Princess cuts hours

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
  • Start date Start date
yeah read this
at least they did not fire no one, the market is suffering right now
I also think they have some hard selling models in the actual range note the flybridge series, but I may be wrong here, but dont see much of the 54, 58s and 62 around, on the other hand the V-series seem selling well
infact all the new models for 2009 are all v-series...
 
It's one of the major stories on the local West Country news this evening.
An interesting statistic that I picked up though.
They have been saying that Princess are in the process of trebbling the production of their larger yachts so they may well have found their niche.

However, they are the biggest private employer in Plymouth so shorter hours will start effecting the local infrastructure.
 
Hard to see how
Quote
a shorter working week for its employees . . . will allow the Plymouth yard to increase production of its larger vessels as well as bring forward launch plans for new products . . .
Unquote

Either this is journo mangling, or the company being very mealy-mouthed.

Surely they are decreasing production and expenses? Full credit to them for doing it without making lots of people redundant, but it can't be they are aiming to increase production by shortening the working week!
 
[ QUOTE ]
but it can't be they are aiming to increase production by shortening the working week!

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, you need to know how the yard works.

I'm no expert, and only visited the Princess works a few times but it is clear to me that only half of the production lines are geared up to JIT production - this means that there are two entirely different production strategies - i.s. different implications for the "line production" lines and for the "one off" lines.
So, it would be possible to slow down or stop the "line production" lines, concentrate on the "one off lines" and still cut the number of working hours.

It seems from all the publicity that they are still selling the bigger yachts - from what we saw on our visite, these are all "one off" productions. I think that our 67 was the biggest that is produced on a "line production" basis.

Just an observation though.
Maybe that answers your confusion.
 
highly unusual to cut hours and increase production without major capital investment
i suspect its load of hot air
the overheads remain the same, the more you put through it the cheaper the unit cost.
this doesnt look good for princess but is inevitable in current climate
 
Yes, I can believe they are still finishing off bigger yachts that are in build - buyers tied in to contacts and stage payments already made, so completion is less expensive for the buyers than cancelling the contracts. But selling them? That's not very likely, surely. If they say that it's like estate agents telling us they're selling houses, really they are, no honest, the market is very buoyant . . . unless of course they are doing some remarkable bargain offers to compete with the sluggish secondhand market.
 
That's a little cynical. Our boat is based in Plymouth and there still seems to be a steady flow of boats coming out of the Princess factory. And I was speaking to one of the outfits which does work after they've come out of the factory and he tells me that they are still busy. And that was only last week and I've got no reason to disbelieve him.

Maybe things are slower for Princess but they're still pretty busy. And I've gotr no connection at all to Princess and have never owned one, just passing on what I see when I'm on my boat in Plymouth.
 
I think every UK boat builder is suffering, some more than others. Can't blame any of them for putting a positive spin on cutbacks.
 
Princess have factories at Newport Street, Langauge and Lee Mill. They also have a feeder factory at Coypool.
 
Great story, one for the scrap book


No - don’t tell me let me guess . . . . ..

The new bigger more luxurious yacht can be made in seconds by unqualified workers and does 50 knots on one 56 hp engine and the fuel tank overflows if you run it flat out! Best keep below 40 knots then it uses litre or two a day!! Saves you the embarrassment of a pollution charge

Perpetual (Time and) motion?

So its true! There are a few alchemists alive and well in the West country.

I wish them luck they need it - but what worries me more is that they might believe their own rhetoric. !
 
Hi Mike

We were at Lee Mill and Langage. They make the smaller V's at Lee Mill, and some of the bigger ones at Langage.

Is that a good enough answer?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cheers
Jimmy
 
[ QUOTE ]
Great story, one for the scrap book


No - don’t tell me let me guess . . . . ..

The new bigger more luxurious yacht can be made in seconds by unqualified workers and does 50 knots on one 56 hp engine and the fuel tank overflows if you run it flat out! Best keep below 40 knots then it uses litre or two a day!! Saves you the embarrassment of a pollution charge

Perpetual (Time and) motion?

So its true! There are a few alchemists alive and well in the West country.

I wish them luck they need it - but what worries me more is that they might believe their own rhetoric. !

[/ QUOTE ]

Slightly bizarre post, where do Princess claim that?

Seems pretty clear to me that what they're saying is business is quieter but big stuff is still selling so they're concentrating on that and winding down the smaller stuff. Not terribly hard to understand is it? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

It makes sense that those with a seven figure sum to drop on a boat are sufficiently well founded financially that they're less reliant on immediate income, whereas someone spending £250K on a V42 (for instance) is more likely to be relying on perhaps a big bonus, or the sale of a property, plus maybe some finance as well to top up. All things that are going to be harder to come by right now.
 
This is what I hear too. I am a raggie based at mayflower marina where Princess do the final fit-out and last week the guys on the pontoons told me they were selling the bigger boats still, but the smaller stuff (under 60 ft) was having a bad time. There are still people out there to whom the credit crunch has little meaningful effect - it is probably those who needed some measure of finance for the purchase who are finding that finance based on an asset you can just drive away into oblivion is not available. Difficult enough getting a loan on a house which can't be moved, but a boat is a different proposition. Plus there is very limited credit available at the moment especially retail credit. Wholesale credit needs to recover first, I suspect
 
I've heard both of the following recently and can't make them stack up, surely if big boats carried on selling, so would expensive cars?

People who can afford a big boat aren't going to be worried by the recession, so big ones still sell.

Given their price, it isn't surprising that sales of premium cars have gone off a cliff, with Bentley, Aston Martin etc leading the way down.
 
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