Corinne Reynaud, CFO of the D-Marin Group and President of D-Marin France, talks to BoatIndustry about the marina operator's plans to set up a French subsidiary, its strategy and its positioning in the yachting market.
How would you describe D-Marin in a few figures?
The D-Marin Group was founded in 2003 and has 20 years' experience in port management. D-Marin is headquartered in Greece. Initially based mainly in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf, we have recently opened new offices in Italy and Spain. D-Marin offers around 13,000 boat berths in 26 ports in 9 countries. The company operates 13 boatyards in these ports, accommodating some 3,000 boats.
D-Marin always relies on local teams. There are around 20 people of 8 nationalities in Athens for global management.
What is the purpose of opening an office in France, and why in Nice?
We already have a presence in San Remo, in Liguria, Italy, close to the border. France is a logical strategic target to offer our yachtsmen in our network logic, where our yachtsmen have access to 7 free days in each of our ports as part of the Happy Berthday program. Ultimately, our dream is that they will be able to sail around the Mediterranean from port to port within the network. The Côte d'Azur is an obvious stopover for our yachtsmen, and Nice has a nearby airport, which is very important.
D-Marin is responding to calls for tender in France's Mediterranean region, but is also looking at the Atlantic and Northern regions. The overall objective for the network, including France, is to reach 30 ports by 2024. With D-Marin France, we're ready to carry the flag, and already have a development project manager, a digital manager and a director.
How is D-Marin positioned?
We cater for all types of boater, with an average boat size of 14 meters and over 50% sailboats in our harbors. We define ourselves as top-of-the-range in terms of the level of service, which is the same, whatever the port and the customer. Our aim is always to provide top-level services and create a dynamic so that the port is an integrated part of the city, alive 365 days a year.
What are D-Marin's development priorities for its port offering?
We insist on the digital port to offer an effortless customer experience. Through the D-Marin app, you can book and choose your berth online, and make payment. This means that our agents are more available to serve boaters. Likewise, the smart terminals enable payment to be made directly via a QR code. The start-up Sense for boat, part of the D-Marin group, supplies sensors for remote monitoring of the boat.
We are also committed to the environment and the blue economy. All our ports are blue flagged and we have 7 Gold Anchors. We participate in the Clean Marinas program, work with local associations and schools, and invest in the production of green electricity to cover our long-term needs. To promote the responsible use of resources, we collect waste and sails for recycling, and obviously pay particular attention to water. On our sites, we recover water for post-treatment, but also use osmosis for boat washing.
Our ports are also equipping themselves with electric recharging stations, starting with land vehicles and planning to roll them out to boats. We are also working on converting our service boats.
