Factory Direct: What does it mean?

[MarKee]

I work at a Marquis factory store, but we don't market ourselves as being "factory direct".  I do explain to customers that we are backed by Marquis Corporation and it's parent company Wexco, therefore we have a significant financial backing and will always be in business to service them and their spa.  We are the retail location for Marquis in the Salem/Portland area in Oregon...so when people come to the factory looking for a spa, they are referred to our stores.  Our prices are usually not any better than an independent Marquis dealer on the east coast, we are an example for most Marquis dealers of how our spas can be sold.  We do have a factory outlet store in Salem that has a reconditioned units that have come back from the field, that is the only store we market as "factory direct reconditioned spas".

[Spatech_tuo]

we are backed by Marquis Corporation and it's parent company Wexco,

I thought Marquis was employee owned, I hadn't heard of Wexco.

[Mendocino101]

It is Employee owned...they were owned by Wexco but it was purchased from them sometime ago....

[East_TX_Spa]

THEY ARE THE MIDDLEMAN.  WE ARE THE MIDDLEMAN.

But we don't claim that you'll save thousands of dollars by buying from us.

Anyway, life's good around here so I guess it doesn't really matter much in the overall scheme of things.

Terminator

[Mendocino101]

I do know not I guess it how you look at things...I think most of here purchase our chem's though a distributor not directly from say Leisure time as example to me that is a middle man but I think most of us buy our spas Factory direct...I think it is misleading in the way this dealer is promoting it.....or I guess if we are the middleman we are the first middle with spas and the third or fourth with other things.....

[MarKee]

Wexco is a conglomerate of 5 pool and spa related corporations.  Every employee of these 5 companies is an employee owner.  Marquis Corp. is the largest of these 5 companies.


Mendo:  Why don't you get your chems from Dynamic Solutions?  

[Spatech_tuo]

Wexco is a conglomerate of 5 pool and spa related corporations.  Every employee of these 5 companies is an employee owner.  Marquis Corp. is the largest of these 5 companies.
  

Very interesting, I'd heard that you guys were empoyee owned but I always assumed that Marquis was owned solely by the Marquis employees. I didn't know they were part of a larger organization. What are some of the other 4 companies, are they well know at all?

[Gomboman]

Very interesting, I'd heard that you guys were empoyee owned but I always assumed that Marquis was owned solely by the Marquis employees. I didn't know they were part of a larger organization. What are some of the other 4 companies, are they well know at all?

Yes, I agree with Spatech. This is very confusing. I thought Marquis was an Employee owned company myself. It sounds good anyway.  

[DPS]

Marquis Spas employees have nearly finished purchasing Marquis from Wexco.  Other Wexco companies include Foxx Pools and Quaker Plastics.

[MarKee]

Marquis is 70% employee owned and in the process of acquiring the final 30%.  Marquis has been a part of Wexco since 1985, but Wexco changed to an ESOP around 1999-2000.  Some of our sister companies include:

Foxxx Pools - http://www.foxpool.com/
Pen Fabriactors - http://www.penfab.com/
Quaker Plastics - http://www.quakerplastic.com/

DPS:  If I'm not mistaken, even after the final 30% purchase, Marquis will still be a part of Wexco.  The 30% that is not currently employee owned is held by private investors.

[Hill_Billy_hottub]

I buy my vegetables from a frarmer with a road side stand, corn, tomatos, green beans and more, and his wife makes jellies and stuff, THATS factory direct!

[Spatech_tuo]

I buy my vegetables from a frarmer with a road side stand, corn, tomatos, green beans and more, and his wife makes jellies and stuff, THATS factory direct!

and employee owned.

[Chas]

So, if the factory is owned by the employees, that means they are shareholders. And as the company gets bigger, there are more shareholders. Those shareholders want the company to be profitable.

So how is that different than other corporations?

[drewstar]

Babies are usually  "factory direct"

[East_TX_Spa]

Don't some of ya'll sell Artesian?  I heard their ad again and it said "One of the largest Artesian Factory Direct Outlets in the nation".

Are any of you folks that sell Artesian factory direct?  Are ya'll one of the largest factory outlets or are you one of the middlemen, like us?

If you are one of the middlemen, do you lose many sales to your factory direct associates who are selling wholesale?

Terminator