By Jonathan Sweet Here at Boating Industry, we have been recognizing the best boat dealers in North America for 15 years. Every company on this year’s list is worthy of recognition. And I’m thrilled to see a record number of new applicants bring a fresh perspective to the program in 2019. At the same time, we’d be remiss if we ...

Boating Industry announced its 2019 Top 100 dealers at a black tie gala on Nov. 24 in Orlando. “From the thousands of dealers in North America — and hundreds of nominations — these 100 dealers are the best of the best,” said Top 100 Program Director Jonathan Sweet. “This is the 15th year of recognizing the Top 100 and the ...

By David Gee In 1929, an enterprising, entrepreneurial boating enthusiast by the name of James W. Peaslee decided what the world needed was a publication “devoted exclusively to the interests of the boat and motor dealer, and builder.” With that, BOATING BUSINESS was launched, just as the stock market crashed. Fortunately, the recreational boating business in this country survived, as ...

By Adam Quandt The statement powering through would be an understatement for Johnstown, Colorado’s Colorado Boat Center and its perseverance through both good and bad. Located about 40 miles north of Denver, the Colorado dealership is laid out over three acres, with two buildings totaling 16,000 square feet of space. Construction of the dealership’s main, 14,000-square-foot building was completed in ...

By Jonathan Sweet From landing sales to managing expectations in the service department, communication is essential to keeping customers happy. Poor customer communication can sink a company. It’s a simple undertaking, but one on which companies consistently fall short. Customers will quickly bail on a company that doesn’t deliver a good customer experience. Nearly two-thirds of customers rank customer experience ...

By David Gee To paraphrase something Mark Twain may – or may not – have once said: The rumors of the death of the sterndrive are greatly exaggerated. Now before we get a bunch of angry emails asking who in fact declared the category dead, the answer is no one. Not today. Maybe not ever. Though it’s a fact that ...

By Jonathan Sweet When the Boating Industry Top 100 started in 2005, it was a major undertaking for both the magazine and the industry. Nobody had ever attempted to find and recognize the best dealers in the industry. The goal of celebrating those top dealers was only part of the program. The most important goal of the Boating Industry Top ...

More than 34,000 attendees at the NMMA-hosted 2019 Tampa and Norwalk Boat Shows left with a better understanding of the importance of life jacket use, thanks to loaner stations set up by the Sea Tow Foundation. Through partnerships with NMMA and Onyx, the Sea Tow Foundation set up two stations at each of the shows to ensure that life jackets ...

After 26 years with Volvo and seven as president of Volvo Penta of the Americas, it was announced today at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show that Ron Huibers has decided to retire from his current role and move to another role within Volvo Penta. Succeeding Ron will be Martin Bjuve, currently CFO and SVP Business Office Volvo Penta. The ...

Mercury Marine’s annual “Fill the Boat to Cast Out Hunger” food drive to benefit the Fondy Food Pantry has raised close to $13,000 — a new record for food and cash donations. For a full week, Mercury employees in Fond du Lac participate in one of the most popular company events of the year. In 2019, Mercury employees contributed 4,811 pounds of nonperishable food ...