Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/306360
LAUNCH www.BoatingIndustry.com May 2014 | Boating Industry | 9 HOT SPOTS Little Rock, AR 0.9% Detroit, MI 30.9% Knoxville, TN 14.4% Birmingham, AL 5.3% Atlanta, GA 15.2% Charlotte-Gastonia, NC 5.0% Houston leads the country in pontoon sales growth for 2013, while Detroit ski boat sales more than doubled year over year. High-end ski, pontoon boats posting strong growth The combination of pontoons and ski boats in the 23- to 30-foot range naturally skews to- ward higher-end products, and their combined growth rates are very significant in many areas of the country, according to Tom Walworth of Statistical Surveys. Collectively, looking at 100 percent of reporting markets for 2013, we see the top wealthy markets for both boat categories. Houston leads the pack with a combined growth rate of 52.2 percent. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., was not far behind at 40.4 percent growth for both categories. Houston, TX 52.2% INDUSTRY NEWS Continued on page 10 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 8.6% Springfield, MO 17.0% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 40.4% Photos courtesy of Discover Boating BRUNSWICK PARTNERS UP WITH BOATBOUND Brunswick Corporation announced the launch of a strategic partnership with San Francisco-based Boatbound, the leader in the peer-to-peer boat rental market space. The peer-to-peer model creates a new way to connect potential renters with owners willing to rent their assets. This Brunswick and Boatbound partnership is based on the idea that the peer-to-peer boat renting encourages boating participation and trial, while at the same time allowing boat owners to offset some of their ownership costs. This partnership with Boatbound offers Brunswick a way to monitor and observe developing trends in the consumer boating market. It also provides Brunswick's dealers, through the Brunswick Dealer Advantage dealer ser- vices program, potential income from renting boat inventory and access to an emerging segment of boating consumers. "The long-term health of our industry requires us to make boating even more accessible and affordable, especially among younger, aspiring boaters," said Brunswick Chairman and CEO Dustan McCoy. "Boatbound offers an innovative way to provide those interested in boating with actual boating experiences, which we believe will translate to boat ownership down the road. Additionally, Boatbound's business model provides rental income op- portunities to current boat owners who also gain access to boat rentals when away from home." FREEDOM BOAT CLUB ALLIES WITH BAJA MARINE Baja Marine, manufacturer of the Baja, Pro-Line, Donzi and Fountain performance powerboat brands, has entered into a long-term alliance with Freedom Boat Club, to provide Pro-Line and Baja boats to the club's nationwide network of operations. "This is a great boating alternative that we are very pleased to support," said Baja Marine's CEO, Johnny Walker. "We look forward to having Freedom Boat Club members use our products and enjoy boating in them all over the country. In today's environment it takes creative, out-of-the-box thinking to get 8,000 boaters on the water. This is a program that we can get behind." BOSTON WHALER ANNOUNCES PLANT EXPANSION Boston Whaler has announced a major facilities expansion project underway at its Edgewater, Fla., headquarters. With an under-roof addition of more than 58,000 total square feet, P08x10-BI14MAY-Launch.indd 9 4/17/14 10:21 AM