Sunseeker ....

Spare Thyme said:
If its made in China it will be CE marked :rolleyes:

View attachment 46364

Do a Google on China Export, its a bit scary especially if you then have a look around your house at those gadgets you buy from B&Q etc also
http://www.ybw.com/expert-advice/vhf/news/509220/warning-don-t-get-confused-between-the-ce-mark-and-the-china-export-mark
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LOl, yeah that was around for a while a few years ago and then Customs etc caught on, don't see it very often now. Turns out though much of it wasn't done by the Chinese it was the unscrupulous importers who dreamed it up and whacked the CE stickers on.
 
Coming back to the OP re laying off workforce ,
I heard last Y at Cannes that they were thinking of moving production totally of the smaller boats Portofino 40 , the new then 2013 San Remo 48 ? Etc to China -and producing some moldings ,like T tops, wet bars hatches etc for the entire range too, and bringing them back along with other cheaper to produce -not necessarily poorer quality components .
So you don,t need as many blokes in Poole -hence the anoucement IMHO .
They were planing on keeping the big boat builds at Poole -less small moldings .Last I heard 7 155's were on the order books first 3 for SoF .
" Britishness" is what its all about- this is an integral part of the allegded premium brand .A core marketing thing ,they will never give that up in the foreseeable future ?That's what they effectively bought the brand .They could and prob will set up at home making "sunney Shanghai " copies as well -but for a different market .
VW could easily transfer Bently production to say Poland .
Tata could relocate LR / Jag well any where say next door to a Daewoo plant .

Regarding T/O and sales -we will have to wait ,but remember net vol of units may be down ( hard luck dealers ) ,but T/O may be level or more due the price diff between a Portofino 40 and a 155 .
Aside it's not what you take it's what you make -normally ,but the owner has deep pockets and will have bought this with eyes wide open -prepared to sub it through tough ecomonic times for a few years during lower sales unit vol and the restructuring programme .Its inevitable that there will job losses in Poole
Louis Vitton Hennessy group are / have gone through this process with Princess
Another "sugar Daddy " Chinese owner is struggling like wise with the Feretti group ..They are in deep poo.
To put some perspective on sales Vol .As some may have read my posting on ITAMA ,the broker is a dealer and get this
Are you all sat down ?
ITAMA. In 2013 sold THREE boats Worldwide . One 45 and two 62's .Any body fancy buying and having a go a boat building ?
How do you run a factory like that without the owner of the group subbing it?
Obviously debt / loss can be shifted about in the group .But Yen is flowing into ITALY -not € to China .
 
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Portofino said:
Another "sugar Daddy " Chinese owner is struggling like wise with the Feretti group ..They are in deep poo Obviously debt / loss can be shifted about in the group .But Yen is flowing into ITALY -not € to China .
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Thats the rumour I heard as well about Ferretti. The story is that the Chinese owner has lost patience and has told them to start cutting costs or else. Fundamentally, boatbuilding is a sh*t industry. Large capital investment, large working capital requirement, labour intensive, high marketing costs, very cyclical market, thin margins and lousy growth prospects. Oh yeah and you need to be located near the sea. Why does anyone do it? I bet most of them wish they were still building caravans;)
 
Deleted User said:
Thats the rumour I heard as well about Ferretti. The story is that the Chinese owner has lost patience and has told them to start cutting costs or else. Fundamentally, boatbuilding is a sh*t industry. Large capital investment, large working capital requirement, labour intensive, high marketing costs, very cyclical market, thin margins and lousy growth prospects. Oh yeah and you need to be located near the sea. Why does anyone do it? I bet most of them wish they were still building caravans;)
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You forgot to mention the obligation to exhibit your wares at a series of boat shows around the world, at huge cost, and have grubby members of the public trample all over them.
 
Portofino said:
Coming back to the OP re laying off workforce ,
I heard last Y at Cannes that they were thinking of moving production totally of the smaller boats Portofino 40 , the new then 2013 San Remo 48 ? Etc to China -and producing some moldings ,like T tops, wet bars hatches etc for the entire range too, and bringing them back along with other cheaper to produce -not necessarily poorer quality components .
So you don,t need as many blokes in Poole -hence the anoucement IMHO ..
Click to expand...

Sunseeker announced this!? I don't recall seeing anything of this announcement in the press.

Anyone else see it?
 
forgone conclusion

Portofino said:
One,s quickly found another job in the UK ......... For now!
http://www.mby.com/news/537492/fairline-hints-at-new-models-with-engineering-appointments
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In my opinion it IS a forgone conclusion that sunseeker will close eventualy and be built overseas, on the basis that 99 per cent of these boats are sold overseas anyway.
The chinese have bought the brand thats all they need, i wouldnt think they give a toss about jobs and livelyhood, it will leave a big hole in poole if this does happen.
We will have sold everything we was ever famous for in manufacturing at this rate.
 
Portofino said:
To put some perspective on sales Vol .As some may have read my posting on ITAMA ,the broker is a dealer and get this
Are you all sat down ?
ITAMA. In 2013 sold THREE boats Worldwide . One 45 and two 62's .Any body fancy buying and having a go a boat building ?
How do you run a factory like that without the owner of the group subbing it?
Click to expand...


IMO Ferretti Group did important mistakes with Itama thinking that its flashy marketing would not make any difference to Itamas common clients base;
1. They move the brand from Rome and the Tyrennian Sea thinking this would not make difference
2. The built quality of the newer from 2006 Itama's is less to the older ones.
3. Design ones the Ferretti Casali ones are flashier may be also nicer but they have lost that raw feel of the original.
4. Itama was also always about Amati from the end seventies (when he switched to fiberglass) to 2004, and the personal service he gave to his customers was always top notch.
5. Details of the older Itamas where lost in the newer ones; opening hatch in middle windscreen, full flash hatches on flashdeck with water flush of these which goes on the side, and full chuncky hull (some of these are expensive to make for a larger volume builder IMO). I am mentioning the most apparent ones

These are some of the details which a normal Itama client would want in an Itama back in the 90s early 2000s, and where a pedigree of the brand.

Saying all this I also think that Itama major problems also stem from the suffering of the Italian market (its major sales source since ever).
In good times Ferretti Group have sold well with Itama, 100 plus of the Forty from 2006 to 11 (I think they sold about 120) which was expensive new starting from 600k EUROS in its last production years.
And the 55 and 75 where not doing bad. I am sure they sold over 10 Seventy-Fives in a couple years....
 
diligaf said:
Errr frying pan - fire........??
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I'm not sure Sunseekers are the masters of internal space Fairline think they are. Sure the 155 isn't cramped but at nearly 50 metres long it would be almost impossible for it not to feel spacious.

Further down the range and you feel the spaces narrow for a given hull size. Step off a Sunseeker and onto a Princess.

I do hope any new models Fairline offer a radically different.

Henry :)
 
Portofino said:
Please refer post # 1 and in particular post #9
For ease I copy the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-29664951

Apologies if I have mis-understood the gist of the OP
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I'm sorry, I'm obviously being a bit thick. I've read that BBC report you've linked to three times and can see nothing stating any production is being moved to China.

The only logic to this argument seems to be that as the company is now owned by the Chinese, they'll move it to China. I suppose it makes sense, Princess was owned by a South African for thirty years, hence all Princesses being made in South Africa. Now the Feench own it I expect they will close all the Princess factories in South Africa and open up all Princess production in France. ;)
 
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