Managing Director of Technique Voile since November 2020 alongside its president and owner Frédéric Duthil, Harold Baseden answers questions from BoatIndustry.
How did you get to the general management of Technique Voile?
I've been sailing my whole life. Cruising, then racing. I worked for 17 years at L'Oréal in commercial marketing positions and then as General Manager of business units in the Netherlands, Russia and then in Paris for the whole of Eastern Europe. I then went on a round-the-world trip for a year, not entirely by boat, but I sailed during that time, first in Polynesia and then with my boat between France and the Azores. I then tried the experience of the start-up in cosmetics for 2 years. I got tired of spending a lot of energy for a product I didn't like that much. I wanted to move to Brittany for personal reasons. When I talked about it with friends in Lorient, Benoit Hantzperg, who I used to come across every year at the Tour du Finistère as a competitor, became a friend and who works at Technique Voile, told me that Fred Duthil was looking for a general manager to support him. He offered to meet him. We agreed in March 2020. With the containment, it was put on standby to see how things develop. We restarted the process in July when we saw that it was going well. What works well in our association is our common passion for sailing, with complementary skills. Fred was more looking for operational management skills than a sailing technician.
How was the year 2020 for Technique Voile?
We've had a very good end to 2020 and 2021 is off to a good start. Technique Voile makes between 3.5 and 4 Meuros of annual turnover and around 2500 sails per year. Regatta sails for professionals and amateurs, in IRC, Mini, Figaro or Class40 represent a large third. The aftermarket for yachtsmen and original equipment manufacturers also each make up about a third. The biggest drop in 2020 concerns the original equipment, by around 20%, but this has been almost compensated for by the regatta, where I think we have gained market share, thanks in particular to the presence of Fred on the pontoons. We've made a breakthrough in Figaro and Class40. We have 5 complete sets of sails for new Class40s in 2021.
What are the future directions in 2021?
It's a good start for construction sites because we're lucky that the units we equip work well commercially. We want to be more active in the aftermarket, with communication actions on social networks. We have a good database of 15,000 customer contacts to exploit. Our vocation is that of a generalist sailmaker. We want to remain general public. For all that, the regatta goes beyond business. It allows us to give an image of a top-of-the-range, high-performance sailmaker and to have great stories to tell in the media. We're going to continue on this trajectory of brand development.
Are there any projects around the sailmaker's distribution network?
The boatyards and the regatta are done live with Technique Voile. For the aftermarket, we have 3 types of distribution. The direct sale, which represents 1/3, with 300 to 400 sails per year. The service points, about fifteen partners in France, equipped with a floor for repairs and with the software Technique Voile to make their quotes. And business partners, yachting merchants who simply put you in touch with each other. Today, we are not necessarily going to have more service points. The objective is to enhance the value of the network to bring more value to the offer of Technique Voile. This involves the quality of advice and service, by working with the network on training, the tools to offer the best sail to the client, and the promotion of the brand.
Is there any hiring in sight?
There are 25 of us today. We've already recruited 3 people on the floor and 1 salesman since my arrival. We'll see what the 2021 orders will be for hiring maybe again.
