1/2 Marine Max sales af FLIBS fell thru!

[Pascal]

not a surprise but it really looks like the industry is in bad shape... also shows those optimistic monday morning show sales press releases are meaningless. And it's not going to get any better. Major banks have blacklisted dozens and dozens of condo buildings in Miami rejecting any load application for those properties or requiring 50%+ down...

http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/418613.html

"Clearwater's Marinemax, the largest recreational boat retailer in the country, is feeling the pain. The company said half the sales it made at October's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show later fell through."

"Many dealers have cut inventory to shave costs. Marinemax trimmed its boat purchases from manufacturers by 20 percent. It also cut its workforce by 10 percent.

The slackening demand has led some manufacturers to scale back production. Brunswick Corp. of Lake Forest, Ill. produced 20 percent fewer fiberglass boats last year than in 2006."

"Boat sales are expected to be flat or slightly down this year, said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, which runs the show. That follows a 14 percent drop in unit sales and a 9 percent decline in dollar volume last year."

[SeaEric]

A purge of the weaker players, in both manufacturing and sales, will be good for the boat industry. That goes for real estate and building trades also.

Think of this as a storm that blows through the anchorage and the Sea Rays sink, but the Hatts only get banged up and still stay afloat.

[MikeP]

Eric, we'd want all the Matthews' to survive as well!

[Genesis]

Yep.

Remember how I was saying that the "easy money" was disappearing, and was laughed at by some folks here (oh, and not just here either - elsewhere as well)

Weeeeeeelllllll.... who's laughing now?

[captddis]

potential Sea Ray buyers? I guess they did not read this forum.

[(Nobody You Know)]

Interestingly, when I visited the Holy Grail in New Bern, NC last June the guide who showed us around informed us that 2007 will conclude in slightly fewer sales, but a higher sales volume. Perhaps some inflation, but attributed mainly to the "global" demand for larger vessels - which Hatteras has been increasingly addressing.

Yaw feel better now?

Oh, when things do pick up - which they always do eventually - the value of YOUR boat will benefit, and perhaps significantly, which has happened in the past. Keep your chin up.

[krush]

"Big Boy"

Are you suggesting that CEO's etc always act with the interest of the stockholders as #1 priority?