Why did you give up the sale of Sea Ray?
We did not have any interesting offers for the entire brand, which offers boats from 20 to 65 feet. While our boats over 40 feet are not performing as well as we had hoped, boats up to 40 feet are our core business and are selling well. This segment represents a significant market and we have decided to refocus on it. All Brunswick products are in line with Mercury's global strategy, and the same goes for Sea Ray, which will evolve to create more synergy between the two brands.
What is your new strategy?
We keep the same, but we reorient our interests. Sea Ray's DNA is 24 to 40 foot boats, technological and of high quality. The sport cruiser market is growing rapidly and we are going to refocus on this know-how, building in particular in European shipyards to gain market share in Europe.
The small and medium-sized boats are profitable, but not the large ones, so we decided to stop the production of the latter.
In the image of boaters, Sea Ray is an American shipyard. With the implementation of tariffs on pleasure boats from the United States, the brand has not suffered?
We can't control that, yet our boats are built in Poland and are therefore not impacted by this tax. Our boats are American, but built in Europe to be adapted to the French market. The idea is to localize the product to adapt it to the market.
A large French group has been inspired by the Sea Ray design for its next boats. What do you think about it?
Copying is the best kind of flattery. We'll continue to innovate to offer boats that are out of the ordinary, like the Sundancer 290, which we launched in 2018, with its asymmetrical passageway to access the forward cockpit, while maintaining a nice cabin below deck. We're getting ready to launch a lot of new products, always staying one step ahead.
Didn't putting the site up for sale and then changing your mind impact the brand image?
We continue to sell our products on the American and European markets.
What is the ambition of Sea Ray?
In the beginning, Sea Ray was 24 to 40 foot boats and we want to return to this market. We will also benefit from a new strategy of the Brunswick Group. The latter is developing a polyester research center in Florida, which will be managed by the Boston Whaler brand. We are going to work in collaboration with Boston to position the Sea Ray brand on the same level as its colleague.
Mercury is also developing several new technologies and the Boston Whaler and Sea Ray brands will spearhead the introduction of these new products. The goal is to completely reposition Sea Ray.
