Wow, this is a great thread. I like the way we took an OT thread and turned
it into an ON TOPIC thread.


"The real ME" wrote in message
...
JimH,

I am not certain what inventory level a Wal-Mart maintains, but I am
curious why all the other marinas in the Long Island Sound area were not
able to sell boats and boating supplies at full retail.

I would think Harry could have started a consultation company to show all
those less informed marina owners how to sell product at full retail.
Most stores and boat dealers would love to be able to sell at full retail.
Harry should have taught his dad how to successfully run a marina when he
was in business.


"JimH" wrote in message
...

"The real ME" wrote in message
...
Harry Krause wrote:

I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


$3 million in 1970 translates to about $15 million today.

Must have been one hell of a business to have that sort of inventory.

For comparison sake I wonder what sort of inventory (retail) a typical
Walmart carries.

Harry,

That is a major accomplishment to unload all of your dad's inventory in
record time for "near full retail". You should be commended for doing
everything you can to minimize the negative impact on the other marina's in
the area. I am curious, since you only discounted the items slightly, how
did you get everyone to drive past all the other marinas and boat stores, if
you were just slightly discounting the product.

This is something many people, including our good friend on Lake Hartwell
would like to know. He might be able to get those boating on all the other
lakes in Georgia and South Carolina to visit him instead of their local
dealers and stores.




"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:


I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of in
the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later that
year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had killed off
nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently driven two of
the weaker dealerships right out of business.

Of the three large dealerships, only one is still open today, operated by
the grandson of the founder. All were started just before or just after WW
II. Last I heard, only one of the original proprietors was still alive.

The irony is that my mother and I had tried to talk my father into selling
off the dealership five years before he died. The retail property was
worth far more than any boat dealership could generate in sales and
profit, and his interest in the marina was practically a liquid asset.
After he died, the other owners of the marina bought us out at the first
partners' meeting, and we sold the store property in West Haven six months
later. The buyers of that parcel razed the boat store and warehouse and
put up a strip mall. Kind of sad.

My mom ended up doing what she and my dad talked about doing. She bought a
nice place in Palm Beach and lived there in the land of perpetual sunshine
for nearly another 20 years before she died.

Yes, I contemplated taking over the family business. But fortunately, that
thought passed in about 20 seconds.

"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:


I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of in
the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later that
year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had killed off
nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently driven two of
the weaker dealerships right out of business.

Ummm. That dealership that was driven out of business was...yours. Anybody
can sell price.

Harry's sales technique:
"I know we're losing money on each transaction, but we'll make up for it
with volume."

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...

The Sunday Times Op-Ed page is growing into a different product.


Fair and balanced.

But if the Times is F&B, where will Faux go?


To the right.

"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:


I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of
in the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later
that year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had
killed off nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently
driven two of the weaker dealerships right out of business.

Ummm. That dealership that was driven out of business was...yours.
Anybody can sell price.

Harry's sales technique:
"I know we're losing money on each transaction, but we'll make up for it
with volume."

And he boat his 36' lobsta boat with the proceeds, right?

"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:


I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of
in the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later
that year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had
killed off nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently
driven two of the weaker dealerships right out of business.

Of the three large dealerships, only one is still open today, operated by
the grandson of the founder. All were started just before or just after
WW II. Last I heard, only one of the original proprietors was still
alive.

The irony is that my mother and I had tried to talk my father into
selling off the dealership five years before he died. The retail property
was worth far more than any boat dealership could generate in sales and
profit, and his interest in the marina was practically a liquid asset.
After he died, the other owners of the marina bought us out at the first
partners' meeting, and we sold the store property in West Haven six
months later. The buyers of that parcel razed the boat store and
warehouse and put up a strip mall. Kind of sad.

My mom ended up doing what she and my dad talked about doing. She bought
a nice place in Palm Beach and lived there in the land of perpetual
sunshine for nearly another 20 years before she died.

Yes, I contemplated taking over the family business. But fortunately,
that thought passed in about 20 seconds.






