WEST MARINE

Boating and Marine > Marine Products

Boats have always had the power to inspire people. They have been the impetus behind countless songs, paintings, works of literature and early retirements. West Marine’s founder and chairman, Randy Repass took his passion for boating, channeled it into a prosperous business and revolutionized the way people shop for boating supplies.

What has become the world’s largest boating supply retailer started modestly enough in a garage in Sunnyvale, CA. Mr. Repass saw an opportunity to improve the way people shopped for boating supplies. According to Mr. Repass, he was frustrated by the experience of shopping in local chandleries for the parts he needed to outfit his modest daysailer. “Boat supply stores in those days were usually dark, disorganized places staffed by a couple of salty, but indifferent clerks who preferred swapping sea stories with one another to helping customers find what they came in to buy.” In 1968 he began selling nylon rope by mail order under the name West Coast Ropes. Occasionally, adventuresome customers would even drop by to pick up their orders in person.

“I decided from the beginning that I wanted to take care of people,” says Mr. Repass. “The high-tech industry I had been working in didn’t provide me with an effective way to do that. But the boating industry gave me the opportunity to really enjoy my work and interact with customers who shared my interests. I was having a blast and building a business at the same time.”

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