It's the big boats that are selling at Maritimo

Maritimo has wrapped up 2016 as saying there’s been growth in sales of the company's largest models. In particular, the flagship M70 cruising motoryacht, which was launched in December 2014 as the M65, has reached build number 12 with owners in the USA, Fiji, France and Singapore. The base price for the M70 is $3.037 million today.

Hot on its keels, the first S70 sedan motoryacht (opening photo) was developed specifically for a New Zealand owner who apparently undertook worldwide research before settling on the bespoke single-level cruiser. The S70 will be released in May 2017 with a base price of around $2.965 million.

Maritimo's International Sales and Marketing Manager, Greg Haines, said the number of large motoryachts sold in 2016 has increased on the previous year.

"The M70 cruising motoryacht has been one of our best models, but the new M64 released just before the 2016 Sanctuary Cove boat show, has also attracted a lot of interest and eight M64s have now been sold," he said, adding that the base price for the M64 is $2.592 million.

Maritimo says it has had a very strong year and sales are up, but the Gold Coast boatbuilder wouldn’t say to what number of boas. It also says staff numbers have risen in line with increased demand.

"The larger boats in our model range are gaining a worldwide reputation for their overall volume, the luxuriousness of the finishes, their sea worthiness and their fuel efficiency,” Haines said.

"We recently had an M64 travel from the Gold Coast to New Zealand under its own steam, on a journey involving 138 hours at sea and the boat never missed a beat. It is this sort of performance that is seeing the brand shine internationally."

Maritimo international dealer partner network continues to grow and this, Haines says, was underpinning the overall success being enjoyed by the company.

"Our European dealer partner, Spencer Ship Monaco, has grown considerably with multiple sales to date. We have also just appointed a new dealer partner in Sri Lanka and our existing dealer partners in the USA, Singapore, Canada and  South America are all performing well," Haines added

Yet the Australian market still represented more than 50 percent of the company's overall business and Maritimo was proud of the fact that many of its Australian and New Zealand customers were multiple boat owners, sometimes on their third or fourth Maritimo.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2016
Maritimo said some of the highlights of the past year starting in January were:
>> A very successful Miami International Boat Show with four vessels displayed and multiple sales.
>> The launch of the new M64 (nee M61) cruising motor yacht on the Gold Coast in May with five sold even before its world wide release.
>> The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May, which was a 'mini United Nations' for Maritimo with dealers from around the world in attendance and the worldwide release of the M64 attracting big interest. Eight boats were displayed.
>> A large Maritimo Muster held at Roche Harbor in the Pacific North West which involved approximately 18 Maritimo's and more than 50 owners, their families and friends.
>> A strong Sydney International Boat Show with Maritimo's largest on-water display ever and the takeover of the Elandra sports cruiser brand finalised.
>> European dealer partner Spencer Ship enjoying strong interest at the Cannes International Boat Show and laying the foundations for a significant number of sales that have since been finalized.
>> Four vessels displayed at the Auckland On Water Boat Show resulted in strong interest and future sales assured.  The biggest attraction was the M64 which travelled from the Gold Coast to Auckland under it own power specifically for the event.

>> The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show with five boats on display and all the major USA and Canadian dealer partners in attendance. A contingent of Maritimo owners and brand associates gathered at the Fort Lauderdale show before travelling on to Key West for a Maritimo Muster and also to support Maritimo's race team competing  in the World Offshore Powerboat Championships. Multiple sales resulted from the show and the race team's courageous showing in the world championship competition, despite several mechanical issues, saw the Aussie brand applauded.

>> Maritimo also won the Australian Supercat Extreme category in the Offshore Superboat Championships with Ross Willaton and Travis Thompson taking out eight of the 10 races and ultimately being handed the Mark Lee Trophy

THE YEAR AHEAD
Maritimo CEO Garth Corbitt said the next 12 months would build on the foundations of what the company has set down in recent years.

"Several years ago we totally revised and refined our corporate strategy and created a blueprint or roadmap for where we wanted to take the business and I am please to say that plan has proven extremely successful," he said.

"As part of that we put the focus squarely on quality, innovation, design and improving our product while at the same time growing the brand nationally and internationally through the network of world class people who are now our ambassadors at the coal face.

"Our product, our people and our commitment to our customers has  never been more finely honed and we are seeing the results."

GLOBAL GROWTH AMBITIONS
Corbitt said as part of the company's strategic direction there is a drive for global growth in the sales distribution network and dealer partners are currently being negotiated for the East Coast of Canada, The Great Lakes region and other parts of South America, India and the UAE and global growth in our sales network.

Maritimo's General Manager – Operations, Phil Candler said:  “Our factory is increasing production to meet the market demand and we currently have forward orders across the entire range.”  

"The S70 will be released at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show and the new S59 will be released at the Sydney International Boat Show in August."

ELANDRA RELAUNCH
Maritimo also increased its focus group research initiatives to get 'coal face' comments and feedback on all aspects of the model range with a view to constantly improving and upgrading the vessels on offer.

"Our factory is in full production and as an example we have three M59's that have to be delivered before Christmas and the S70 has to be ready for Sanctuary Cove in May [2017]”.

"We have continued our prestigious brand partnerships with Maserati and Bang & Olufsen and we are continuing to restructure and refine the Elandra range which will see a rebranding announced next year and models including 44, 58 and 70 sedans being released."

Maritimo says it has an exciting year coming up in 2017 with the race team competing again in both in the Australian championships and the World Championships in Key West, the ongoing expansion of the international dealer partner network, reconfiguring the Elandra range and working on exciting new Maritimo models. More at www.maritimo.com.au