LeisurePro Customers rescued By... LeisurePro Customers...

On May 18th we at Leisure Pro were visited by some of our long time customers, both the rescuers and rescued in this story.

They all stopped by our shop before their interview on the Today Show. We were very happy that everyone involved got out of the situation with only some life lessons to show for it. It was great to hear their accounts of the ordeal and meet the two young men that saved lives that day. We were happy to provide them with some free safety equipment for their future dives to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

Here's a picture that our buyer Sol snapped during their visit.

From right to left: Paula Allen, Timothy Allen, Patrick Pinder Sr., Patrick Pinder Jr., Garrett Pinder and our Store Manager Ben Teichberg

Toms River Flea Market

Leisure Pro attended the 22nd Annual Ocean Wreck Divers Flea Market in Toms River NJ Sunday February 15, 2009.

There was a huge turnout and we would like to thank all our customers that came down to pay us a visit. We all had a great time meeting new and seeing our existing customers while sharing our love of diving with them. Ocean Wreck Divers did a great job in organizing the event and a special thanks to Gary Cortland for putting it all together.

There were some great deals that were made and everyone left with a smile. We at Leisure Pro are looking forward to more of these events in the near future.


Here are some pictures of the event:

Online Shopping Gains Ground in Dubai

this comes from the Khaleej Times (01/06/09) at
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2009/January/theuae_January124.xml&section=theuae

DUBAI - There is a new trend among shoppers here. This new pre-occupation has caught on fast among the compulsive retail buyer in recent times.

Online shopping, residents say is the in-thing when looking for up-market products.
Local shopaholics have said they save 30 to 40 per cent while purchasing luxury products over the internet as compared to buying them at shops.

Kasper Larsen, a Danish national residing in Dubai said, “When I checked out for scuba diving equipment in Dubai, I found out that two costumes along with the regulators and equipment would cost Dh5,726. But when I checked the prices on www.leisurepro.com, an American website for leisure goods, I bought two scuba diving suits and equipment for Dh4,260 inclusive of tax, shipping costs and other expenses.”

Kasper has been here for the last seven years and according to him shopping for luxury goods in Dubai has become increasingly expensive.

“A Rolex watch at outlets in Dubai costs Dh21,000, but the same model of the watch cost me Dh18,000 including taxes,” added Kasper.

Larsen continued, “An increasing number of my friends are buying products from Europe and the United States because purchasing them from the UAE is not only expensive but certain models are becoming increasingly difficult to find. I assume the reason that these products are so highly priced is because of the high rents for retail property and a shortage of luxury goods.”

Nikon D3 12.1 mega pixel camera’s body alone costs Dh20,000 at all Grand Stores in the UAE, with the lense price ranging from Dh3,000- Dh10,000. The same camera can be bought on e-bay.com for Dh15,973 exclusive of shipping costs, duty and other taxes.

When the camera was launched in 2001, the body was priced at Dh23,000.

Local web sites like souq.com and arabianbazaar.com, a popular website that offers Arabian perfumes, oud, meswak and other traditional scents are quite popular in the foreign market.
Shoppers can buy second hand products online and also bid for the same at souq.com.

Another Danish national Nicolai Solling raised similar saying, “Other than luxury commodities being overly priced the selection for them are limited in the UAE. The exchange rate on the pound has been falling, and people can save a lot of money if they were to shop from the UK. Besides shipping and taxes are also a lot cheaper and you can easily save 20- 25 per cent when you purchase products online from online web sites.”

Solling said he wanted to buy a Black Dice watch for his wife. “The listed price for the product in the UAE is $300, but I can buy it for $200 in the UK. Shipping time takes three to four working days, and the shipping costs are not too high.” said Solling.

Virtual retail stores like the e-bay are becoming increasingly popular but consumer goods like clothing are still cheaper in the UAE as compared to buying them from the UK or the US.

Ever wonder how we do it?

