So what deals are actually being offered on new boats?

[jfm]

Hey mike I was threre preview day too, about noon till 4pm. It wasn't heaving with punters but it wasn't a ghost town at all - that's quite an exaggeration. I talked to folks on Fairline, walker bay, yamaha, raymarine, echopilot, azimut, volvopenta stands and had to wait 5mins to get an available salesman on several of those. Sure, it wasn't heaving but definitely not ghost town imho

 

[Nautical]

PY, you are spot on that Builders and dealers will need to forge stronger ties both financially and operationally.

I have said before that the most successful builders/dealers in the future will be those that work together with an end goal to serve the customer a top flight service. I don't mean just the usual press rubbish spat out at press meetings etc about how jolly they are to be be appointing this, that or the other company. I am talking about real involvement from start to finish from initial contact right through the build process to delivery.

There should be involvement between both the builder and the dealer through to the customer.

I would be a bit controversial as well and say that builders should look very closely at their dealership networks and select those they feel are the best at what they do and stick some money where their mouth is and forge a joint partnership, reduce the number of dealers in certain territory's and increase in others.

It amazes me how haphazardly dealerships are handed out, four dealers in one territory all competing against each other for the same business only leads to a constant round of chopping and changing as the newer ones realise the profitability isn't what they thought and drop the product. Yard see's slight drop in sales for that area and hey ho another one pops up cus they bought two or three stock boats.

To me it is one of the big failings in the marine industry, too many builders see the dealer as the end customer and leave them to it. All they seem interested in is this seasons sales and production levels, forget next season that is a year away type of mentality. Then we get a drop in the market and everyone is in panic mode trying to shore up sales and production levels, huge discounts, dealers going pop and the customer is left without his selling dealer. The new dealer or another further up the road is supposed to take care of him but reality is he is not that interested as he too is only looking at this season and what he can make. The level of professionalism by some dealers and their respective builders is nigh on shocking in some cases. I have walked onto stands at shows and have been amazed at the lack of knowledge from the dealer and similarly I have spoken to builders that have absolutely no idea about overseas markets and what is happening, totally focused on their own home market and very insular.

I would suggest (if I were a builder) now is the time to have a rethink on future strategy, choose carefully the dealers you want and bin the so so ones, put some money into the operation, take a financial interest and secure a much more coherent customer, dealer, builder relationship. It has been proven in the past those builders/manufacturers that get involved at retail level have a much more loyal following and weather difficult times far better.

All IMHO of course but if I were in the driving seat I would be excited and motivated by the current climate to come out as one of the leading builders, leaner, efficient and a loyal dealership network and customer base.

 

[goochie]

Spot on in both posts Nautical in MHO.

I am in a position to buy, so spent some time on various stands yesterday. It all depends on what you want and if someone needs to shift it. I was offered between 10 and 30% discounts on new boats, which ranged from part built ones still in production, to stock boats that really needed to be moved. On certain boats the deals were such that it would be worth taking a stock boat, even if it wasn't to your spec (except possibly engines) and then spending some money getting it fixed the way you want it.

One dealer I spoke to has hardly sold a boat all show from their 'New' line up, but has sold every stock boat he had on brokerage, mostly to european invaders. He's now a bit concerened about the next 6 - 9 months as he doesn't feel the market for new boats will have picked up, but there's no stock on the brokerage market either.

 

[NealB]

"One example is our local (river) fuel retailer was 134p litre petrol, because he'd filled his tanks on a price spike.
It's catch 22 because most people are going elsewhere for fuel, but he'l be damned to make a loss on it! So will keep plugging away until it's gone!"

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Sounds like deeply flawed logic to me, and a recipe for failure!!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Yeah, yeah all right but at times there were more salesmen than punters in the mobo hall. I had no problem wondering on to any boat I fancied (except for Fairline of course) and it felt a bit lonely scoffing my salmon salad with virtually every table empty. To be fair the other hall was fuller but IMHO, there's no point in pretending that, overall, the show was anywhere near as busy as previous years although for sure the organisers will magic some figures to prove me wrong

 

[Moonshiners]

[ QUOTE ]
"One example is our local (river) fuel retailer was 134p litre petrol, because he'd filled his tanks on a price spike.
It's catch 22 because most people are going elsewhere for fuel, but he'l be damned to make a loss on it! So will keep plugging away until it's gone!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds like deeply flawed logic to me, and a recipe for failure!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Theoretically your right, but the only fuel fill within a few miles and solent based. So it will all go eventually if only because people need it!

I'm not saying is the right thing to do, just experience from a couple of weeks ago out on the water...

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Nautical, this is spot on again. My company is the UK/Ireland dealer for a number of European manufacturers of construction equipment but I started 20 yrs ago with one manufacturer then and they still represent the majority of our turnover now. They helped me sell by offering attractive payment terms, customising machinery for the UK market and putting stock in the UK on a consignment basis. In return, I worked my bollox off for them, invested in service and spares facilities and built their market share. Now that the market is in trouble we are still working together to manage the impact fairly between us and them. IMHO, as far as the customer is concerned, the dealer and the manufacturer are the same entity
Unfortunately, as you say, not all manufacturers think like this. Dealers come and go and are viewed as necessary evil to be played one against the other rather than treated as a valued partner. I've even known one manufacturer in my industry sell direct to the customer behind the dealer's back. Needless to say that manufacturer has been through several dealers and has a tiny market share
You are right. Those manufacturers that will survive the downturn will be those that work to support their dealers so that both dealer and manufacturer are still in business when the market returns

 

[MapisM]

Fair comments Deleted User.
But just for the records - and not that this is much of a consolation for a dealer - what you describe can and does happen also within the same legal entities. I mean, I've seen companies putting their own internal field forces in competition: either one area against the other, with overlapping geographical competences, or one business unit against the other, with overlapping product lines.
It's a mad world...
...I've always said that socialism is a much more efficient system compared to capitalism, on paper. Shame that, as history proved, it doesn't work in practice.