Mid Size Power Boats

Dealerships

If the boat building industry suffers from serious problems, it naturally follows that their dealerships end up suffering the same slings and arrows of misfortune.

Owning an auto dealership can be like owning the keys to a gold mine.

That is decidedly not true for boat dealerships since the nature of the product is so different. Boat builders and their markets are simply not large enough to support the kind of dealership networks and profitability that would result in dealership stability.

Plus, as you already know, auto sales are the largest and longest running major league scam in the world. With their power, auto manufacturers can manipulate prices in ways that other industries can only dream of.

If anyone else engaged in these practices, they’d go to prison for fraud, collusion and antitrust violations. The boat building industry has no such political/economic power, and therefore cannot manipulate prices and sales practices to ensure their survival.

The history of boat dealerships is that they come and go rather like the seasons.

Very few have shown any staying power, and those that do seem to change their product lines like they change their socks.

That’s because manufacturers (both boat and motor) are not very kind to their dealers; they do not instill dealer loyalty, and lacking that loyalty (or other economic motivation) dealers feel free to change whenever a better deal comes along.

Dealerships suffer from the same economic vulnerabilities as builders do, plus one more; in most parts of the nation it is a seasonal business.

This factor alone results in a large reason for customer dissatisfaction. With a large part of the business rush coming in just a few months, it is impossible to meet demand and keep all customers happy.

It’s also hard to attract and keep skilled personnel, from salesmen to engine mechanics. Highly trained people are rarely available for part-time or seasonal jobs.

When you look around at dealerships, you’ll probably find that the ones that have been around longest are those that operate marinas where their revenues are not completely dependent on sales and service.

To be successful, and survive economic slow downs, a dealer has to have a revenue source other than sales and service. Dockage, storage and other services usually help them turn the trick, particularly when the water is frozen a good part of the year.