Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/459238
MARKET FOCUS SECTION { BOAT CLUBS } January 2015 | Boating Industry | 41 www.BoatingIndustry.com a larger operation or strike out on their own, there are a whole host of things to think about. It's best to think of a boat club as a brand new business, so dealers should get down to the basics: location, demographics and profits. "Places that boating clubs work, in my opinion, are destinations," said Holcomb, not- ing that the Destin area is a popular spot for fishing, cruising and watersports. "It really depends how many folks they have walking through the door." Giglio said aging boaters are a great poten- tial demographic for any boat club. "Almost the final stop is a boat club," said Giglio. "At some point the physical demands of actual boat ownership are difficult for a lot of people. They don't want to give up boat- ing, but they just can't handle traditional boat ownership anymore." He said their franchises in Florida are al- ready reaping the benefits of that population. "Being on the west coast of Florida, we have a huge retirement population here. It's everything they want in boating, without the stress of having to own and operate a boat themselves," said Giglio. Giglio says that while destination locations are certainly a big help, a great club also re- quires a great operator behind the scenes. "It's funny, you tell someone about what we do and they say, 'Wow, that's brilliant, it sells it- self!' Well, as it turns out, it doesn't!" said Giglio. "We've had a lot of different owners and operators go through the system. The business owners running the operation on a day-to-day basis, they are the most successful," said Giglio. As far as financials go, there are many Club members and their friends unwind at a club party. PHOTO COURTESY OF FREEDOM BOAT CLUB