Sunseeker laying off staff

[prestomg27]

My view of sunseeker was tainted by an experience at excel, must have been 2006 ish, when we were exhibiting a make of small cruiser/racer yachts. In fact someone who used to post a lot on here also helped man the stands.
My business partner's mother in law worked for an arab family at the time and ran their London office and uk affairs. She popped by our stand and told us that she had been tasked with buying a motor yacht and had a budget of 3m. Off she toddled looking like anyone's mum.
She came back a bit cross and said she didn't even get onto the sunseeker stand as the young nob salesman didn't believe that she was serious. Instead she was welcomed by Princess and placed an order.
I am sure that she had just met the wrong salesman but it did make me think that the sunseeker attitude to what the assume are the unwashed masses at shows can't help their sales long term when times get tough. Lesson number 1 for high value sales people should be that you can't tell who has money and who hasn't.

 

[Clash]

My view of sunseeker was tainted by an experience at excel, must have been 2006 ish, when we were exhibiting a make of small cruiser/racer yachts. In fact someone who used to post a lot on here also helped man the stands.
My business partner's mother in law worked for an arab family at the time and ran their London office and uk affairs. She popped by our stand and told us that she had been tasked with buying a motor yacht and had a budget of 3m. Off she toddled looking like anyone's mum.
She came back a bit cross and said she didn't even get onto the sunseeker stand as the young nob salesman didn't believe that she was serious. Instead she was welcomed by Princess and placed an order.
I am sure that she had just met the wrong salesman but it did make me think that the sunseeker attitude to what the assume are the unwashed masses at shows can't help their sales long term when times get tough. Lesson number 1 for high value sales people should be that you can't tell who has money and who hasn't.

That's so reminiscent of Julia Roberts clothes shopping in 'Pretty Woman'.

Did she go back to them with her Princess order and say "You work on commission right? Big mistake, Big, Huge"

 

[prestomg27]

That's so reminiscent of Julia Roberts clothes shopping in 'Pretty Woman'.

Did she go back to them with her Princess order and say "You work on commission right? Big mistake, Big, Huge"

No, she wasn't petty about it. It was just a day's work to her.

Although, i suspect a lot of people were treated pretty badly by the large motor boat stands. Having paid 15 - 20 quid to get in the orhanisers should have demanded that every exhibit should have been open access.

 

[Clash]

No, she wasn't petty about it. It was just a day's work to her.

Although, i suspect a lot of people were treated pretty badly by the large motor boat stands. Having paid 15 - 20 quid to get in the orhanisers should have demanded that every exhibit should have been open access.

Oh dear Lord! it was a joke.

 

[prestomg27]

Oh dear Lord! it was a joke.

If you have to explain......

 

[Bigplumbs]

Off you trot and set one up then. See if you can do better than British brands Shetland, Shakespeare, Microplus, Fletcher, Dell Quay, Birchwood, Sealine and indeed Princess, Fairline and Sunseeker who were building circa 20-30ft boats back in the seventies and eighties before they realised that this market was drying up fast.

I think you are rather out of touch

 

[ari]

I think you are rather out of touch

I'm sure you're sure you're right.

 

[Bigplumbs]

I'm sure you're sure you're right.

Glad you agree

 

[Boat2016]

My view of sunseeker was tainted by an experience at excel, must have been 2006 ish, when we were exhibiting a make of small cruiser/racer yachts. In fact someone who used to post a lot on here also helped man the stands.
My business partner's mother in law worked for an arab family at the time and ran their London office and uk affairs. She popped by our stand and told us that she had been tasked with buying a motor yacht and had a budget of 3m. Off she toddled looking like anyone's mum.
She came back a bit cross and said she didn't even get onto the sunseeker stand as the young nob salesman didn't believe that she was serious. Instead she was welcomed by Princess and placed an order.
I am sure that she had just met the wrong salesman but it did make me think that the sunseeker attitude to what the assume are the unwashed masses at shows can't help their sales long term when times get tough. Lesson number 1 for high value sales people should be that you can't tell who has money and who hasn't.

I’ve had the exact same reception from Fairline on several occasions except the last SIBS where they were in the middle of pontoon asking if we wanted to look onboard, I politely declined. In my experience Sunseeker have always been very accommodating at shows and never refused entry.

 

[prestomg27]

I’ve had the exact same reception from Fairline on several occasions except the last SIBS where they were in the middle of pontoon asking if we wanted to look onboard, I politely declined. In my experience Sunseeker have always been very accommodating at shows and never refused entry.

