 Fishing boats "are strong right now," says George Jousma, president of Fort Lauderdale-based Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group. Gains against the euro are making the retailer's European-built boats more price competitive. "We're expecting improvement."
--George Jousma |
Population growth all but trumps fuel price increases and hurricanes when it comes to selling boats and cars in Florida. Joe Herman, senior vice president for operations for Group 1 Automotive, a Texas-based publicly held car dealer group with Ford stores in south Florida and Pensacola, expects 2006 to be "another good year." Hurricanes haven't hurt. Group 1's south Florida stores benefited from replacement purchasing by owners impacted by Hurricane Wilma. Its Pensacola stores picked up business from car buyers in neighboring states affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Florida annually sees $55 billion in vehicle sales at 950 new-car dealerships. The activity amounts to a fifth of Florida's retail sales, says Ted L. Smith, president of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association. The wild card for 2006 will be the effect of fuel prices on the vehicle sales mix.
 DOCK SHORTAGE: Boat seller Legendary Marine has expanded its dry dock facilities. Condo developers are buying up marinas around the state, creating a shortage. |
The Big Three are expected to see continued market share deterioration nationally while sales grow close to the average annual growth of 5% to 6%.
Boat dealers face an unusual issue for a retailer: Their customers are having trouble finding a place to put their purchases. As marinas fill up or are sold to condo developers, permitting and new marina construction haven't kept up. Fred Pace, managing partner of Legendary Marine, a five-store operation in northwest Florida and Alabama, last year expanded his 460-boat dry storage facility to 770, the largest in the U.S.
Smaller boat buyers have shown some sensitivity to rising fuel prices, but some segments of the larger boat market have picked up, Pace says.
MarineMax lowered its earnings guidance after Wilma delayed the huge Fort Lauderdale boat show, the industry's largest, and hurt attendance. MarineMax now expects $1.85 to $1.95 in earnings per share in 2006, down from $1.95 to $2 initially.