"The real ME" wrote in message
...
Harry,

That is a major accomplishment to unload all of your dad's inventory in
record time for "near full retail". You should be commended for doing
everything you can to minimize the negative impact on the other marina's
in the area. I am curious, since you only discounted the items slightly,
how did you get everyone to drive past all the other marinas and boat
stores, if you were just slightly discounting the product.

This is something many people, including our good friend on Lake Hartwell
would like to know. He might be able to get those boating on all the
other lakes in Georgia and South Carolina to visit him instead of their
local dealers and stores.




I still wonder what kind of actual physical inventory he had. With $3
million in sales he would have had to sell 200 of those 23 foot Cruisers.
Knowing that only one or two of those would have been in stock and the
others were probably far smaller and cheaper, I figure 300 boats were sold
along with 500 or so outboard motors.

Krause has to be the worlds best salesman to have accomplished that.

The place had to be the size of a Walmart Super Store and traffic had to be
lined up as far south as NYC.

Amazing. ;-)

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:
"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...

The real ME wrote:

Harry Krause wrote:



I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of
in the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later
that year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had
killed off nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently
driven two of the weaker dealerships right out of business.


Ummm. That dealership that was driven out of business was...yours.
Anybody can sell price.

Not at all. My goal was to liquidate the business as quickly as possible,
pay off all debt, provide my aging mama with a pile of dead presidents so
she could retire in style to Florida, and then sell off the business real
estate. The store wasn't "driven" out of business. I didn't want the
business and I liquidated it.


Fair enough. But the fact of the matter is *two* (not one) businesses were
out of business after your liquidation sale.

At a tidy profit.


By definition, a liquidation doesn't produce true "profit". You're
converting fixed assets into liquid assets. On a balance sheet, nothing has
changed.




Harry's sales technique:
"I know we're losing money on each transaction, but we'll make up for it
with volume."


We joked about that, but the net proceeds enabled my mom to buy a nice
place in Palm Beach and to buy a bunch of CDs that provided here with a
very comfortable retirement.



Nothing wrong with that. But realize that there's not much business acumen
needed to liquidate a business. The end result of selling price for any
business is exactly what happened to your dad's business: it goes out of
business.

Harry,

Since you were able to sell approximately $15 million dollars (in current
dollars) in 30 days, what do you think your father was doing incorrectly
when he was running the business?

With this kind of success I would think about doing an "out of business
sale"
every spring. You could do more business than most West Marine or Boat US
Stores do in a year, and only be open 30 days a year.

Thanks for you concern about my lack of a boat, but I am a very happy boat
owner.

I haven't heard about your 36' Lobster boat in years. Do you have a picture
you can posts on your web site?






"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry,

That is a major accomplishment to unload all of your dad's inventory in
record time for "near full retail". You should be commended for doing
everything you can to minimize the negative impact on the other marina's
in the area. I am curious, since you only discounted the items slightly,
how did you get everyone to drive past all the other marinas and boat
stores, if you were just slightly discounting the product.


D'oh. Perhaps you ought to enroll in a "reading for comprehension"
program.

There were only a few "large" dealerships in New Haven County back then.
Most of the dealerships were NOT located at marinas, but were
free-standing stores, usually some distance from the water. My father's
main store was some miles from Long Island Sound, for example. It was on
the Boston Post Road, US Route 1, the main commercial route in those days
between New York and Boston. There was no need to get people to drive by
the store, since thousands upon thousands did that every day of the week.
If you were trailering your boat from New Haven to Milford, for example,
you'd just about *have* to drive by the store unless you wanted to take a
bunch of back roads. The Connecticut Turnpike did not pull much local
traffic off the Boston Post Road, because the CT was a TOLL road back
then.

He did not sell new boats and motors at the marina, just some accessories
and parts. As managing partner, he did allow owners to sell their own
boats at the marina, with or without a broker.

As I stated, he was "the" franchise dealer for the lines he sold. If you
wanted the products he sold, you either bought them from him or you drove
a considerable distance to find another dealer who handled them. And there
was no guarantee the distant dealer's price would be much lower, if it was
lower. There were a couple of boat lines my dad sold that you'd have to
drive several hundred miles to find a competitive dealer.

For outboard boats, these were the days before "factory pre-rig," and
outdrives were just beginning to gain in popularity. While there were
factory suggested price sheets for outboards, I don't recall seeing any
for boats. Their prices were set by the dealers.

