With six dealers currently in its network, Cigarette Racing Team is moving away from factory-direct sales, https://www.speedonthewater.com/ciga...ealer-network/

This should be fun to read the responses, I will say Matt I missed the typical smug picture of the famed CEO, and didn't see one 'I" in the write up.

But is he still a billionaire tho?

I can understand the reasoning behind the move.....the company i work for does not sell direct either...only through distributors. But you will ALWAYS get end users calling and asking questions either way. It wont be good customer service to turn them away and tell them to go ask a distributor. And when the customer service at the distributor level is lacking then they go straight to you with the frustration anyway.
I field calls all day long here from customers. The most common thing i hear is how happy they are to actually get to TALK to someone from the factory for any help....we have an automated system here as well but the owners still want every call answered by a person instead of some recording telling you to "press one for English"

The question is will the factory support this network outside of new sales, meaning replacement parts. If it wasn't for Lipship I would have never got the proper paint or upolstery codes. The factory wouldn't give me the time of day before this new group and I don't thing it likely it will change given I have placed calls recently. I have no intent on buying a Cig Manbag for $500 and cannot affort a new GTS,

They should, because if you call Cig direct with the simplest question they tell you to "Ask your local dealer" like its a Chevy

The second I read your comment I thought that is the exact reply that comes from a price point Bayliner, Sea Ray or pontoon boat co....I would be worried if I was buying a current Cig boat... half the confidence that Braver, McManus, Cosker, Scism and the Late Mike Fiore created was that they are/were available and represented their company's at every point

I don't think the kid wants his Tic Tok dance duck lips videos interrupted.

Once upon a time it was nice to meet and shake hands with the company owner when you picked up your new boat. Obviously times have changed but everything with this company now seems so impersonal.

“We are phasing out sales,” Ruiz explained during a telephone interview yesterday evening..............there I fixed it for you Matt!

With Skip and Bud gone, what could they possibly do for a client who calls or visits? My gut feeling is people would think the place is a clusterfvck and never order a boat anyway! 22 yr old is showing off the $100 swag, telling buyers his dad is a billionaire yet doesn't know a trim tab from a propeller! Imagine a long time Cig buyer asking about the hull or what improvements the new model has over his 5 yr old current Cig! They would stutter all over themselves trying to come up with an answer.

So after terminating their biggest dealership they are moving to an all dealer network................go luck with that plan. Rising interest rates and no consumer confidence is going to be tough on sales anyway but I can't see 6 dealers quadrupling their sales.