Alessandro Tirelli, Europe area manager with Ferreti SpA, a company deriving annual turnover worth almost one billion euros from boat sales, says one million-euro boats sell best on the local market, unlike the Spanish market, where the average price is 6 million euros.
The luxury boats market is still in a burgeoning stage, considering that an importer sells under ten yachts a year.
"Cheaper yachts are usually sold on the Romanian market, because, in most cases, this is the clients' first boat. Most western European clients have already had several models of yachts and are now moving on to increasingly bigger models," said Alessandro Diomedi, head of new market development with Pershing, a brand within the Ferretti group.
The Ferretti group sells the Ferretti, Custom Line and Mochi Craft brands through importer Franco's Marina on the local market. The brands sell 200 units annually, on European markets, while the nine boat brands of the Ferretti group sell around 1,000 boats per year in total.
The main factor behind the relatively low boat sales is the lack of an adequate infrastructure. "We need to consider the lack of infrastructure, as well as the lack of skilled personnel. Finding skilled personnel in Romania is not very easy. That is why clients start by acquiring a yacht in France or by renting - and then they decide they want a boat in Romania. But the question they ask themselves is where they will be able to find a crew, a captain and servicing facilities. When you have a sizeable yacht, you need a crew of at least 3-4," said Alessandro Tirrelli.
Another factor which differentiates the local market from the Western-European one is the average age of clients, which also influences the choice of models - sports or luxury.
Eastern European clients, Romanians included, are aged 35-40 on average, unlike Western Europeans, where they are usually aged between 45 and 50.
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