Boat show bust

[Rz22013]

Well the boat show was a bust! They only had 3 Tiges and 1 ATX. Luckily we bought one from out of state. The other dealers had tons of boats so not sure why but our local tige dealer seems to be slipping over the years. They should lift the territory restrictions!

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[chpthril]

Our summer show last Aug was canceled due to most dealers not having inventory. It was a combo of low supply and high demand. We were prepared to be there as a vender, but would have had to tell most everyone "we would love to build you a system, but we may have delays in getting parts".

Our spring show is in 10 days. Most dealers will be there but 4-5 will not. Word is, lack of inventory. There was a thread on another forum, where it was noted that other shows are canceled or boat dealers are are not coming due to low or no inventory.

[bsreid]

No shows up here in Canada. Mix of government restrictions, limited boats left to sell and not worth the costs. Dealers have also started to realize they can sell just as many boats at a show with less boats actually on the show floor.

[chpthril]

Ditching boat shows because demand is strong, is a double edge sward that I have been running my thumb down. Its great when customers are seeking you out, why spend the money on show floor space? However, for every dealer thats does not reserve the space, the promotors will either recruit a new dealer, talk committed dealers into taking more floor space, or reduce the show size so they dont have that floor space to sell.

When things cool off and traffic settles down, you start thinking about getting back into doing shows. Guess what! Someone took your space and you go on a waiting list, or the promotor contracted for a smaller hall, and there is no floor space for you this time.

Personally for me, I will continue to do shows for the foreseeable future. I see dozens of past customers every year at the boat show. last thing I want, is for them to buy a new boat and stop into the "other guys" booth, because im not there to remind them we are still around. Just my $.02.

[bsreid]

I think it comes down to region and industry specific. For your case being an audio/ballast shop, I agree that being there is crucial as there will always be someone else to take your place. Seeing customers is huge, I've run into people in the industry who I would only see at the shows and otherwise might have forgotten about.

Where it becomes a little different is for the big boys in the industry. You want a Mastercraft, Centurion, Nautique, Supra? You have one dealer option for each in all of western Canada, so not as if someone else is going to move in and take their place. Or for someone who wants to browse and see all of the models, my Tige, MC, Nautique, Centurion, and Supra dealer are all within a 5 minute drive and they will have way more inventory than a show. So yes it definitely is a double edged sword.

[Rz22013]

I'm curious as to why there was plenty of moombas, Supras, air Nautiques ,etc. I was disappointed in our dealer cause I wouldn't purchase 150k boat just looking at pictures of it. I've purchased 2 boats from the show in the past and had I been looking this time tige would have lost a sale. I wouldn't go to a Ford dealer and buy an F150 if they only had a Escape on display. I would go to another dealer that had one.

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