Hi gang, Rick here from Bayliner Boats with a report from the Miami International Boat Show. In a year when the American economy faces a wide range of challenges, it should come as no surprise that the NMMA's sessions at the Miami International Boat Show, talking about the Discover Boating campaign, Consumer Satisfaction Index and in particular, the February 14 State Of The Industry address given by NMMA president, Thom Dammrich, were all very well attended.
In his opening address on Wednesday, February 13th, Dammrich mounted an elaborate presentation that focused closely on the statistics and results of the Grow Boating and Discover Boating campaigns have delivered to the industry so far.
During an economic slowdown, it's common for business people to cut their marketing expenditures in hopes of weathering the storm. Dammrich's mission was plainly to defend the Grow Boating program and its funding. Only time will tell how successful his message was, but it was masterfully delivered and he did present a compelling argument to stay the course.
Boating Industry Canada was impressed with the attendance at all of the sessions and in fact, throughout the entire show. Statistics indicate that the industry overall is down significantly, but you would never have guessed that from the crowds on the show floor. Shuttle bus lineups were long and tedious going from the Miami Beach Convention Center to the Sea Isle Marina and the Strictly Sail shows where boats were in the water.
Those boats were being taken out of their slips too. Customers were walking the docks, going for rides and expressing what certainly looked like genuine interest.
We expect that show management will announce some encouraging results coming out of the 2008 Miami International Boat Show. Things may not be as bad as they appear and at the Media Breakfast, Thomas Dammrich delivered a State of the Industry address that could be best described as a steady hand at the helm.
His presentation began by explaining that he had four main themes:
that boating was big business
that the boat business is a uniquely American manufacturing industry
that the boating is very much a part of middle-class America
that the American boating market is 50% of the world market.
He went on to discuss several important dimensions of the industry showing a chart that established the tremendous growth in dollar volumes that the industry has enjoyed from 1998 to 2006. While his presentation projects that units will be down 14% for 2007, the dollars will only be down 9%.
These numbers might be disappointing but they can hardly be called devastating. More importantly, he was able to present data that suggests that there is indeed a positive impact for the Discover Boating campaign and Dammrich explained that 90% of the boats sold in America are trailerable vassals of under 26 feet and 75% of Americans have an under $100,000 household income – middle America and the mass market.
While the current economic conditions have certainly struck hard at consumer confidence, Dammrich explained that there is a $108 billion total economic impact of boating, explaining how important the industry is, especially when you consider its appeal to the mass market in the United States. Next he showed a chart of consumer confidence and overlaid historic NMMA sales figures which track very closely up and down.
A return of consumer confidence should bring a return in sales to the marine industry.
A bright light is the fact that the United States is a global leader and is very much a net exporter of boats with a market value of $2.2 billion in 2006. This underscores both the importance and the overall strength of the boating industry in the United States. He went on to conclude that for the many reasons stated, there was an expectation that things will pick up in the industry in the next 12 to 18 months. Thanks to Boating Industry Canada for this.
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Rick Ostler, Bayliner Boats.
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