Donzi Marine reports increase in retail powerboat sales
SARASOTA, Fla. — Donzi Marine, the Florida-based builder of high performance recreational fiberglass powerboats, is experiencing an increase in retail sales, according to a recent statement from company officials.
“There’s been a notable surge in retail activity over the past few months,” said Donzi’s vice president of sales, Craig Barrie. “From Web traffic to boats built and delivered, we’ve charted a substantial increase in interest as well as demand.”
Donzi experienced stronger-than-expected traffic at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, and inked a number of retail deals at the October event and in the weeks to follow.
“We’ve stayed in touch with the retail public through our hands-on involvement at boat shows, poker runs, boat races and other events – such as our own offshore driving school,” said Barrie. “By availing ourselves to retail customers, by listening to their needs and moving to accommodate them, we’ve positioned ourselves to capitalize on the recent increase in retail interest.”
Sales have been fairly evenly split between new builds and retail deliveries of dealer field inventory and factory stock, according to Barrie.
“We’ve taken orders for a number of very custom boats that have been specially designed for customers, while at the same time substantially reducing existing factory and dealer stock through a ‘Featured Inventory’ component on the Donzi Web site,” he stated.
Donzi offers boats from 16’ to 43’, including sport boats, high performance boats, and performance center consoles, and the company said it has notched increased sales in all categories. Barrie indicated that the bulk of retail activity has focused on boats 35’ and greater. Also noteworthy, Barrie said, is the fact that boats have been sold in a number of U.S. states as well as several destinations abroad.
“In the past two months we’ve sold ZR high performance boats to retail customers in California, Florida, New Jersey, the Virgin Islands, and Dubai; and center consoles to buyers in California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Bahrain, Canada, and Mexico,” said Barrie.
Donzi is a division of American Marine Holdings, which also operates Pro Line Boats, a market leader in recreational saltwater fishing boats.
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