Genesis
Zodiac Nautic was founded in 1896 through the French airship and aviation company Zodiac, which specialized in the production of airships. Pierre Debroutelle, one of the Group's engineers, invented the inflatable boat in the 1930s. Initially designed for the naval aviation industry - which was looking for easy and innovative boats for military transport - inflatable boats were opened up to pleasure boating in the 1960s. The boat then became popular and also accompanied many explorers, such as Jacques Cousteau.
Buyback and recovery
In a difficult time, Zodiac Nautic was acquired in July 2015 by three entrepreneurs, including the current CEO, Dominique Heber-Suffrin. The Group Zodiac Nautic has 4 brands:
- Zodiac the most important brand of the group, generalist and universal
- Bombard the simple, reliable and economical brand
- Avon Marine the premium brand dedicated to large yachts (yacht tenders) that uses electric propulsion
- Aka Marine the professional and military boat brand.
Since its takeover in July 2015, Zodiac has carried out a major overhaul of its flagship Pro (à la carte RIBs) and Open (Swiss Army RIBs) ranges, an operation "successful" for the French RIB brand, as explained by its CEO, Dominique Heber-Suffrin.
"Since the takeover, we have revisited the fundamentals (production, marketing...) by modernizing and launching new models. It was a big risk to take since the Pro and Open brands were known all over the world. We have returned to a break-even point, which had not been the case for 11 years he adds.
Focus on Zodiac Nautic Group brands
Bombard is the low cost brand of the group, a bit like Skoda in the car world. Here the objective is the quality/price ratio. " It's a fine, efficient, quality brand with robust, simple, economical boats. It protects the Zodiac brand, which offers more qualitative and enriched boats explains the Zodiac CEO. Bombard is distributed worldwide, even in Australia.
Avon uses jet propulsion and electric motorization. "The brand is coming back for a more environmental approach and has actually launched a full electric annex Avon Ejet . We have signed a partnership with the yachting brand San Lorenzo and we are optimistic about the revival of this brand. Avon was among the first to innovate with jet propulsion and lost its technology in 20 years, overtaken in the market by Williams Jet Tender. The brand is reclaiming its place, but with an electric distinction. It's a technology that we'll be using on Zodiac," he adds Dominique Heber-Suffrin.
With this "prestige" brand, the group is targeting superyacht owners who like "toys" and are looking for a "clean" product, allowing them to go to areas that are inaccessible by yacht.
Aka Marine is intended for the professional and military market. These products are dedicated to security, border security, etc. The range consists of flexible boats and semi-rigid boats. "It's a new brand for a B to B market, with a new team, especially in the United States with sales people, a marketing manager... We're tackling an important market" develops the president of Zodiac.
Zodiac Nautic is the universal brand of the group with a range of boats for pleasure and professional use. "Since the buyout, we've been trying to make the link between the past, the present and the future. We can't change the brand's positioning and the company's DNA overnight. We don't want to brutalize the market. So we renewed the range and launched new models, notably with the Open 7, which allowed us to position ourselves on very marine and sporty products, to attract new consumers."
The production
Today, the Zodiac Nautic Group is present in 90 countries, through a network of 1600 sales and service outlets. The group employs 400 people worldwide, but mainly in France.
- Ayguevives: group headquarters, production and logistics. It is here, near Toulouse, that the inflatable boat production plant is located
- Pessac: R&D, after-sales service. The research center near Bordeaux has 3 engineers - compared to 15 at the time - and has received numerous investments over the past 3 years.
- Sèvres : EMEA sales department, marketing
- Summerville, South Carolina (US) with a factory and a sales and marketing department
- Enfidha, Tunisia: PVC RIB production plant
- Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: APAC Sales Department. The market is booming and needs to be developed.
