Earls Court or Excel

neilmcc

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I want to go to one of the London boat shows and am trying to decide which one. I may be looking for a sailing cruiser around 32-36 feet if SWMBO can be persuaded by then.
Any views on which show is best for people sailing that size of boat. If I don't buy a new boat then I will have to buy some presents for my current 27 footer.
 

Will_M

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Indeed, who really knows who is going...

Almost easier to say who remains at Excel, looking at a floor plan recently, looking at the option to move from our last years position to a different position, the names you have seen years past, are all still there, talking of the South hall at least.

On <u>THE</u> London Boat Show web site, Collins Stewart - London Boat Show there is an as of August 1st confirmed exhibitors list, I can tell you that since that date that list is increased.

So far as Earls Court visitors go, there is going to be plenty of "popping along for the day out of curiosity" this first year, so every chance attendance figures will, on the face of it, look respectable, but not really hold any great weight.

I know there will always be those quoting… “Ah yes but the good old days of Earls Court” “Excel is such a crap location and near on impossible to get to” etc etc etc….. We have all heard the many ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ on these forums hundreds of times.

Well, to mind, EC was fun in its time, the facilities were not all that, but we put up with it, Christ only knows why though…

Excel really is no drama to drive to, anyone saying different is talking a load of toss, plenty of parking, fantastic and improving facilities and good local infrastructure to support such an event on the scale to which it has grown.

I know where I’d go, for both work and pleasure, easy simple choice, Royal Victoria Dock & Excel every time.

Depends who you want to go and see I guess, why not go to both this time, most will if only out of curiosity.
 

Will_M

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Indeed!! Southampton, its only round the corner, first day Sept 14th.

And the sun will be shinning for the 10 days, fingers crossed! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

MoodySabre

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I was talking to the importers of Forespar products last week. They said that they could only afford to do one show and that Earls Court was a nightmare as an exhibitor. They will stick with Excel.

If that's the view of many exhibitors then will EC be worth the trip? First year might attract a few "out of curiosity" types (like me perhaps) but Excel will remain tops for London.
 

Emjaytoo

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The trouble with Southampton is that it clashes with my September Cruise - previous years Greece, this year The Netherlands.

Now London in the winter is just the pick me up I need after Christmas, gets me thinking of the new season and maybe planning another Med Cruise.

Excel is the perfect cure for those winter blues - well, at least for me /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 

moondancer

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I have to say London shows don't look that good in the long term. Excel's ABC figures (if I have interpreted them correctly) showed that fewer than 100,000 people actually paid to see the show last year, despite the hurrah about lots of new things. Each year has shown falling figures. I can't see it carrying on for too much longer if the figures keep dropping and EC is bound to have some impact - even if only a small one.

In stark contrast to continental shows where the diversity of boats is very high there seems to be fewer and fewer sailing boats at Excel. Maybe this, the lack of soul at Excel, difficulties for some to get there are the reasons for the decline.

Would Excel work at a warmer time of the year when full use could be made of the water facilities? Possibly.

Will EC be the answer? Not sure - but not looking like it so far.

Is Southampton the answer? No. Too many constraints on space and difficult for many to get to.

I guess market forces dictate that we get the boat shows we deserve, and maybe that shows we are not a large enough market, and too conservative, to support 2 major shows in the long term.
 

neilmcc

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No1 son was based in Bournemouth and Southampton would have been first choice but he has been transferred to London. Travelling from Scotland I thought I would stay with him and see the boat show. (Two birds, one stone) Maybe I have to bite the bullet and either visit Southampton or do both London venues......
 

Talulah

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From what I can see there used to be 4 reasons for going to a boat show
1. To look at boats
2. To shop
3. To book a course/holiday
4. For a day out

Numbers 2 and 3 have fallen by the wayside as internet shopping takes over.
Hence falling attendance figures as shoppers keep away.
So the rate of decrease should slow down as the numbers for 1 and 4 remain the same. The big question is will the drop in visitor numbers fall below a critical mass at which point it is no longer viable to provide a show for 1 and 4 as stalls for items 2 and 3 fall by the wayside?
The Earls Court boat show should recover some of the lost ‘2 & 3’ customers but I suspect only in the short term.
So to get the majority of customers back who are not there to buy boats but nick knacks etc I would lay on the equivalent of a second hand boat jumble or car boot type sale to run alongside maybe in a marquee outside. The jumble should be free because people attending the jumble would then probably also visit the main show.

Just an idea.
 

rwoofer

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For the me the decline of boats shows is mainly down to the lack of diversity in the exhibitors and as far as I can tell that is down to one thing - it is too costly for them to attend.

What we need is an organiser that is interested in benefiting the whole industry and not making their own profit. Even southampton seems to have lost some of the exhibitors that I remember from long ago.
 

BlueSkyNick

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[ QUOTE ]
From what I can see there used to be 4 reasons for going to a boat show
1. To look at boats
2. To shop
3. To book a course/holiday
4. For a day out



[/ QUOTE ]
For me, 'To Shop' means to look at various bits of kit, talk to people that are supposed to know about it, then go away to consider the options and purchase at a later date.

Tend to spend very little at the show itself.
 

Doug_Stormforce

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A friend of mine has the UK dealership for a fairly new brand of boat. The big boys have got the 2 existing shows so wrapped up that he is unable to get his boats into Excel or Southampton. For him this new show is ideal, I would have thought therfore for the public it may be a breath of fresh air
 

Whitelighter

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Unless you want a Bavaria or a Jeanneau I didn't se any sail boats at ExCel last year in your bracket. Compared to years gone by, I thought the rag and stick display was very small, shoved in a corner and up against one wall behind the guiness tent.

SIBS will be the bst bet, though EC looks promising if the organisers can deliver.
 

neilmcc

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I'll have a look at Earls Court although my wife may want to go Christmas shopping if we go in December which will add considerably to the cost but may have her in a buying mood when we get there.
 

maxi

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Re: rb-stretch

How right you are. Organisers who add days to the show for their benefit, with no regard for the exhibitors costs or business needs, show their self interest.

Diversity would be really good - what a sinking feeling we get at Southampton when we look at a solid quarter square mile of white soap dishes, indistinguishable from each other, to a lesser extent, a row of AWB's all from the same designer but each with a foot difference in LOA, is there any point?
 

billywhizzzuk

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Southampton - Difficult to get to? By Water, by Car, by Rail, by Coach, by Plane - I've even cycled there. How many other options do you need
 

DaveS

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[ QUOTE ]
If I don't buy a new boat then I will have to buy some presents for my current 27 footer.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I'm sure you know very well, for the cost of changing to a new boat you can buy an enormous number of "wee prezzies" for the current one! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If show organisers had a better understanding of this there might be a better balance at shows, with far more small stalls selling the sort of things that real boaties want to buy, or talk to specialist suppliers about. On my (very few) BS visits I have found the big boats on display at huge cost to be mostly pointless: a mix of snobbery and pig-ignorant presentation on the whole.

FWIW I have come to the conclusion that with the current buyers' market for used boats there is absolutely no point in ever buying a brand new boat, unless you really do have more money than sense. A given budget will always buy much more second hand boat once some other mug has paid its initial depreciation. Given that old boats (unlike cars) tend not to rust away, while the fashion for buying new continues, this continued injection of second hand boats will continue to depress used prices even further, making the "buying new" decision even less logical.
 
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