guess Reggie is flying coach now
Huh?
Gold Member
07-24-2009, 11:24 PM
#35
Correspondent
Correspondent
T2X,
Damn, I forgot about Formula. I have nothing but respect for Formula products and admiration for the Porters, whom I consider friends. However, in terms of production go-fast boat sales, Fountain has had the edge over Formula in recent years. On the other hand, Formula has been in business and thrived a lot longer.
There is at least one interesting parallel between the two companies. Formula wisely diversified with its Sun Sport and Super Sport lines. Fountain wisely diversified with its center console lines. Without those model line additions, both companies likely would be facing tougher times than they are now, as are all high-performance production builders.
You’ll notice I keep using the words “production boat,” and that’s because I want to compare apples to apples. In the early stages of this recession, custom builders, at least by their own reports, were largely unaffected. That has most definitely changed. The bigger names will survive. As for the rest, it’s going to be tough.
What you might well see, with the impending death of the floor-planning business model, are production boat builders adopting a custom boat model. That means they won’t start building your boat until you pay for it, or at least pay a substantial portion of it. But that changes everything, from the way you staff factories to the way you stock showrooms.
You may also see regional boat builders playing a bigger role in the production-boat market. Just a guess—but an educated one.
Here’s an old Chinese curse: May you live interesting times.
We definitely live in interesting times.
Damn, I forgot about Formula. I have nothing but respect for Formula products and admiration for the Porters, whom I consider friends. However, in terms of production go-fast boat sales, Fountain has had the edge over Formula in recent years. On the other hand, Formula has been in business and thrived a lot longer.
There is at least one interesting parallel between the two companies. Formula wisely diversified with its Sun Sport and Super Sport lines. Fountain wisely diversified with its center console lines. Without those model line additions, both companies likely would be facing tougher times than they are now, as are all high-performance production builders.
You’ll notice I keep using the words “production boat,” and that’s because I want to compare apples to apples. In the early stages of this recession, custom builders, at least by their own reports, were largely unaffected. That has most definitely changed. The bigger names will survive. As for the rest, it’s going to be tough.
What you might well see, with the impending death of the floor-planning business model, are production boat builders adopting a custom boat model. That means they won’t start building your boat until you pay for it, or at least pay a substantial portion of it. But that changes everything, from the way you staff factories to the way you stock showrooms.
You may also see regional boat builders playing a bigger role in the production-boat market. Just a guess—but an educated one.
Here’s an old Chinese curse: May you live interesting times.
We definitely live in interesting times.
07-25-2009, 10:00 AM
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07-26-2009, 02:11 PM
#40
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