The recent news that a website providing consumers with dealer invoice pricing on new boats, powersports products and RVs will soon launch, drew a swift response from the Marine Retailers Association of America. MRAA President Phil Keeter said the site has the potential to hurt dealers’ profit margins just as the industry is once again finding its footing in the wake of the recession. Read more >>
As the hours tick down on another year – and our last day in the office of 2010 – I wanted to pass along the thanks and appreciation of everyone here at Boating Industry for all the support, knowledge and friendship you’ve given us – not only this year, but throughout the 81 years of our magazine’s existence. Read more >>
Starting Saturday, more than 10,000 baby boomers will reach retirement age each day for the next 19 years. That’s the good news for industries such as recreational boating, which have for a long time been looking to this generation as a lucrative source of customers. Read more >>
Tags: Baby Boomers, boating industry
As another boat show season gets underway, wouldn’t it be nice to know what those would-be customers are thinking as they walk the aisles and docks browsing and shopping? Read more >>
Tags: Boat Show, boating industry
The algorithm Google uses to rank websites in its search results is a closely guarded secret, as the less that is known about how the search engine works the more difficult it is for people to short-cut the system. But, as any business with a website likely knows, there are numerous legitimate techniques that can be used to move a given site higher in the rankings. Read more >>
Tags: boating industry, Borker, Google, SEO
Following a recommendation from the Grow Boating Funding Task Force to the board of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, assessments for Grow Boating will be fully restored, effective Jan 1. The assessments had been temporarily reduced by 85 percent this past July as a new marketing strategy and analysis of the impact of the recession on consumers was developed. Read more >>
For the past two years, Peter Houseworth – director of client services for Info-Link technologies – has contributed an article to Boating Industry’s annual Market Data Book on the subject of inventory moving through the retail pipeline or, more simply, “Days in Inventory.” Read more >>
One week from today, everyone here at Boating Industry should be breathing just a bit more easily as this magazine’s busiest week of the year will have just concluded. Sitting here this morning, however, next Friday still seems miles away. Read more >>
The first in a series of in-depth reports that will examine which marketing channels influence consumers the most as they’re deciding whether or not to purchase a new boat was released yesterday and its findings indicate that boat shows still play a very important role in the shopping and purchase process. Read more >>
Tags: boat show report, boating industry, nmma
Brunswick released its third quarter earnings report this morning for the nine months ended Oct. 2 and shared at least some encouraging news, including net sales up 22 percent vs. third quarter 2009. Boating Industry will have full coverage of the report in Friday’s e-news (to download a PDF of Brunswick’s report click here). But one of the most interesting aspects of the release was the information the company shared regarding its inventory pipeline. Read more >>
