Boating Industry

December 2015

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TOP 100 www.BoatingIndustry.com December 2015 | Boating Industry | 43 which serves its business interests, but for the community as a whole. The dealership has an acute understanding that what hap- pens in the community affects the business, and the reverse allows the dealership to have a positive impact on the community in which it lives. "What sets Sail & Ski apart from its com- petition is our relentless pursuit of excellence in every piece and part of our business," said Malone. "We are smarter and we work harder than our competition and that com- bination is hard to beat." The dealership also participates in dealer councils and 20 groups and several marine industry associations, where the company shares its best practices. One of the most significant groups in which The Sail & Ski Center is involved is the Sea Ray Perfor- mance Group, of which the dealership has been a member since the group's inception. The group is primarily made of multi-loca- tion Sea Ray dealerships. "The meetings are generally attended by dealership principals and corporate control- lers and tend to focus on consolidated op- erations and issues. The meetings include rotating site visits to member's facilities during which the combined experience of each of the dealers can result in a valuable critique of the dealership operations, pro- cesses as well as facilities," said Malone. "Each meeting will generally have a specific theme such as Sales, Service or F&I and the respective department managers from the member dealerships are invited to also at- tend those meetings. " Malone has served in a variety of leader- ship roles as a member of the various dealer groups in which The Sail & Ski Center has participated throughout the years, as have other members of the staff, with roles rang- ing from board member to president of the association. Malone was a multi-term mem- ber of the board of directors of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, last serving in 2013 as a board member and a member of the executive committee. The dealership is also a Retail Premium Member of MRAA. "As early as 2010 we realized that continuation of the persistent Texas drought and the softness in demand from the aspirational boater would change what our new boat portfolio structure should be in the future." — Rod Malone, Sail & Ski president

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