ROANOKE BOAT IDEALERSHIP CREATES ITS OWN ADVANTAGE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993                   TAG: 9302210027
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE BOAT IDEALERSHIP CREATES ITS OWN ADVANTAGE
It wasn't the best of times to begin a boating business. And some say it wasn't an ideal location, either.
But four years ago, with the boating industry about to take a tailspin, three friends opened Advantage Marine near the railroad shops in Southeast Roanoke.
"We don't need a Brink's truck to back up to our door every day and carry away the money we are making, but we have done all right," said Mike Fielder, one of the partners.
In fact, Advantage has established itself as a major marine dealer in Southwest Virginia. Plans call for opening a second location at Hales Ford Bridge in early March.
"I would think - service and sales combined - we have to be right there at the top," said Fielder.
His partners are Sonny Conner and Danny Thomas.
Prior to the founding of Advantage Marine, Thomas had been operating a modest boat repair and outboard sales business along Virginia 24 on the way to Smith Mountain Lake. He called it Weekend Equipment, partly because it was a weekend operation for him. His regular job was driving a truck.
Fielder was a partner in a waterbed business and Conner had lost his job as production foreman when the Kroger Meat Plant in Salen closed. He and Fielder began a joint used car business. One day they decided to set a couple of new boats out front of Weekend Equipment.
"The first thing you know, we had 15 boats out there and no place to put them," said Conner.
That's when Advantage was born.
As for the name, "We racked our heads in order come up with something that would be the first boat dealer listed in the phone book," said Thomas.
While some people have questioned the business's location - 1212 Campbell Ave. S.E. - and others have said they experienced difficulty finding it, the setting is not without benefits, the partners said.
"Our thinking was service," said Conner. "If you are going to make it in the boating business, you have to be service oriented."
So why not build your business near where the majority of the people live, and put it in a low-rent district just a block or so off one of the main routes to Smith Mountain Lake, said Conner.
"A place like this would have cost us triple in another location," Fielder said.
Last year, Advantage was honored as one of the top 10 dealers in the nation in sales of Fisher pontoon boats, made by Brunswick Corp. The dealership also handles Monark, Procraft, Monterey and Red-Fin boats, Mercury and Mercruiser engines and Tigerhark personal watercraft.
Advantage is being build on repeat customers, said Fielder. People are beginning to show up to purchase their second and third craft from the dealership. One customer, Lance Copperman, has bought four.
This kind of loyalty, along with the improving economy, is expected to make 1993 a strong sales year, Fielder said.
The partners, however, speak most glowing of their service. They employ four mechanics and they take pride in stocking hard to find parts and equipment. They like to be known as "the Northwest Hardware" of the boating business.
As for the way the business has prospered, "People will stand back and say, `You all sure are lucky,' " said Conner. " `Yeah,' I tell them. `While you spend the evening on the couch watching television, I am down here just as lucky as I can be.' The harder we work, the luckier we get."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB