Sea Ray of Knoxville closing

I hate to see a plant close. Hate to see the craftsmen who work there go through this. I say craftsmen based on the fact my boat was built there and I have experienced the quality of their work first hand.

On the other hand, if this makes Sea Ray more viable and ensures a strong future then sometimes these things are part of the evolution of a company.
 
FootballFan said:
I hate to see a plant close. Hate to see the craftsmen who work there go through this. I say craftsmen based on the fact my boat was built there and I have experienced the quality of their work first hand.

On the other hand, if this makes Sea Ray more viable and ensures a strong future then sometimes these things are part of the evolution of a company.
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This is the Sea Ray dealer in Knoxville that is closing. The closing of the Sea Ray factory in Knoxville happened awhile back.
 
In this economy anything closing is no surprise.
 
I'll point out the obvious...to me anyway.

Maybe Sea Ray should have been focusing on domestic sales, rather than trying to compete with the "European" market. Seems to me alot of people are not in line with the newer styles, therefore sales of new boats are down?
I'm totally speaking out of my behind, and the situation maybe completely different than my perceived thoughts.

I would think, a midsized cruiser (28ft-36ft), that was priced such that middle income folks could afford to trade up to would be inline. Maybe not be appointed so luxuriously, skip on some of the bling bling that's not conducive to "real boating". I would think a business model that captures and or retains the loyal customer base, that earned them the market share they enjoy presently would be a good one.
Sea Ray in the past always had the next 2ft bigger boat to trade up to. That's how they have remained strong with customer loyalty. No longer, we have been traded in for the jet set young executive types. Looks like it's not going so good to be having to close down dealerships this late in the game. To the untrained eye it looks like Sea Ray has still not figured out where in the "new boating" arena they fit, and are still making bad decisions.

This is my opinion so if you want to flame the crap out of me, go ahead. If I'm wrong, and I probably am, convince me different.
I have been out there speaking to different manafacturers lately, some see it like me, while most don't. Some have thrown in the towel in the mid size cruiser segment saying it's dead for now. Well, if they don't build a boat we middle income folks can afford, how can we go out and buy one!

Sorry to hear the Tenn. dealership is closing........................
 
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There are so many used boats available from the boom years of late 90s to mid/late 00s. And the styling and construction in those years was superb. And many have low hours because there were a lot of impulse purchases then. So it doesn't matter what Sea Ray is trying to built/sell now. Until that used market dries up, they are swimming upstream trying to sell new to anyone but the filthy rich. That's my unqualified 2 cents.
 
I just viewed the new (replacement) dealership's video introduction, on their website. I'm not from Knoxville, so I think it would be interesting to get some local insight; but, they were founded in 1987, and are family owned and run. The message I took away from the video is they are very customer friendly, and "get" the importance of being there to support boaters, to keep them on the water.

http://americanboatcenter.com/index.html
 
islandhopper00 said:
Maybe Sea Ray should have been focusing on domestic sales, rather than trying to compete with the "European" market. Seems to me alot of people are not in line with the newer styles, therefore sales of new boats are down?
I'm totally speaking out of my behind, and the situation maybe completely different than my perceived thoughts.

I would think, a midsized cruiser (28ft-36ft), that was priced such that middle income folks could afford to trade up to would be inline. Maybe not be appointed so luxuriously, skip on some of the bling bling that's not conducive to "real boating". I would think a business model that captures and or retains the loyal customer base, that earned them the market share they enjoy presently would be a good one.
Sea Ray in the past always had the next 2ft bigger boat to trade up to. That's how they have remained strong with customer loyalty. No longer, we have been traded in for the jet set young executive types. Looks like it's not going so good to be having to close down dealerships this late in the game. To the untrained eye it looks like Sea Ray has still not figured out where in the "new boating" arena they fit, and are still making bad decisions.
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From what I have heard the 28-36ft cruiser market is not doing much these days. I think the new boats that are moving are in the mid-high 40s range and up. If you look at yachts in that range, many of what they are competing with are "European" brands or otherwise, non US. In my opinion this is what is driving the styling at Sea Ray and it appears to be trickling down to the mid size cruisers. I am pretty sure that NEW mid size cruisers tend to fall more in to the high income class than in the middle class these days. I don't see many middle class folks being able to fit a 200-300 thousand dollar new boat in to the budget. I guess what I am trying to say is it sounds like with this economy, the wealthier folks are spending money but what they want is going to be larger than a mid-size cruiser so I suspect that area is not receiving such intense focus. We have seen Sea Ray launch several new boats recently at 50+ feet.

I am not a big fan of the "euro-styling" either but I also don't' dislike it as much as a lot of others here. I have to think that whatever they are doing is reflected by tons of market research and not blindly done hoping for positive results. Boating has definitely changed for the middle class. Until the economy really turns around, I don't see that improving.
 
jason78 said:
I am pretty sure that NEW mid size cruisers tend to fall more in to the high income class than in the middle class these days. I don't see many middle class folks being able to fit a 200-300 thousand dollar new boat in to the budget.

Actually Jason, this is what I'm saying also. Looks like to me 80k to 130k doesn't buy you anything. I don't understand why. Pro Line built a stripped down version of their bayboats with less technology and better price point, and they sold the heck out of them. I'm not saying compromise the intergrity of the brand but why not build what the people want and can afford? OR at least design the Bayliner branded boats to appeal to the middle class american market! They seem to be going Euorpean also. However, I'd trade my Sea Ray in for a Bayliner "American styled" no frills 28-30ft cruiser. I don't have a problem with Bayliner.
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Is it possible that Sea Ray/Brunswick recognizes or considers the used sport cruiser market to be saturated & therefore has shifted, albeit temporarily, its focus to the larger boats? The above posts may be correct in stating some price points. No, $80k wont buy much of a new boat compared to what it will but you on the used market. And Yes, $300k will get you a new 33' Sundancer. But that does not address the perceived shift in Sea Ray's target.

Perhaps the entire market both design and pricing, is driven by the "New" vs. "Used" argument rather than initial cost alone. That is to say that the guy buying a new boat pretty much knows what boat he wants. Whereas the guy buying a used boat knows how much he can spend. And least we forget.... A rich guy doesn't usually like what the average guy can afford.
 
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