Ever wonder how we do it? A few weeks ago we here at Leisure Pro decided to make a short video about our operations to give our customers a little glimpse into who we are. Check it out there is more to come.

Scuba Diving is the New Yoga

Leisurepro predicts that scuba diving will be the hot new trend for people seeking stress relief in the New Year. Many in the sport have begun to refer to "scuba as the new yoga" and are planning underwater vacations for 2008 to escape the stress above sea level.

"For thousands of years, cultures around the world have sought places to go for quiet meditation and peace of mind -- from the practice of Yoga in India to Henry David Thoreau's walk through the woods of Walden Pond," says Ben Teichberg, Scuba Diving Master Instructor with LeisurePro. "Today, scuba divers experience the same meditative benefits while enjoying nature and its underwater beauty."

LeisurePro's Teichberg offers reasons behind this exciting new trend of people exploring the sport of scuba diving as a way to find tranquility under the waves. The top six reasons sited by LeisurePro for this new trend of "Scuba as the new yoga" include:

• The body becomes relaxed underwater in a gravity-free environment where you become neutrally buoyant, like being in outer space.
• Many athletes use underwater meditation, such as Olympic swimmers
• Certain types of dives called "drift dives" allow you to gently move with the current, with minimal body movement
• As with meditation, slow breathing works best with scuba. Focusing on breathing relieves stress and promotes relaxation,
• The only noise you generally hear underwater is the sound of your breath.
• Observing the beautiful colors of fish, coral and other sea life is stimulating.

Many times divers don't have to cover lots of ground during a dive. Some dives for example called "muck dives," are limited to a 10-foot radius, where you don't move around much - but look slowly and carefully for microscopic creatures. This activity slows you down and requires complete concentration.

Leisurepro is upgrading its order fulfillment system

Fewer backorders, faster delivery

Something big is happening at Leisurepro.com. For the last 6 months, Leisurepro has been busily upgrading its mega warehouse and order-taking system so it can deliver orders to its customers faster and more efficiently. Last week, Leisurepro "flipped the switch" and begin using the new system, the culmination of months of careful planning, programming, and logistics.

Using a combination of advanced computer systems and intelligent warehouse organization, Leisurepro will employ state-of-the-art technology to reduce out-of-stock and backordered items, and will streamline the behind-the-scenes activities that go into fulfilling orders.

One of the most time-consuming aspects of order fulfillment is the time it takes for an order picker to go around a HUGH warehouse and pull the ordered products off the shelves. Leisurepro has reorganized its warehouse so the most frequently ordered items are now closest to the shipping and staging area. Electronic devices provide order pickers with exact locations of each product in an order, as well as the shortest route to each item within the warehouse so placing all the products in the basket for packing takes the least possible time. Multiply this time savings by hundreds of orders a day and you can see that such a setup is worth the considerable time, effort, and investment that Leisurepro has put into it.

"The new ordering system allows Leisurepro to better handle its rapid growth," notes Sol Farkas, Operations Manager. "This marks the first phase of a major upgrade that will completely change our customers' experience with us for the better."

Once Leisurepro’s new fulfillment system is up and running, it is expected to vastly improve customers' order experiences with Leisurepro, and Leisurepro hopes the transition will be a smooth one. However, as with any new system, there is always a chance there could be short-term glitches or quirkiness during the transition from the old system to the new one, despite the most meticulous planning.

“If you have order problems during the transition, please let our customer service department know--but we also ask for your patience in case there are any problems to be ironed out,” says Farkas

Go diving in our own backyard

Leisure Pro is proud to announce our picks for some awesome northeast diving without having to break out you passport or piggy bank. So fill your gas tank and don’t forget your air tank. and head out right in our own backyard for some of the most memorable diving experiences you’ll have close to home.

Here are some interesting dive sites in the region for divers of all experience levels provided by Ben Teichberg, Master Scuba Instructor with LeisurePro.

Read about them here - Northeast diving picks