It probably depends on the salesperson.

 

[truro expat]

I think the problem with most of the boat brokers is that they have a pre agreed models that they have to take and this leads them to selling just what they have coming rather than what the client wants, I have had this from the Euro builders as well Prestige, Absolute and Princess had 100 sales people at Cannes in 2023 and yet no one was interested in showing us a boat. I made contact with several boat manufactures before the show so expected they would be keen to show us everything and look after us with some hospitality particulary as I have just sold a 10 years old 60 footer but thats not the case, I was more impressed with some as Pearl were excellent and in the UK show as Bates selling Azimut were also keen.

 

[Portofino]

Kept my powder dry listening to wooden answers from the usual cardboard suspects, miles off target .

Here’s my 0.02 p worth people watching.



The elephant in the room here ( wider decline of U.K. builders ) is the change of demographics of the buyers .
Once ave price exceed s £1M you are focusing on numerous well off to quote Starmer “ broad shouldered “ U.K. folks .
With robber Rachael s pre budget leaks , the huge speculation , that went one from June to Oct mostly throwing up negative vibes these new age if like to call them Brits capable of dropping £1-£10 M on a plastic wasting assets held fast - did nothing , waited .

So the pipe line died up .


This means they didn’t queue outside S/ Skr s Poole factory after boat show season battering the doors down waving carrier bags of cash in hand to place a deposit.

So from say from the summer surprise election here we are @ U.K. boat builder PLC with a thinner order book that would have been if Rishi et al was still camped in Downing Street .

Importantly life still goes on .
What I mean is these folks have learnt to hire / charter , move about the globe buying for want of a better word “ experience holidays “ eg fully staffed inc chef accommodation + guides , part of which might scratch that boaty itch .

In other words a 6 month stay of sales from what would have been potentially buyers has actually turned them away from ownership. They might still spend the identical net £ /€ on a PAYG , forget and walk away experience……Todays if you like “ monied “ family are tech savvy , fast moving , even private jet hire , hiring dragging nannies chefs , governess ( keep the kids education etc ) arn’t now really interested in plonking a £10 M piece of depreciating plastic on a £1 M berth in say Antibes .

With the kids winning …..
“ dad do we have to go back to the boat again “

The woman is bored of the local shops as her friends at coffee are living far more exciting live globe trotting in thee down time .
She’s also ( although doesn’t try to show it ) pissed off with every downtime hol yet another boat hol .

I haven’t even touched in the main principle down time , the owner arguably wasting his / her time organising the boat etc throughout the year .Time better spent doing his job navigating Starmers lot policy.

Talking the 95 % of S/Skr buyers ( like myself btw ) who don’t use it in U.K. ie in my case SoF .

I think it’s a combination of the Rachel Thieves 6 month hiatus and basically changed attitudes to down time from what were trad U.K. boat buyers = a slow down .

It’s nothing to do with the product , kitchen ; galley fit time etc or how clean the factory floor is surgically as previously touted ^ .

It’s a societal change and that’s hard to quantify.

 

[benjenbav]

HNY. I’m charmed to be branded a ‘usual cardboard suspect’.

I’m not wholly sold on the idea that the arrival of a more redistributionist government explains the financial woes of companies that have been underwater for quite a few years.

 

[prestomg27]

Kept my powder dry listening to wooden answers from the usual cardboard suspects, miles off target .

I don't come on here often anymore but this.is the most nobbish, arrogant nonsense I have seen in a long time. Just reeks of unpleasantness.

 

[Clash]

The elephant in the room here ( wider decline of U.K. builders ) is the change of demographics of the buyers .
Once ave price exceed s £1M you are focusing on numerous well off to quote Starmer “ broad shouldered “ U.K. folks .
With robber Rachael s pre budget leaks , the huge speculation , that went one from June to Oct mostly throwing up negative vibes these new age if like to call them Brits capable of dropping £1-£10 M on a plastic wasting assets held fast - did nothing , waited .

There's no doubt that economic uncertainty is always a factor in large value purchase decisions. This has always been true. However this is not borne out by profit forecasts and reports from boat builders this year. Sunseeker reporting a 6% increase in revenue and Princess forecasting a return to profit this year.

Importantly life still goes on .
What I mean is these folks have learnt to hire / charter , move about the globe buying for want of a better word “ experience holidays “ eg fully staffed inc chef accommodation + guides , part of which might scratch that boaty itch .

