticipated to add approximately $140 million in additional sales annually. West Marine expects that the acquisition will be accretive to its earnings in 2003 in the range of $0.01 to $0.02 per share. In 2004, the Company expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings by approximately $0.18 to $0.20 per share.

Under the terms of the agreement, West Marine will promote membership in the BoatU.S. Association at each of its 320 retail stores, while the Association will exclusively promote West Marine as the preferred supplier of boating equipment to its members.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements that relate to West Marine's future plans, expectations, objectives, performance and similar projections, as well as facts and assumptions underlying these statements or projections. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements due to various risks, uncertainties or other factors. Risks and uncertainties failure to secure or adverse conditions required under pending approvals, failure to obtain or maintain expected synergies from the transaction and other risk factors disclosed from time to time in West Marine's SEC filings.

.... exactly!! All mission statements at mergers/buyouts say those things to keep employees in the dark and happy (like mushrooms).How many mergers have you EVER seen that left the others retail stores stay open...answer: none ! They will continue operating as Boat US until new signs are contracted out. If there is duplications as in two stores in a city, guess what? one is DONE! This is not to mention, prices. In another post it was stated that Mercruiser had 65% of the market.... what is West's share of their market? You can bet the prices will go up if only to pay for the merger. Not a good sign for us.:(

"Strategic alliances" always sound benign.

Not that I would care. For towing, SeaTow is much better (at least where I am). For buying, there will always be someone with lower prices ...

Wow!
That's a bold move. I thought that my trusty Boat-US stores would be around forever.

I'm glad to see, though, that Boat-U.S. will still stay intact interms as their other operations like insurance and government affairs.

Boat-U.S. really does a tremendous amount of lobbying and gets involved in government to protect our interests. It would be a shame to lose that.

As far as the stores, so what, just as long as the service stays the same the prices don't rise, but there's little chance of that happening. :rolleyes:

:cool:

Does this mean MY 3 year fixed rate for insurance is not
gonna be honored?:confused:

In my area between the stores I have been in I like the Boat US stores better. I just got my Boat US renewal notice and I hope that they will continue to be a voice for the boater.
Cordell