Owner of the RM sailing yard for 15 years between 2002 and 2017, through Fora Marine, a subsidiary of his Fora group, Martin Lepoutre is back in the company from La Rochelle. He will exercise the general management, without returning to the capital. He explains to us the context of his return and the objectives that have been set for him.
What circumstances led to your return to RM Yachts?
I had known Stéphan Constance and Xavier Desmarest, the managers of the Grand Large Yachting group, for a very long time. The Managing Director of RM, Luca Tessitore, told them that he wanted to stop for personal reasons. They then came to see me. I asked myself if the challenge was playable and if I wanted to. I had a lot of reason to say yes and no. I had a lot of reason to say yes and no. I was very happy to be here. I knew Stéphan and Xavier, who are talented people. The Grand Large group is doing well. RM is a company that I know well and I almost felt a moral duty. On the no side, as Renaud would say, for the past four years, "I've been quiet, I've been a pain in the ass" and I know it won't be easy. I also have a lot of other activities and I've had to make trade-offs.
What is your roadmap set by Grand Large?
You don't change your focus because you change your general manager. It's to relaunch the site, to get back to a level comparable to when I sold the site. There has already been a lot of progress in one year. I need to bring an additional dynamic to give myself the means to reach the objectives.
What's different from when you owned it?
Industrially speaking, it's very different, even much better. They've done the job I hadn't done, such as implementing an ERP, a more advanced quality control and continuous improvement procedure, a precise supply management system. I'm more of a concept, marketing and communication man. They have progressed where I was not good. It's up to me to contribute my skills. I'm going to relaunch the new models and products business. At the time, we were bringing out almost 1 new boat a year. It's in the DNA of the brand. I was inspired by haute couture where you have to surprise and seduce every year.
What difference does it make to you to be an employee and not an owner? How much freedom do you have from the Grand Large Yachting Group?
Of course, I'm not going to decide on my own whether to launch a new 65-foot boat at the next boat show. It's very different and I have to integrate it into my way of working. But it's also very interesting to be able to rub ideas with other very intelligent people.
