I have a few more minutes now and will try to give a more complete answer to your question.
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<br>Price is not the constraining issue with regard to boat sales. One need only look at the mastercraft or ski nautique (ski boats) dealers at the boat show to see proof of this. At a recent boat show the mastercraft dealer sold 28 boats in four days. The average cost of the boat show special was $28,800 per boat with trailer. The boat eats $120 in fuel for a four hour trip to the lake and people are using them about two days a month on average. The maintenance costs are about $350 a year for the first five years for service etc.
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<br>The Grand Banks trawlers are sold out in many models for at least a year. They start at $132,000. This isn't the budget range I operate in but clearly there are lots of buyers if the product is meeting a consumer demand.
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<br>With regard to being a dealer. If there were actually a demand for catamarans such that it would support the necessary overhead require to properly support the sport then you would see dealerships all over the place. The bad news is there isn't enough demand to substantiate spending the capital to put enough inventory in stock to start up a dealership. The manufacturer's requirements are so steep relative to the demand that you are seeing old dealers go out of business and no one with any business sense would try to establish a new dealership unless the overall environment changes substantially.
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<br>When I say the "environment" I mean the overall market forces that allow or prohibit individuals to be able to afford the boat, store the boat and have time and water access with which to use the boat. The former are hardly constraints as even at $17,000 the INTER 20 or Hobie Fox are quite a bit cheaper than the comparable powerboat and we have already shown there are ample buyers for the power boats.
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<br>The latter problems of access and available discretionary time are the real demons when you are trying to explain the overall decline of the sport of sailing and particularly catamaran sailing. This is especially true here in the Los Angeles area where the available launch ramps are now almost completely empty. They are cheap to use yet hardly anyone does. I am as guilty as anyone. I have to split my time between kids soccer, an 18 month old and my wife and business. That takes about 6 days a week. That means I have one day a week left to use a boat. If I have to drive (15 minutes each way so 30 minutes) to a remote storage area (cities here prevent storing them on your own property if they are visible to the street and with 8 feet between houses here a back yard is rare.)and then trailer to a ramp. Drag it (10 minutes) out across 100 yards of beach. Do a complete set up and tear down. (70 minutes if I hustle [35 minutes up and 35 down]) Sail for three hours and then tear it down, hose it off, drop it back off and get home in time for dinner.
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<br>It's a stretch to get it all done and still have fun doing it.
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<br>IMHO the problems for this sport's decline in popularity are:
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<br>Lack of free time.
<br>Lack of easy storage and set up locations.
<br>Family demographics have changed.
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<br>There is nothing I have ever done that comes close to how much fun I have working in this business but if we ever tried to make a profitable venture on catamaran sailing alone we would have been out of business ten years ago...
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<br>There is room for growth again for the manufacturers as the older hobies are finally falling by the wayside. There is no reason for a builder to concentrate on a market that simply isn't there and that is why you don't see a lot of marketing here in the states.
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<br>The bulk of Performance Catamarans business is in Europe so that is where they focus their efforts. Hobie Cat USA has done a fine job of staying in business by adequately providing parts at a reasonable markup to their dealers and that is why you see Hobie dealers hanging on. Hobie Cat also does a fine job of maintaining their dealer network by only selling through dealers and not factory direct. They understand that dealerships help maintain the local fleets and that keeps their boat sales moving and the parts business alive.
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<br>I keep hearing over and over that there needs to be more advertising by the manufacturers. The reality of the business model is that a company who wants to maximize it's efforts must:
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<br>Identify a demand or need in the market that already exists.
<br>Design and manufacture a product that meets that need within the confines of market forces (price).
<br>Market that product to the consumers who are likely to buy the product.
<br>Establish a retail dealer network that offers sales and information as well as service for that product and provide enough margin for the dealer to be profitable.
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<br>This isn't like a car dealership folks. The car dealerships all make their money on the service department. Everyone who sails seems to want to do their own work on the boats (at least most people) which is fine but it means there must be enough profit in the sales of parts and accessories to maintain a dealership. Enter: West Marine and other chain stores that discount. The consumer wants the best deal so they will shop wherever they can get a better deal. If you look around the US you will find that most small boat dealers have gone out of business where there is a West Marine or similar close by. Putting a catamaran in a West Marine though won't get them sold. Just ask SUNFISH/ LASER who tried to put their boats in west Marine stores only to find that their sale declined by 40% in those areas where there was previously a specialized dealer.
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<br>It's a tough situation out there. We have been successful recently because we can offer new and used parts at competitive prices and we offer a full range of gear including proprietary parts which are unavailable to most stores. This was our best year since 1991 even with the terrorist attacks that effectively shut down sales for a couple of weeks. We are pretty much the only sailing store in the greater Los Angeles area and there are 17 million people here. Others have opened and then closed soon after as it became apparent that this is a tough business. There is one good dealer in San Diego, CA. There are a couple in the Bay area and that is about it. Kinda' scary actually.
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<br>We diversified into big boat equipment and support several years ago and that has made a big difference in our profitability and has allowed us to continue selling equipment for catamarans at competitive prices. we could never do it without this diversification and again, we are the only folks here in Los Angeles doing catamarans to any degree.
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<br>We are once again pondering the idea of selling the boats themselves but we are concerned about the market and it's ability to support this venture. We welcome your replies and thoughts on the subject so that we can add them to the concepts already being considered with regard to this venture.
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<br>Thank you in advance for your well thought out replies.
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<br>Best regards,
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<br>Mark A. Michaelsen ~MM~
<br>SPS Website: http://www.sailingproshop.com
<br>Small Craft Advisories Sailing Centers
<br>1244 Pacific Coast Highway
<br>Seal Beach, Ca 90740
<br>(562) 594-8749 Voice
<br>(562) 594-0208 FAX
<br>(800) 354-7245 Order Line
<br>(714) 238-0925 International Voice Mail/Pager
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<br><br><br>Mark A. Michaelsen ~MM~
<br>1244 Pacific Coast Highway
<br>(562) 594-8749 Voice
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