There. See. Now you know a little about how the boat business used to be.
Someday, you'll not be able to use that information to buy your first
boat.



--
Bush and the NeoConvicts who control him
are destroying the once-great United States.

Harry,

Since you have been so proud of your 26' Parker and have published the
pictures on your web site numerous times, I am sure everyone would love to
see your 36' Lobster Boat.

Since you are considering selling your Parker due to higher gas prices (heck
we don't want to contribute to the oil companies greed and profit), are you
going to keep the Lobster boat? Does the Parker burn more or less gas than
the Lobster Boat?



"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry,

Since you were able to sell approximately $15 million dollars (in current
dollars) in 30 days, what do you think your father was doing incorrectly
when he was running the business?

Save your patronizing manner for your little circle, jerk. My old man ran
his business the way he wanted, and answered only to himself.



With this kind of success I would think about doing an "out of business
sale"
every spring. You could do more business than most West Marine or Boat
US Stores do in a year, and only be open 30 days a year.

Why does it not surprise me that you would advocate something illegal?




Thanks for you concern about my lack of a boat, but I am a very happy
boat owner.

How could you have a boat? You don't even have an identity.



I haven't heard about your 36' Lobster boat in years. Do you have a
picture you can posts on your web site?

Yes, I do.




--
Bush and the NeoConvicts who control him
are destroying the once-great United States.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:08:26 -0400, "The real ME" wrote:

Harry,

That is a major accomplishment to unload all of your dad's inventory in
record time for "near full retail". You should be commended for doing
everything you can to minimize the negative impact on the other marina's in
the area. I am curious, since you only discounted the items slightly, how
did you get everyone to drive past all the other marinas and boat stores, if
you were just slightly discounting the product.

This is something many people, including our good friend on Lake Hartwell
would like to know. He might be able to get those boating on all the other
lakes in Georgia and South Carolina to visit him instead of their local
dealers and stores.




"Harry.Krause" wrote in message
...
The real ME wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:


I sold off nearly $3,000,000 in new motors and boats, depressing
the new boat
industry in southern Connecticut for an entire season. Everything
was sold...every cotter pin, every quart of oil, 30 days after I
started.
For near full-retail, too.


Harry,
I am curious, how did you depress the market if you were selling for
full-retail?

Why are you curious? Are you planning to transport yourself back to 1974
in New Haven County and go into the retail boating business?

I'll indulge you.

I didn't sell for full-retail, as my father had. I sold for *near* full
retail, which, in those days, for the lines my dad sold, was unheard of in
the pre-season. Remember, this was in the days where a franchise meant
something, and among the "something" was a protected territory, meaning
there were no competitors selling the same brand name within a certain
area. "You want a Cruisers, Inc., 23-footer with an I/O? Fine, the price
is $15,000 or whatever, and I'll toss in some cushions."

There were three large dealerships in that part of Connecticut in those
days, my father's, which was in West Haven and Milford, another in West
Haven, and one in Branford. Two of my father's best friends were the
owners of the other large dealerships. At a memorial for my dad later that
year, the two close dealer friends told me that our "sale" had killed off
nearly 20% of their sales for the year, and had apparently driven two of
the weaker dealerships right out of business.

Of the three large dealerships, only one is still open today, operated by
the grandson of the founder. All were started just before or just after WW
II. Last I heard, only one of the original proprietors was still alive.

The irony is that my mother and I had tried to talk my father into selling
off the dealership five years before he died. The retail property was
worth far more than any boat dealership could generate in sales and
profit, and his interest in the marina was practically a liquid asset.
After he died, the other owners of the marina bought us out at the first
partners' meeting, and we sold the store property in West Haven six months
later. The buyers of that parcel razed the boat store and warehouse and
put up a strip mall. Kind of sad.

My mom ended up doing what she and my dad talked about doing. She bought a
nice place in Palm Beach and lived there in the land of perpetual sunshine
for nearly another 20 years before she died.

Yes, I contemplated taking over the family business. But fortunately, that
thought passed in about 20 seconds.






Such history. I wonder, if the dad owned the business, what did all the partners
own?
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."