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View Full Version : How is Skiers Choice doing??



WaterBullDawg1980
06-11-2010, 08:52 PM
Anyone have any insight into how Skiers Choice the company is doing?

I just heard some very disturbing news from someone "in the know" with Malibu. He had said the company is really struggling right now. This person thinks the leadership at Malibu is very misguided right now. I could be wrong, but I believe he said they had a top level executive leave recently. His opinion is that he doesn't expect Malibu to survive this economic meltdown and will be out of business within 3-5 years.

He said that Skiers Choice seemed to be in a better position than Malibu (again, just his opinion) bc of their value proposition and target market. He went on to say that Malibu has made a mess in the way they went about their lineup of boats. Simply not enough distinction between all of them.

He said MC survives bc of years of branding and is falling back on their name now more than anytime in it's history. He said he doesn't have any real inside info into Correct Craft, but that he would make an educated guess they are probably in the same position as Malibu right now. He said their one saving grace may be the new 200.

Not trying to stir the pot really, but this just had me wondering. I would regard this persons opinion as one to be very respected. But I would also point out, that it is also just one persons opinion and I am not trying to spin it as fact. If you guys have time, go check out the Malibu forums and a few of the things this fella said are talked about in the forum over there as well.

I am sure Skiers Choice isn't making money hand over fist in this bear of an economy. But I really hope that things are not as bad as they are over at Malibu if that is indeed the case. I would actually hate to see any of the major boat manufacturers go under.

Geeze, when is this economy going to pick back up??
:-?

kaneboats
06-11-2010, 09:17 PM
My understanding is that SC is not lighting it on fire but they are managing through the tough times as well as anyone.

sandm
06-11-2010, 10:41 PM
I would suspect that these "tough times" are not going to end for a while if ever. it's a new reality for the usa..

that being said, I would think that value boats, such as the moomba and the axis will sell well, but the high $$ boats will be harder to sell due to the high price tags. I, personally, think malibu, correct craft, centurion, supra and the other high end boats will struggle with mastercraft being the one that will get by, as mentioned above, based solely on name..

interesting thing is tige. they have picked 2010 as the year to go after the premium boat builders and have stepped up their quality and offerings, but also price(shopped the sticker on a new rz2 lately??). wonder if that will end up being the end of them???

viking
06-12-2010, 12:15 AM
My personal thought is the High-End boat manufacturer and the value Provider will do OK in today's economy. If you are anywhere in the middle then your are in trouble and "no man's land".

The people with money still have the money to buy whatever they want. They may be hurting from 5 yrs ago but their hurt is not the same as most. They can still afford the yatchs, vacation homes, and top of the line tow boat for sure. The question is what high end manufacturer will win out? Probably MC because of the longevity and name. There is a small market that will ALWAYS be there for this type of consumer - albiet a small niche.

The value provider (Moomba) will probably win out due to the function/features and price point of the boat. People in the middle that can't afford the high end will filter down to the value end of the spectrum and buy them up.

Anybody trying to compete in the middle is either going to have to go one way or the other and probably end up on the losing end either way. It's hard to change who you are that quick.

Just my .02.

you da man
06-12-2010, 04:24 AM
When Axis debuts it's 20ft boat...everyone better watch out. So if Axis is truely part of Malibu, that will help some. I love my XLV...don't get me wrong but I would easily buy an Axis A22. I wouldn't be surprised to see CC coming out with a more price friendly boat seeing that their boats seem to start in the 65k+ range. I wonder how these times are effecting good small companies like MB and Sanger.

ian ashton
06-12-2010, 09:50 AM
When Axis debuts it's 20ft boat...everyone better watch out. So if Axis is truely part of Malibu, that will help some. I love my XLV...don't get me wrong but I would easily buy an Axis A22. I wouldn't be surprised to see CC coming out with a more price friendly boat seeing that their boats seem to start in the 65k+ range. I wonder how these times are effecting good small companies like MB and Sanger.

Have you seen an Axis in person? The fit and finish is for crap on the interiors.

mutau052
06-12-2010, 10:46 AM
Have you seen an Axis in person? The fit and finish is for crap on the interiors.

I wouldn't say its crap, but if you really look at them close it seems as though it is made up of a bunch of left over parts. But overall i like the A-22 it could just use a bit of refining. Remember other than Moomba the value line in top manufactures is quite new.

If you want crap i'll take you out on my 185 bayliner.

you da man
06-12-2010, 10:55 AM
Have you seen an Axis in person? The fit and finish is for crap on the interiors.

