Inside Rick’s Dive ‘N’ Travel Center
If you’ve been in diving for any period of time, odds are this isn’t the first time you’ve read about Rick’s Dive ‘N’ Travel Center in North Little Rock, Arkansas. As far back as 15 years ago, I was writing about Rick’s in DEMA’s Selling Scuba magazine. Over the years, numerous stories about Rick’s have appeared in a variety of dive-industry magazines.
It’s not that Rick’s is the only stand-alone dive center in the country with its own classrooms and pool on premises. There are several such stores — some newer, some larger. Nor is Rick’s the only example of intelligent dive store layout, or exceptional merchandising and display. You can find many good examples of this across the country.
What sets Rick’s apart can be summed up in three words: Attention to detail. As James Sinegal, CEO of Costco, recently stated in USA Today, “Retail is about detail.” In other words, those who concern themselves solely with the “big picture” seldom succeed. Simply stated, Rick Newton sweats the details. He has for over 20 years. It’s one of the keys to his success — and why he is able to operate what some fellow retailers have characterized as “the ultimate fantasy dive store.”
To see what makes the kind of store others only dream about, I paid a visit to Rick’s in August. The pictures tell the story.
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