New boat sales mirror 2010, used boat sales increase
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — New boat sales are the same as last year and used boat sales are up in 2011 for the average dealer tracked by Spader Business Management.
In the company’s latest financial report, which looks at the first two months of 2011, new boat sales continue to remain nearly the same as new boat sales from last year, while used used boat sales were up by 40 percent over last year at this time. Total dealership sales were up by nearly 5 percent over last year.
New boat inventory levels grew slightly and ended the month 4.3 percent higher than they were last year at this same time.
The average gross margin percentage earned on new boats for the first two months of 2011 was 0.7 of one percentage point higher than the gross margin earned for the same period last year.
The average total dealership gross margin percentage was down by 0.9 of one percentage point when compared to last year.
In terms of dollars, the average dealer continued to spend more (by about 3 percent) than they did last year. Spending was up in advertising, variable and fixed expenses.
So far in 2011, the average dealer reported a net operating loss of $105,763. This compares to an average loss of $100,268 for the same period in 2010.
The Spader 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.
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