SailTime announces five-year partnership extension with Groupe Beneteau
SailTime announced a five-year extension of their partnership with Groupe Beneteau. The partnership allows SailTime bases throughout the United States to sell Beneteau boats into their local fleet via SailTime’s yacht ownership program.
“We couldn’t be happier to extend this terrific partnership,” SailTime CEO Todd Hess said. “Beneteau is known throughout the world as the premier brand of sailing and power boating, and SailTime is a terrific way to bring their product to a market looking for easier and more affordable sailing.”
Through the partnership, SailTime franchisees have the opportunity to offer Beneteau boats for both the membership program and the yacht ownership program. Three Beneteau yacht dealers in North America integrated with SailTime in 2016, including SailTime San Diego, SailTime New Orleans and SailTime New York.
“The partnership with Beneteau has been terrific for us,” says Keenan Hirsh, base manager, SailTime San Diego. “Allowing our members to sail Beneteau’s amazing fleet increases our pool of prospective boat owners.”
Groupe Beneteau sees the partnership extension as a reaffirmation of the importance of the North American market in its growth strategy.
“The sharing economy is the fastest growing segment in our industry right now and SailTime is helping us grow in that space. The synergy with our yacht dealers incorporating their franchise model into their business is outstanding and it is driving additional boat sales for Beneteau,” Beneteau America President Laurent Fabre said.