In other words a 6 month stay of sales from what would have been potentially buyers has actually turned them away from ownership. They might still spend the identical net £ /€ on a PAYG , forget and walk away experience……Todays if you like “ monied “ family are tech savvy , fast moving , even private jet hire , hiring dragging nannies chefs , governess ( keep the kids education etc ) arn’t now really interested in plonking a £10 M piece of depreciating plastic on a £1 M berth in say Antibes .

If they're still spending the same money "the identical net £ on a PAYG" then it contradicts what you said earlier about deferred spending. And if true, these PAYG lessors will be buying more to meet demand. Maybe not to the same level, but it's a burgeoning market if what you say is true. However from the above FT article, Princess say that only 5% of their boats are sold in Britain. So whether or not the budget hiatus caused a slowdown, it would be miniscule in the greater scheme of things.

It’s nothing to do with the product , kitchen ; galley fit time etc or how clean the factory floor is surgically as previously touted ^

Yet these boat builders have not been making money for years. Fairline (as shown on that thread) haven't even made a gross profit in at least five years. Sunseeker have at least made a GP, but at 10%, it's not covering its costs. Meanwhile European builders are selling boats and making money.

TL;DR: These boat builders have been struggling for years. Including when Rishi Sunak and his many inept predecessors were in Downing St.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Kept my powder dry listening to wooden answers from the usual cardboard suspects, miles off target .

Here’s my 0.02 p worth people watching.



The elephant in the room here ( wider decline of U.K. builders ) is the change of demographics of the buyers .
Once ave price exceed s £1M you are focusing on numerous well off to quote Starmer “ broad shouldered “ U.K. folks .
With robber Rachael s pre budget leaks , the huge speculation , that went one from June to Oct mostly throwing up negative vibes these new age if like to call them Brits capable of dropping £1-£10 M on a plastic wasting assets held fast - did nothing , waited .

So the pipe line died up .


This means they didn’t queue outside S/ Skr s Poole factory after boat show season battering the doors down waving carrier bags of cash in hand to place a deposit.

So from say from the summer surprise election here we are @ U.K. boat builder PLC with a thinner order book that would have been if Rishi et al was still camped in Downing Street .

Importantly life still goes on .
What I mean is these folks have learnt to hire / charter , move about the globe buying for want of a better word “ experience holidays “ eg fully staffed inc chef accommodation + guides , part of which might scratch that boaty itch .

In other words a 6 month stay of sales from what would have been potentially buyers has actually turned them away from ownership. They might still spend the identical net £ /€ on a PAYG , forget and walk away experience……Todays if you like “ monied “ family are tech savvy , fast moving , even private jet hire , hiring dragging nannies chefs , governess ( keep the kids education etc ) arn’t now really interested in plonking a £10 M piece of depreciating plastic on a £1 M berth in say Antibes .

With the kids winning …..
“ dad do we have to go back to the boat again “

The woman is bored of the local shops as her friends at coffee are living far more exciting live globe trotting in thee down time .
She’s also ( although doesn’t try to show it ) pissed off with every downtime hol yet another boat hol .

I haven’t even touched in the main principle down time , the owner arguably wasting his / her time organising the boat etc throughout the year .Time better spent doing his job navigating Starmers lot policy.

Talking the 95 % of S/Skr buyers ( like myself btw ) who don’t use it in U.K. ie in my case SoF .

I think it’s a combination of the Rachel Thieves 6 month hiatus and basically changed attitudes to down time from what were trad U.K. boat buyers = a slow down .

It’s nothing to do with the product , kitchen ; galley fit time etc or how clean the factory floor is surgically as previously touted ^ .

It’s a societal change and that’s hard to quantify.

Considering Sunseeker, Princess and Fairline have been losing millions for years, that's probably the biggest load of rubbish i've seen on here for a very long time.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Yup I think he’s plumbed a new low with this.

 

[Clash]

Yup I think he’s plumbed a new low with this.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is real.

 

[surfury111]

Well to be honest. I would prefer to see boat builders survive that thrive on selling affordable boats to normal people rather than massive resource hungry monsters to the few

What is your definition of "affordable boats" and "normal people" ? Affordable to whom ?

 

[volvopaul]

I don't come on here often anymore but this.is the most nobbish, arrogant nonsense I have seen in a long time. Just reeks of unpleasantness.

My thoughts too , I do wonder why I bother sometimes.