I've seen the first few A22's and they were a little cheapy looking. There were some interior changes in late 09 and '10 and it's better.

gus 08 mobius lsv
06-12-2010, 12:25 PM
i just don't see mastercraft having much of an issue. it is the most popular name boat among wake boats and the price range they are in will always fit into the higher income people. yeah there are a lot of people struggling in this economy but there are still a lot wealthy people out there spending money like nothing is wrong and those people that want the flash and the best of the best have the money to get what they want. i love the moomba line but have to be honest 2 years ago i had no idea what moomba was or even existed. but i'm glad to have a boat that will do everything i want it to do...looks good ...and best part is i can pay off in 3 years.

after seeing al's brothers boat yeah its pretty sick i'd take it in a heart beat but i couldn't see paying that much money for something i'm on 6 months a year when i can do without some of those fancy things it comes with or the name brand. i applaud skiers choice for having a great quality boat in the price range an average joe can afford and hope they never loose sight of that!
i get alot of compliments on my boat because she is a beauty not because i payed 80 grand for it.

cbboarder
06-12-2010, 01:51 PM
I was at Atlanta Marine yesterday to pick-up the OBV after it's 20hr service. Basically, they were almostring out of Moomba's (from what I could tell) with a lot more Supra's parked. Maybe people have figured out, Moomba's are a damn good boat for the money.

ian ashton
06-12-2010, 04:59 PM
i just don't see mastercraft having much of an issue.

MasterCraft is (was?) owned by Roger Penske, and I heard was for sale. Not sure if that happened, but Penske definately has big bucks.

maxpower220
06-12-2010, 05:53 PM
The boating industry (and motorcycle/RV) are all doing poorly. Some were quicker to restructure their business to ride out the storm.
MasterCraft: They had a huge influx of money (capital) from Penske. That and their name, and having many different boats have help. They have reduced their work force and cut production to 1/3 what it was.
CC: They have reduced their staff and drastically reduced their boat production. As of the Masters weekend, they had a total of 16 2010 Nautiques available for sale in the U.S. Many dealers have gone to "special order only" sales and are not stocking boats. This is from their sales rep. Bill yeargin is staying the course and they have no plans for an "entry level" boat.

I have no idea about any other boat companies, these are the updates that I know about.

NCSUmoomba
06-12-2010, 06:06 PM
I heard late last year that MC was not doing so great either. Someone told me that the local dealer, which had sold something like 40 new MC in the previous year, had only sold 6 new MC last year. As far as the Axis, if you want a plush fancy A22, then buy a VLX or LSV or even a VRide. The whole point of the A22 is to be no frills. The interior of tha boat doesn't bother me at all.

jclevoy
06-13-2010, 02:07 AM
I've seen the first few A22's and they were a little cheapy looking. There were some interior changes in late 09 and '10 and it's better.

I just went and looked at a brand-new top of the line A-22. I am surprised to see so many people dogging the boat in this thread. IMHO, it is a hell of a boat for just less than $50k for their very best one.

Seat vinyl must have been an issue on the earlier models, because this one was QUITE nice. I would trade my LSV on one if I had the money and if I hadn't just broke the bank on a stereo system.

sandm
06-13-2010, 10:52 AM
so true mmandley. I don't like any of the looks of that boat, from the tower, interior, seating, but it is a CORE riders boat, plain and simple. if you are shopping "budget" boats, you can pick moomba, offering all the luxury for the family on the lake, or the axis, as a core riders boat. 2 really good offerings. sell me the moomba every time :)

lots of bashing on mastercraft and being slow, but I remember a story right around xmas/new years last year where their numbers were ahead of plans and they were bringing back a bunch of the workforce that had been previously laid off. granted not where production was 4 years ago.

on a local note, our skiers/malibu dealer is the only dealer here in the valley to have 2010's on the lot. the centurion,mc,nautique dealer(just got nautique and didn't order 1 boat this year) has nothing but used and leftovers. the mb dealer is selling '09's, and same for the sanger/epic dealer. tige dealer(and was nautique as well) is gone.. now the guys selling bayliners, four winns, sea ray and the likes were flush with 2010's, but most were stripped down entry boats, that looked to be pricepoint offerings for financing ads in the paper.

dru1974
06-13-2010, 01:07 PM
i am wondering now is the mobius lsv as good to wakeboard behind as the axis? I took my cousin who has a 2005 calabria dd behind my mobius ls with the gIII and he was very impressed with the wake and how you could clean it up with the wake plate and i could only imagine that the lsv would be much better.

Sled491
06-13-2010, 03:24 PM
I looked at the Axis this winter at the boat show, not impressed at all. Maybe on the water would be a different story.

The feedback I'm getting on some of the BU's is not so good either. I here the Response just sucks right now, but again second hand information.

One of the largest boat manufactures went out of business last year representing almost 10 boat lines, of course a tow boat company will fall it just has to be that way.