You already have a great experience in the nautical industry. Can you tell us about your career before joining Vidal Diffusion Marine (VDM)?
I have made my entire career in boating equipment. I joined Discount Marine in 1996, a specialist in the sale of marine electronics on the Internet. From the after-sales service, I progressed to take the responsibility of the store, gaining experience both technical and commercial. Present at the time of the takeover in 2001 by Seamply, I could see the problems encountered if one neglects the specificities of the nautical market. We finally set up Discount Marine with a colleague. After 7 years, I joined Bigship, where I was able to set up the purchasing department and work in tandem with the sales department. As I was looking for a new playground, the opportunity to join Vidal Diffusion Marine came up and I took it.
You are joining Vidal Diffusion Marine - Reya, as Marketing Director. What is the scope of your duties? What team do you rely on?
My function as marketing director for the Vidal Diffusion Marine and Reya catalogs could also be called product offer management. As I supervise all the product managers, my competence extends to the technical catalogs of these companies.
Your appointment is part of a reorganization of Vidal Diffusion Marine - Reya. Can you explain to us what its objectives are ?
Indeed, Vidal Diffusion Marine and Reya are part of the same group and share the same premises in La Garde. It is therefore logical to share the work. A new sales manager has just joined the team in parallel with my appointment.
My job is to make sure, by focusing on the technical aspect, that we offer the right products to all our customers and to promote them.
What projects are you implementing to achieve these objectives?
We want to reinforce the clarity and complementarity of our catalogs, relying on the technical expertise of our product managers:
- With a generalist catalog and a wide range of mechanical equipment, VDM is aimed at construction sites, stores and mechanics.
- For Water is our safety equipment brand. It meets the needs of retailers and all those involved in the boating industry, from sailing clubs to passenger boats, including rental fleet managers.
- The REYA catalog is historically the specialist in electricity, it covers the needs of comfort equipment on board. It meets the needs of builders and repairers of pleasure boats and yachts.
- Euromarine benefits from a new dynamic with the redesign of its graphic identity and product packaging in 4 languages for a better information of the customer on a range of products that is growing.
- Finally, a catalog dedicated to paint and maintenance is distributed to professional applicators.
In total, thanks to a new clear segmentation, our 2,000 pages of catalog respond, in a technical and targeted way, to the needs of all the actors of the boating industry.
An overhaul of the websites will allow us to provide a digital tool that meets the needs of our professional customers, in addition to our high-performance logistics service that allows for deliveries within 13 hours. The entire customer back office will be improved, in order to offer better customer service.
What are the relationships with the other Alliance Marine brands?
This is healthy competition. We are complementary in some markets. When we have competing offers, it is to the benefit of the customer.
Your market is essentially French. Do you have ambitions outside France?
VDM and Reya already have some sales abroad. Our clientele on the Côte d'Azur is already international and our products must satisfy many different flags. Even if the share of foreign clients is very limited today, it seems obvious to me that a structure with a turnover of 30 million euros will have to confront neighboring markets in the future, particularly in Europe. The work in progress on the offer can only help in this respect.
