MARINE BUSINESS NEWS
NEWS UPDATE
15 March 2024
Publishers note
I know that we are blessed with warm weather all year round in many parts of the country, but for those of us where seasons are more defined and where we were expecting and Autumn change, it is not quiet here yet. I friend recently described it as “having an extended summer.”
Is that good for boating industry. I’d say yes, increased boating leads to a higher demand on our products and services, however on the other side of the ledger is that boating sales continue to be, in certain sectors, seeing a dip - to put it politely, but probably better described as having slowed considerably.
Whilst the immediate observation could be that it is simply a correction after the pandemic buying mayhem and frenzy we experienced, with products flying out the door leading to product shortages. And whilst I declare I’m no expert on the economic climate, I am told that interest rates and the cost of living have put the discretionary spending on boating, on the back burner.
This is an age-old problem our industry experiences. How do we, as the boating industry, deal with seasonality and negative economic sentiment? With seasonality, in the cities where they work well, boat shows are in part the solution. I won’t break out into the history of shows and why they exist, you probably have heard me tell the story many times.
With economic sentiment, the solution can possibly be diversification. I know one successful dealer in South Australia who does well with boating in the lead up to summer and has alternative lifestyle products to help supplement their income during the rest of the year. Whilst that formula works well for that business, given their history and geographic location, it’s not something that may work for everyone. What can work, however, is to look within our industry and better understand what segments are working. What are those products, and how do you determine if they are right for your business? Well, that will need a good look at what is happening in the market place, and to understand if an element of diversification is right for you.
Marine Business News is an Australian-owned marine industry news service publishing local and international news. If you have news stories you would like to share, please let us know by contacting our newsroom via our email at NewsRoom@MarineBusinessNews.com.au.
Stay safe on the water,
Domenic Genua - Publisher
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