A virtual boat electronics show
Like all the players in the yachting industry, the marine equipment manufacturers have had to find solutions to adapt to the health crisis and the cancellation of the boat shows in 2020 and 2021. Less visible than boatyards and their virtual boat shows, they are also adapting. In January, marine electronics specialist Pochon launched its WebTV, which it calls a virtual show. Technical videos detail the equipment in the company of representatives of the supplier brands, from radar to VHF and all the equipment on board. "In October, following the cancellation of the Nautic, we asked ourselves what to do to be visible during the event. On the dates when the Grand Pavois should have taken place, we had held open days with theme days with the equipment manufacturers. This had good local spin-offs. In Paris, we reach a wider audience, so we thought it was interesting to put means for good presentations online while being really visible. It also seems more interesting to us than waiting for someone behind the screen at a virtual trade show," says Julien Pochon, head of the company in La Rochelle.
An initiative supported by on-board electronics manufacturers
Boat shows are one of the key factors of visibility. The presence of distributors is sometimes imposed in distribution contracts by manufacturers. The whole sector is showing solidarity and the proposal of an alternative solution has won over Pochon's partners. "They were offered WebTV and the support was total, as it had been for the open doors. They provide equipment and sometimes technicians for the videos," explains Julien Pochon.
Reaching Boaters for Boats Leaving the Boatyard
The impact of the Covid-19 on Pochon's year 2020 mainly concerned BtoC points of sale and sales usually closed with boaters at boat shows. " The activity is approximately 50% in BtoC and 50% in BtoB. Our boatyard customers have full order books at the moment. We exchange upstream for resources and we therefore have visibility. The problem could be later. In BtoC, the points of sale were impacted during the 2nd containment. The difficulty is mainly for customers, especially international customers, who are usually seen at boat shows for the equipment of boats leaving the shipyard. We use zoom, but that's not all," concludes Pochon's manager.
