Boating Industry

May 2016

Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/671713

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 16 of 51

May 2016 | Boating Industry | 17 www.BoatingIndustry.com Boating Industry: Who should dealers talk to if they have questions or concerns? VAN WAGONER: Customers will continue to work with the same teams as they did before. Every dealer in our portfolio is assigned both an account manager and a commercial representa- tive, and most dealers take advantage of those relationships. Our goal is to help our customers make better decisions for their business every day by using more timely business intelligence, which can make a difference. Boating Industry: Are there other services that CDF will be able to offer now as part of Wells Fargo? VAN WAGONER: As the new CDF, we look forward to enhancing our existing capabilities by offering customers faster service and expanded resources, backed by Wells Fargo's strength and stability. We will continue to work closely with our customers as we look to develop our new of- ferings based on our customers' needs. Our Dealer Council, along with many of our customers, are interested to learn more about banking services, retail fi nancing and real estate lending. We are evaluating all possibilities, however want to make sure that any new service we provide is at the same level customers have come to expect from our current services. More details to come soon. Boating Industry: What are some of the benefi ts Wells Fargo will bring to the table? VAN WAGONER: Wells Fargo brings a deep understanding and knowledge of the fi nancial services market, which will allow us to serve our customers in both good and challenging times. We remain committed to providing our customers with the same customer-focused ap- proach to help keep the marine industry strong and accelerate product growth across the globe. We (CDF) have much to learn about all of the product capabilities of Wells Fargo and we look forward to bringing the best to our customers. It's very important that we bring these products in a very thoughtful, helpful manner. Boating Industry: Under GE, CDF was very involved in educating and supporting the marine market. Any reason to expect that to change with Wells Fargo? VAN WAGONER: Our customers will benefi t from Wells Fargo and our combined expertise, commitment to customer service excellence, broad product capabilities, services, strength and stability. We will continue to share our industry insight and business intelligence to help our cus- tomers better manage the health of the distribu- tion network. We will continue to be engaged in our manufacturers' dealer meetings, industry boat shows, trade show events, and anticipate our on- going support of the Top 100 (which we have from day one), which brings best practices to the industry. We're excited about the opportunity to join Wells Fargo with even more tools to help the industry and our customers continue to prosper. Boating Industry: Moving away from the transaction, what are you seeing and hearing from dealers about the health of the boating industry so far this year? VAN WAGONER: From a CDF business per- spective: Fiscal 2015 volume was up double dig- its over 2014 and our inventory turn was up to 2.31 times, a market best. In fact, we are a little concerned with some product shortages in some categories as peak inventory levels hit at the end of February versus at the end March. Essentially, the 2016 selling season started 30 days earlier this year than normal due to strong winter boat shows and improved weather in the northern half of the U.S. Portfolio aging (inventory over 360 days) continues to be excellent and was at 12 percent at year end 2015 vs. 13 percent in 2014. This is a very healthy situation for the industry. Accord- ing to CDF Marine portfolio data, days of inven- tory is currently at its lowest level in the past six years. This is nearly six weeks less than where our portfolio stood back in 2010. One of our goals is to keep our custom- ers well informed on market trends so they can make the best decisions for their business. Therefore we expect our dealer and manufac- turer customers to monitor their performance in every category to keep their dealerships and dis- tribution network healthy. In a review of dealer fi nancial statements, the trends are also positive with median dealer revenue up, dealer EBITDA improved to 3.78 percent, reported turn to 2.11 percent, and operating expenses remaining fl at. Across the industry, our projections continue to show growth in 2016. We will continue to up- date our model quarterly to inform customers. "Our customers will benefit from Wells Fargo and our combined expertise, commitment to customer service excellence, broad product capabilities, services, strength and stability." 12% » Portfolio aging at end of 2015 3.78% » Average CDF dealer EBITDA 2.31 » Average CDF dealer turn

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Boating Industry - May 2016