Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – After a dismal January in which total dealership sales for the average dealer tracked by Spader Cos. were down more than 45 percent, compared to January 2007, February looks to have been a better month.
Total dealership sales during the 2-month period ended Feb. 29 were down 30.1 percent, compared to the same period of 2007, Spader reported in a recent statement.
That’s largely due to a 31.4-percent drop in new boat sales, as well as declines in revenue from parts and accessories, service and F&I departments. Used boat sales were up 19.6 percent during this period.
The training and consulting firm tracks North American boat dealers, both large and small, to compile an average profile, then compares year-over-year trends in a number of different categories.
New boat sales decreased from $923,875 to $633,415. However, pre-owned boat sales increased from $80,294 to $96,062. Total dealership sales declined from $1,339,164 in the first two months of 2007 to $936,298 in the first two months of this year for the average dealer, reported Spader.
The good news is that new boat inventories were down 3.9 percent to $3,892,108, while the average dealer’s pre-owned boat inventories decreased 10.6 percent to $361,853.
Spending was down significantly across all categories for a total reduction of more than $100,000, from $491,819 during the first two months of 2007 to $389,822 this year, according to Spader.
The unit gross margin percentage was down 0.6 points to 16 percent, while total company gross margin percentage was down 0.9 points to 30.6 percent.
Net losses grew by 48.3 percent in the first two months of the year, compared to the same period of 2007. The average dealer experienced a net loss of 11.1 percent of sales or $103,481, compared to a net loss of 5.2 percent of sales or $69,759 during the same period of 2007.
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