We live in an age of leisure

[ParaHandy]

“And the western world is not ready to forego it”. So said Mme Roux (nee Beneteau) CEO of Groupe Beneteau when announcing a 34% rise in net profit to year end 31/8/01 in this mornings FT. She went further and predicted a 10% increase in revenue not withstanding that her company is due to announce a new 42ft yacht 7% cheaper than the 40ft it replaces.

The biggest problem for French boatmakers is where to put them as there are few berths left on the French coast. With a 20% increase in production and a 2% increase in local French registration, exports account for the difference. “Excess demand”, reports the FT, “is a problem that other leisure orientated companies would be overjoyed to have”.

One of this cpy’s products was described in 1999 by the MAIB as “a craft suitable for summer cruising”. You need to draw your own conclusions as to what that statement allegedly means.

Over here we have significantly higher berthing costs, a failing boatbuilding industry and a failing boat servicing industry. Granted there are little rays of sunshine here and there eg Poole but the overall picture is bleak. Leisure is one of the few growth industries left but the manufacture of marine goods to support leisure will, largely, not occur in the UK.

The marina structure in the UK is, IMHO, a closed entity whereas in France it is in a chain that starts with manufacture of the product. A marina owner owes only to his/her banker and will thus charge to maximise his/her profit eg he cares not a whit if he makes the cost of servicing a boat so expensive that a few people less buy a boat and a few people lose their job – in France.

Tony! Are you listening? Gordon? You might see it as a costly and elitist sport but many, many, people suffer when IMHO you allow exchange rates between the UK and the rest of Europe to get so far out of balance. Do either of you care?

 

[Guest]

I find it sad that so many Boat Builders decided to follow each other into the luxury end of the market and then go Belly-up..... does nobody learn from what they see others do ? Many BB's also said that the smaller end of the market is not profitable .... OK agreed, but the mid-range is buoyant and needs sensible pricing, sensible boats and sensible boat builders who do not get dazzled by the build 3-4 large boats a year craze.... that eventually fails. HR / Swan etc. and others command that area very nicely and it would be difficult to compete.

If someone came out with a 30 - 37 ft medium priced, well built boat ..... well ?????????? Jeanneau, Bavaria, Beneteau have shown it to be true .... Starlight and others walked away from it ...... even the new 'Westerly' people may fall into the same 'build BIG' trap .......

I really despair of the British Boat Building Industry ... one of the best and oldest, but now a 'has-been' apart fom a select few !

C'mon Britain ... wake up, there are buyers out there who want a sensible deal, a sensible boat and also would buy British ...

Maybe I should go for it ????? Its an idea.... now thats got me thinking !!!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

I dont belive the problem lies with the inability to build yachts of the right price/quality/performance balance in GB. IMHO the problem lies in the lack of a home market for quantity sales brought about by the price of marina berths. If you were a looking for a new yacht for "family" sailing of 10-13mtr you would be looking at finding £3-4K per annum for a marina berth in the south coast UK. This money is a big proportion of what is required to service the loan to purchase said yacht. I have to say I wonder at why some people pay such a figure ANNUALY to keep some of the older yachts you see berthed in marina's, it must equate to 20-30% of the boats worth each year. There is only a finite "collective pot" of money to go around, too much is being taken by MDL and others. Unlike other sports/hobbies having a berth/mooring is almost the first requisite aquisition needed, before you can seriously purchase a yacht. If this berth/mooring takes a big slice of the pie then this could make the difference between buying new and secondhand.
If there was the money available for quantity sales of new yachts in the UK I'm sure that there would be enough entreponeurs and venture capitalist to fund such a manufacturer. And if run by effective managers to a realistic business plan and not by the usual collection of dreamers and profit skimming con merchants the industry has been afflicted with for the past 25 years it would be successfull. Dont belive me? Look at Cornish Crabbers, Hunter Boats (UK) and others. They target their market with well built, good performing boats that offer value and pride in ownership. Just like Westerly did in the last century. So just think a little when you sign that cheque to MDL or whoever your marina berth/mooring provider is, am I getting value for my money or am I being ripped off to provide someone else with a fat bonus.

 

[ParaHandy]

Beneteau & others

Nigel

A rule of thumb is that a cpy (in manufacturing) with $150k per employee is likely to be efficient and, probably, profitable. Beneteau achieved >$150k in each year since 1996. Latest is $183k with >90% of revenue coming from pleasure boats. To use cliche, it's a world class performance.

To achieve that: assume 100 boats pa @£50k each would require no more than 50 people with, say, 70% direct. That requires 35 people to make 2 boats/week. The capital investment to achieve that level of productivity would be substantial. Difficult, on info I have, to tease out Beneteau capital spend other than in 95/96 it increased a lot.

Still feel up for it?!

 

[Guest]

What about Moody\'s

Moody's have and are surviving. They are selling boats and have a yard at Swanwick which is busy on the service side. The only sad part is that the smallest boat they now sell is 38ft and the largest as of next year 64ft. I guess the reason they have stopped producing the smaller boats is the price competition from abroad, but they have and are changing which equals survival.

Pete