APR-MAY 2014
My goal in this is not just to sell one boat to somebody. My goal is to build a relationship with the client. Given that we have such a range of products and a portfolio, we can take people all the way up in the brands. So we start them with a 20 foot Riva and then go all the way up to our CRN brand which is now the largest that we build up to 240 feet.
It’s interesting what you’ve said. People no longer go the traditional way of taking it step by step but purchase a big boat right away. The world economy developed so quickly that you have a lot of people that have reached a point in their lives and their careers where after such hard work they want to spend more time with their family and their friends, and having a yacht is an amazing way to do that. A number of our clients have grown with us through different boat sizes, others come in and go straight into an 80-foot plus. We
also own a factory-direct organization. We’re one of the first to sell factory brands. So in America we’re the manufacturer and also the wholesaler and retailer and we deliver the boats to be serviced. So the nice thing for a client is when he comes on board, they’re buying it from the factory but after that we’re also responsible for managing and even helping them with the after sales process. Do you do trade-ins?
Absolutely. We prefer to do trade-ins of our own brands. We also have a brokerage business which also does chartering. On the brokerage side, it’s an old brokerage firm that has been around since 1945. What we decided to do this year is to supplement the brokerage business with the charter business. If a client wants to charter a boat instead of owning one or if they’d like to get some experience with yachting, we make it possible. Also, a number
of our clients who own a boat, who might have their boat in the U.S or the Caribbean, and they want to have a boat in the Mediterranean for the summer, so we can help them find a boat just for the summer. Chartering is great; it generates additional income and keeps the crew fresh.
On a personal note, if you had to pick one boat, which boat would that be?
One of the nice things about my job is that I get to try a little bit of everything. I enjoy the different boats for what they do. I love going out on Riva 44 and 45 in Miami- it’s fantastic. I enjoy the performance and the handling of them. However the boat I tend to introduce everybody to is the 800 Ferretti because it is one of the best representations of what we do