Thundergod
Member
Not sure I follow your logic there.
£250k plus vat 3 years ago
€500k inc vat. So take off the €83.3k vat = €416.7 ex Vat. £1 = €1.37 as I type so £304k plus Vat. A little over 20% increase.
Now I'm not suggesting there haven't been significant price increases because there have and I think they were engineered to take advantage of emerging markets and to allow a bit of wriggle room. It's worked because people are posting words of concern that a 20% discount might lead to the collapse of the manufacturer. I suspect gross margins are a little more rosy than that.
There is however some truth in saying that if a brand under sells its self there isn't enough money to re-develop the line up and they start losing ground in the market place. I think Fairline might have been guilty of that. It a viscous circle, your boats look a bit dated so you discount them then there isn't enough money to develop new models.
Princess have a very busy line up covering a quite small niche. 6 flybridge boats between 52 and 72 feet. 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72 and possibly a 48 coming. 7 sports boats from 48 -72 feet. That's a lot of development to be going on with. Would it make sense to shrink the range and enjoy better scale of economy? Who knows? They are obviously far cleverer than me at their game !
A though must go to the general economy over the past few years. People, myself included, will remember deals that were thrown around during the recession when the world was coming to an end. 2009 and 2010 were probably survival years where builders just wanted to keep the factory open. They would take cost price if it bought them time without losing money. I can remember being a handshake away from an amazing deal on a P50 which, as it happens was bettered by another handshake elsewhere on the stand as we talked. But that was then, today the world is in a much better place.
Some markets have to buy buy stock boats because their customers want to do a deal and get straight onboard. If things turn sour in an area and the local dealer decides they can't take the boats any more they will often end up in Swanwick due to its central location for shipping and the fact it has traditionally handled most of the factory output even if just to get it on a ship. All the boat show product goes there (3 times a year) and the nature of build slots means they must be secured a long time in advance. If you haven't got any bullets in the gun you aren't going to shoot people. Anyone can take orders, someone with a bit of clout can dominate the market by having build slots ready and waiting. Occasionally it means an unsold boat lands on your doorstep but decent margins mean no loss of life just not as profitable as some of the built to order craft.
Are Princess struggling? No, I don't think they are. There are far worse off manufacturers out there.
Henry
As for Sweden. At todays exchange rate, 1Euro=9,6 Sek. The price for a standard V39 at introduction was 354´euro. Today the price is 447´euro. That is an 93´euro increase. I dont know if this is specific for Sweden. But i find that kind o increase a little bit too much. VAT in Sweden is 25%. I dont think this is specific for Princess. I think it is/will be a problem in the boating business. Prices on new boats increase a lot more than average index. I belive that todays prices from premium yards like Princess. About 500-550´euro for a good spec 40 fot sportcruiser is on the edge of too expensive. And cheaper yards as Bavaria is increasing the level of detailing and finnish every year. I visited the new Bavaria 360HT this weekend. Speced with Light oak joinery, high quality worktops, internal/external light package, upgraded upholstry syntetic teak etc. The level of finnish and feeling of quality was remarkable for around 290´euro with twin D3 220. I also visited the Jeanneau NC series and suprisingly the Bavaria was the clear winner in the fit and finish league. I really like both Prin/Sun/fair but i really doubt if all 3 can survive on their own in the long run. Or maybe they all will build only 50-60 ft and above in a few years time.
