The Alliance Marine group, through its numerous entities, from Plastimo to VDM-Reya, through Accastillage Diffusion, SEIMI, or the recently acquired brand Jobe, is a French and European leader in the distribution and manufacturing of material and equipment for professional and pleasure boats. As it prepares the future evolution of its organization, Jean-Paul Roche, president of the company, and Jérémy Tedguy, general manager of finance and acquisition, answered BoatIndustry's questions in two voices.
Alliance Marine has signed a number of buyouts in recent months. What is the scope of growth for the group?
J-P Roche: When we made the decision in the fall of 2016 to become European, the challenge was very significant. It was felt that our global offer in France covered all the necessary scope. Today, in 2022, the challenge has been met. 50% of Alliance Marine's business is in France and 50% in the rest of Europe. We are present throughout Europe, in Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, Italy and with 4 entities in the United Kingdom, where the group has a turnover of 50 Meuros. Our second market, while the global turnover is 300 Meuros.
We are open to opportunities elsewhere, but our objective today remains European, although we have a site in the United States, with Revere in security, taken over with Typhoon.
What are the strategic balances between original equipment and aftermarket, between pleasure craft and professional marine?
J-P Roche: Since its creation in 1999, it has always been important to keep both pleasure and professional marine. The ratio has remained the same at about 70% yachting and 30% professional. This is also true within each country, and when you buy a company in one sector, you can see that you usually quickly complete in the other. This allows for better supplier representation in all markets. There is the advantage that speaks to the financiers of limiting seasonality, but also a technical advantage. The demands of the professional marine industry force us to constantly update our technical knowledge. This can be seen in our recruitments, whose technical levels are regularly increasing.
J Tedguy: Alliance Marine has always been very exposed to the aftermarket, more than to the original equipment. The OEM is interesting for its level of requirement, but in the event of a crisis, the rebound is very strong. The ratio is about 85% aftermarket to 15% original equipment.
J-P Roche: The retail market is very different in different countries. There are almost no ships left in Germany. They are small and numerous in Italy, and in the UK, there are a few small groups. This could be interesting to establish Accastillage Diffusion through acquisitions.
What about manufacturing versus distribution?
J Tedguy: Our business is primarily distribution, which accounts for 75%. But we realized that our proprietary product offering was not very visible. That's why we decided to produce a single catalog for export promotion. Apart from Safety, we have few leading brands. This allows us to be a complement and not a competitor to the leading brands that we distribute. We will thus organize and structure this offer.
But we also have strong brands like Plastimo. Jobe, which we have also just acquired. The brand has exploded in 4 to 5 years, employs 70 people with an average age of 24. We are on the "Premium Family".
How do you see the sector evolving in 5 years?
J Tedguy: There is a strong trend in the digital transition. Artificial intelligence is changing habits. We are investing 10 Meuros per year over the next 3 years, with 13 new hires. With the ability to buy easily for the boater and the multiplicity of contact points, we need to have structured and organized data. We have invested in a common ERP, Microsoft Dynamics, for the group, which will follow us and accompany us for 10-15 years. It is also important to have the technical skills in-house to train the operators in the different areas.
There has also been a strong consolidation of upstream and downstream players. Upstream, with groups like Navico Group, Lippert, Partick Industries and Dometic. They innovate in terms of products and are often very original equipment manufacturers, with the marine market representing only 10 to 15% of their business. Agreements like the one we signed with Navico Group are changes that could accelerate, thanks to our European presence.
Customers such as the RCM group, Cabesto, Monaco Marine or the Grand Large Yachting group, no longer have the same requirements. Our assets are the stock and technicality and the high added value services. We will continue to see pressure from both sides of the market.
How do we deal with supplies and changes in transport and the environment?
J-P Roche: We have to admit that the majority of pleasure craft products come from Asia. Nevertheless, in the security sector, 80% of Alliance Marine's activity is produced in Europe.
Awareness of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) issues is very high. Whether we have a meeting with shareholders, marketing or operational staff, we know that CSR will be discussed. The entire chain, right up to the end customer, is interested.
In 2023, we are launching a calculation of the CO2 balance of the Group's companies, Level 1, to set targets. To improve, we need to measure.
In parallel, a non-hierarchical working group will make proposals in each company, under the direct supervision of the President. The goal is to multiply small solutions and share them throughout the organization.
We are also implementing a responsible purchasing charter in 2023 for our suppliers.
Plastimo is also working on eco-design. We are going to launch bags from our used rafts. It is easier to control the life cycle as a manufacturer.
