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#1
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A Boat Mfg. Walmart?
A future boating industry Walmart?
================================================== ============== Founded on billiards and best-known for bowling, Brunswick Corp. is a fast-expanding power in the boating business. From runabouts to cruisers to $10 million yachts and the engines that power them, the company gained more than 80 percent of its $5.2 billion in sales last year from boats and marine engines. What's really drawing attention lately, though, is Brunswick's aggressive strategy as it tries to reshape an industry that has seen millions of boaters quit the pastime since the 1990s. The 160-year-old company, which didn't get into boating until the ripe age of 115, has been buying up boat and engine brands and suppliers and trying to extend its influence to all parts of the business. In the past year, Brunswick has scooped up seven brands - including such well-known names as Lund and Sea Pro - to leapfrog Genmar Holdings Inc. as the world's largest manufacturer of recreational boats. Those acquisitions followed the 2003 purchases of Land 'N' Sea and Attwood, top marine parts suppliers. More deals are envisioned as Brunswick, which makes more than 130,000 boats a year, barrels ahead with an ambitious strategy it unabashedly calls "Cover the waterfront." "What that means is we want to be in engines and boats, we want to be in related services, we want to be in marina management," Buckley said in an interview. "We want to be essentially everywhere the consumer is spending money." But Brunswick's quest for dominance has perhaps inevitably thrown a scare into independent builders and suppliers and made many dealers uneasy about devoting their loyalties to a single company. The United Marine Manufacturers Association, the largest organization of independent boat builders, has urged its members to avoid buying the company's products because "Brunswick intends to put you out of business." Group president Kent Wooldridge likens the big manufacturer to Wal-Mart with its growing presence and clout. "We would have no issue with Brunswick if they would split off their power (engine) company from their boat company and simply conduct business on a level playing field," he said. No one disputes Brunswick is on a roll. After being hurt by the recession that damped consumer demand from 2000-03, the company outpaced the industry last year with a 16 percent sales jump, excluding acquisitions. Profits doubled to $270 million. The gains came despite the fact the estimated number of 72 million U.S. boaters is flat compared with 15 years ago and down more than 6 million from its 1997 peak, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Sales are now climbing again as boats get bigger and fancier, thanks largely to affluent baby boomers. The average boater is 48 with an annual income of $71,000, and the resurgent economy has helped some afford yachts outfitted with flat-screen plasma TVs and staterooms. Sales of Hatteras yachts, Brunswick's most luxurious line, soared at boat shows this winter. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/11052663.htm ================================================== ================== |
#2
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Given the generous return policies and customer satisfaction levels at my
local Wal-mart....we'd all be better off with them ( or someone acting like them ) than reading weekly about yet another Piece of C%$# BRAND NEW boat that some poor consumer bought and can't get fixed properly BY THE BUILDER. RichG TX -- RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners .. |
#3
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Big difference between Brunswick (or Genmar) and Walmart.
Walmart doesn't manufacture anything, and by insisting that its suppliers deliver at the lowest possible per unit cost (or lose the contract to somebody who will) Walmart has indirectly forced a lot of previously US mfg jobs overseas. The big boat builders build boats, and most of them here in the US. The fear that big boat companies will reduce all the brands down to the lowest common denominator so far appears to be unfounded. In fact, the most notable recent change in Brunswick products has been an *improvement* in the quality of a lot of the medium size cruising yachts as the Bayliner name was scrapped and the Meridian line introduced instead. The top person in the Meridian division has been (and may still be) the previous head of Sea Ray in Tennessee. When Meridian was first introduced, most people suspected that the company was simply trying to distance itself from the "stigma" of the Bayliner name on more expensive boats. In fact, the first generation of Meridians were primarily rebadged Bayliners with upgraded hardware, systems, etc. Now that the Meridian line is filling up with "new" models, even the harshest critics have a difficult time dismissing them as simply dressed up Bayliners. The boat business is a low-volume business, and many small manufacturers build less than 10 boats per year. If the product integrity can be maintained, (and only if), then there are some benefits to everybody by combining the administrative costs, facility costs, marketing costs, etc for a few brands. Some of the savings is reflected by prices that rise more slowly than they otherwise might, and the rest by increased corporate profits and dividends. I think that UMMA has an axe to grind and is being alarmist when suggesting to its members that Brunswick hopes to put the independent dealer out of business. Nonsense. There's so little money, and so much risk in retail that the mfgrs are overjoyed to let somebody else try to eke out a living on the short end of the stick. |
#4
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wrote in message ups.com... Big difference between Brunswick (or Genmar) and Walmart. Walmart doesn't manufacture anything, and by insisting that its suppliers deliver at the lowest possible per unit cost (or lose the contract to somebody who will) Walmart has indirectly forced a lot of previously US mfg jobs overseas. The big boat builders build boats, and most of them here in the US. The fear that big boat companies will reduce all the brands down to the lowest common denominator so far appears to be unfounded. In fact, the most notable recent change in Brunswick products has been an *improvement* in the quality of a lot of the medium size cruising yachts as the Bayliner name was scrapped and the Meridian line introduced instead. The top person in the Meridian division has been (and may still be) the previous head of Sea Ray in Tennessee. When Meridian was first introduced, most people suspected that the company was simply trying to distance itself from the "stigma" of the Bayliner name on more expensive boats. In fact, the first generation of Meridians were primarily rebadged Bayliners with upgraded hardware, systems, etc. Now that the Meridian line is filling up with "new" models, even the harshest critics have a difficult time dismissing them as simply dressed up Bayliners. The boat business is a low-volume business, and many small manufacturers build less than 10 boats per year. If the product integrity can be maintained, (and only if), then there are some benefits to everybody by combining the administrative costs, facility costs, marketing costs, etc for a few brands. Some of the savings is reflected by prices that rise more slowly than they otherwise might, and the rest by increased corporate profits and dividends. I think that UMMA has an axe to grind and is being alarmist when suggesting to its members that Brunswick hopes to put the independent dealer out of business. Nonsense. There's so little money, and so much risk in retail that the mfgrs are overjoyed to let somebody else try to eke out a living on the short end of the stick. Good point Chuck, although I not agreeing with your editorial comments. Perhaps a better analogy is that Brunswick will become the equivalent of the 1970's MaBell. |
#5
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On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 17:04:45 -0500, "JimH" wrote:
A future boating industry Walmart? I was the late Sam Waltons finacial adviser, and am still working with his lovely wife regarding this exact matter. I cant say any more because of legal reasons, but lets just say boats may not be the only thing in Wal-Marts future. |
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