For more than two weeks, the average price of regular gas in the U.S. has been dropping, according to USAToday.com. As of yesterday, the average price of a gallon of regular gas was $2.76, the newspaper reported in an article today, and some analysts are predicting it could drop further, perhaps even as low as this time last year, which was about 30 cents per gallon cheaper. Read more >>
Tags: Boating, Economy, gas prices, Memorial Day
By Christopher Kourtakis, director of sales and marketing, 360° Industry Solutions — As I stood in a local dealership the other day, a customer who just purchased a boat from the dealership had a few questions and looked a little lost. So, I went up to the gentleman and asked him if I could point him in the right direction. As we started to talk, I realized that the only person in the dealership that he knew was his salesmen. Read more >>
I had a dream a few nights ago that I was working a boat show for a dealer. It’s not unusual for me to dream about work these days. When we’re on deadline, I often find myself trying to write articles or headlines in my sleep. It’s too bad the outcome is never as brilliant in the light of day. Read more >>
Tags: Marine Dealers, Top 100
A week ago, I was on the phone with Fred Pace, managing director of Destin, Fla.-based dealership Legendary Marine, who said something that surprised me. He’s seeing a return of first-time buyers in his local market place. Read more >>
Jan Kelly, president, Kelly Enterprises – Many dealerships have downsized their personnel to the point of not having a dedicated F&I manager. Is that department just as profitable without the dedicated person focused on the task each day? Who is presenting the ancillary service policies, and working with the lenders to secure the customer financing? Read more >>
We live in a time of consolidation, as the news of Garmin’s bid to acquire Raymarine this week once again illustrates. Airlines, automakers and certainly media companies, among others, are combining forces like never before in hopes of increasing their returns in an uncertain economic future.
The boating industry has seen its share of mergers and acquisitions as well. That’s nothing new, change has always been a constant. Brands, and the companies that make them, change hands through the years, coming and going. Dealers change the lines they carry, manufacturers change dealers, finance and insurance companies enter and leave the market.
But if the pace of consolidation picks up in the marine industry and begins to mirror the trend seen in other industries, is that a good thing or a bad thing for boating? Read more »
Small numbers of boat buyers working together on the definition and specifications of a yacht and then, when several have expressed an interest in getting the vessel made, finding a builder to manufacture it for them: That’s the concept Truebuild Yachts is working to bring to the boating industry. Read more >>
One of the most popular topics of discussion in the industry this year seems to be Internet technology. Whether it’s SEO, mobile marketing, social networking or e-commerce, marine professionals want to know how to expand and improve their online efforts to drive efficiencies and increase sales in their businesses. Read more >>
When the Boating Industry team recently got into a conversation about how the industry is performing so far this year, there were some varying opinions. It turns out that we were each looking at the data to which we have access – from Spader Business Management and Info-Link Technologies Inc. – a little differently. Here are the conclusions we reached. Read more >>
By Jeff Scherer, Associate Partner, Callbutton LLC – Many years ago, before the Internet was “cool,” I was the Internet sales manager for one of the largest automotive retailers. This was a very interesting time because prior to this, no auto entities had really stepped out to try to market vehicles through this new budding medium known as “the Web.” To say that many of the old-school general managers in our dealer groups were skeptical would have been a tremendous understatement. They said over and over that this Web thing was a fad, and would never work to sell cars. Our team was often looked at as the “geek squad,” (no offense to the Best Buy’s guys) and as competitors to the retail sales team. Much of this doubt and fear was understandable as we were jumping quickly into territory that was undefined and unknown. Read more >>
