I scratch my head

[Albinoni]

I live in Perth WA and I know a guy who is a manager of a small shop in Fremantle that sells LED lights in which get gets from overseas. I've bought some torches off him a while back these being MX Power and Hugsby in which all have been very good so far without any fails or hickups, apart from that he also sells other cheaper brands as well like the ones which have got 20 leds in them.

Anyhow 2 months ago we chatted and I suggested that he tries to bring in more variety of lights eg Fenix, JetBeam, Ultra Fire, Luma Power etc as the selection of LED torches here in this country is very limited compared to overseas.

Well he came back last week after spending 2 months in both China and Hong Kong and the only two brands he bought back were Fenix (which was good) and Maglite. Ok I will accept Fenix but Maglite ?????? I have nothing against Maglite but we have shops here that sell Maglite so why the friggin hell bring back Maglite when there is so many other good brands that he could of got.

Honestly the mind boggles doesnt it :sigh:

 

[warlord]

Well maybe he went with maglite because it's a well known brand. It's good to see that he's testing the waters with the Fenix brand. Perhaps if it does well he'll diversify even more. It's still a step in the right direction.

 

[bill_n_opus]

Personally, it makes sense to me.

One brand to appeal to performance/price ratio that's closer to what flashlight enthusiasts would want (Fenix) and the tried and true brand that will sell to 95% of other regular consumers who aren't into illumination.

So, he's covering his bases.

 

[Albinoni]

I get what your trying to say here, but what I'm saying here is Maglites here are popular just like buying popcorn in a supermarket and why travel thousands of miles/kms to bring back Mags when I can buy them here, so many places sell them. Why not other brands like Lumapower, JetBeam, Ultrafire, Romisen etc etc, you name it. Ok I can understand the Fenix side which is good about time too, but Maglite I just dont know.

 

[USM0083]

Maybe he's setting up to offer aftermarket Mag parts, LED bulbs, or even ROP mods.

 

[Gunner12]

I think once he actually uses both, he would probably like the Fenix More then the Mag.

Maybe you can also help him a bit by buying him some Romsien lights from DX. He might be able to start selling those.

I think his thought was "Maglite is a known brand, but I've also heard quite a bit about Fenix, I'll get both and see which one I like the best."

Have you shown him to this site yet?

 

[oregon]

Maybe he's setting up to offer aftermarket Mag parts, LED bulbs, or even ROP mods.

I was just sitting at my desk here admiring my ROP (2D) copper colored which sits on my desk always when I read this thread.

The satisfaction I received from the ROP mod is still robust, warm and fuzzy. Yet its been a year since it was done. This business strategy, mag mods, could work some more magic for the enthusiasts in his clientele.

oregon

 

[Cheapskate]

I think Albinoni is correct to be puzzled.

I think the answer is simple, he doesn't know his business very well and is not very entrepreneurial.

I think Albinoni should consider importing those obviously missing brands himself ;-)

The idea of a Perth shopkeeper wanting to mod Maglites is laughable, the market is way too small and the activity way too adventurous.

 

[Sir Lightalot]

How did he bring Mags back from china and Hong Kong anyway? Aren't they from Canada?

 

[Fenris]

How did he bring Mags back from china and Hong Kong anyway? Aren't they from Canada?

Ontario, California. Not Canada.

 

[Sir Lightalot]

Ontario, California. Not Canada.

Ah, either way i guess he doesn't need large stock so he could just buy it from a dealer in China/Hong Kong right?

 

[Handlobraesing]

Which models of Fenix and could you ask him how much they were selling for in China?

 

[werdnawee]

Hi Albinoni,

I live in Perth also.

Where is the shop in Freo? I will go down there and start a conversation about Fenix, Dereelight, Lumapower etc. Maybe stir him up to import other brands from China.

I think though that the market in Perth (and maybe Australia) is too small for the large variety of flashlights that are around. And Maglite is a brand that people know and match their requirements.

Maybe if he set up a darkroom to show people what other lights can do, the market will change. "Yes, a maglite is good but let me show you this...." (a flashlight, not something unsavory)

What were the prices for the Fenix lights? I think it would be cheaper to still buy from Fenix-store etc as the USD rate is really good for us right now and there is free shipping. (although you have to wait a week or so)