2023 FORECAST logo , new website , and that was a pretty major undertaking . Our membership reached record numbers ; participation in our online training reached record numbers . We have a lot of new dealers enrolled in our dealership certification program . All around , it was a really strong year for us . It ’ s an exciting time for MRAA .”
As for the dealers themselves , 2022 was , overall , still a great year . Nautical Ventures , a Top 20 Dealer in Boating Industry ’ s Top 100 program , reported solid growth in sales . “ We viewed 2022 as an excellent year for us ,” says Roger Moore , CEO . “ We had a 15 % growth in sales over 2021 . We had continuous supply chain issues , so we fell a little short of our 20 % goal . The issues with the supply chain were , of course , a challenge , but it ’ s kind of a good thing going into 2023 because now we have a good backlog of product to deliver . In Q4 of last year , we did see a slowing on the consumer side , especially in the smaller boats . But compared to the ‘ Covid time ’ we ’ re really starting to see things returning to a more normal level .”
“ 2022 was record-setting ,” comments John Wooden , owner of Top 20 dealer River Valley Marine . “ Then we saw the market begin to normalize in the third and fourth quarters . It netted out to be the most successful year we ’ ve had so far in business . It was extremely successful , even though it started more successful than it ended . We saw demand lighten up as we entered the fourth quarter .”
Headwinds to come
River Valley Marine was not alone in seeing this slowdown affect the latter half of 2022 . The entire economy was affected as a recession took hold and wages stagnated . In an interview with chief economist Curtis Dubay , Boating Industry discussed the most prominent worry of 2023 – the continued specter of the 2022 recession worsening as the new year gains its foothold . “ We ’ re going to see spending decline and demand decline . There ’ s a 65 % chance of recession this year ,” he warns . curtis dubay chief economist , economic
“ Whether we have that recession or not , growth will be weak . policy division of u . s . chamber of commerce
If , over the course of the year , we have any growth , that would be a very good thing . It ’ s going to be a slow year because of the rising interest rates to fight inflation .”
“ The consumer is able to do things that they weren ’ t able to do during Covid ,” says Moore . “ What are you going to do – go travel , go on vacation , or to a restaurant . They couldn ’ t do any of those , so boating was a good alternative . That ’ s diminishing because they have other opportunities now ; of course , that reduces their available cash flow for boats .” Specifically , Moore anticipates that the smaller boat lines will be hit hard . “ We ’ re expecting about a 20 % reduction in sales of our smaller boat lines . We ’ re also expecting a 7 to 9 % reduction in margin on those boats . It ’ s becoming more competitive . In 2021 , if we had it , people would buy it . Now , with more supply , the margins are being eroded .”
Many dealers have seen this drop off in smaller or “ midrange ” boats . Now , there is some worry about oversupply in certain sectors as demand faces a sharp decline . “ The biggest concern for us is the 60k to 150k range ,
www . boatingindustry . com february 2023
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