Spirits and sales high at festival of boating

PSP Southampton Boat Show 2014 © onEdition

PSP Southampton Boat Show 2014 © onEdition

PSP Southampton Boat Show 2014 © onEdition

As the 2014 PSP Southampton Boat Show drew to a close yesterday (Sunday 21 September), over 112,000 people had enjoyed a real festival of boating. Exhibitors and visitors alike made the most of the improving economy and glorious weather throughout the 10 days.

Strong sales have been reported throughout the whole duration of the Show, with the very first sale of a boat being made by 10.30am on the opening day. Many companies reported equalling last year's total sales by mid week this year.

Murray Ellis, Managing Director, National Boat Shows said: "The PSP Southampton Boat Show 2014 has been a great success. More than 10,000 visitors got out on the water, families enjoyed a ride on the Boat Show Eye and boaters bought everything from canoes to multi million pound yachts. The weather has been glorious and spirits have been high, once again confirming the PSP Southampton Boat Show as one of the world's leading boat shows.

"The Show kicked off in style on the first day with TV star Matt Baker arriving on board one of the Show's star attractions, the tall ship Phoenix, accompanied by Iain Percy OBE and ambassadors from the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. We've been delighted to have the Foundation as the Show's official charity and so pleased to be able to join in with the worldwide Bart's Bash event on the Show's final day."

Exhibitor quotes – success stories

Landau UK, Managing Director Ben Metcalfe: "We have found the show much more positive than last year and our new stand location has been excellent. We met last year's figures by day seven of the show and hope to bring up to £1.6m into the business over the full course of the event. It's a show we will continue to do. It's very positive for the marine industry and it's good for the local area. A contract to carry out maintenance and repair work to military boats, confirmed at Show, will result in taking on up to 19 new engineers and office staff."

SeaSure Ltd, Managing Director Graham Brown: "It has been a cracking Show for us. We have some of the most expensive products with everything being custom made and of the highest quality, yet we have sold every model on display with orders for everything seen on our stand...This is our first time at PSP Southampton Boat Show and it has exceeded all our expectations. The level of interest, from both new and returning customers, for British hand-built products is high with visitors appreciating quality...With one of our main products (Shaefer Boom Furling) we have more enquires in the first two days than in the last two years...What is great about the Show is that visitors can appreciate quality by touching and seeing it in real life."

Flexisail, Richard Pierpoint: "It has been a positive Show for us and we are 50% up on last year. We have seen a resurrection in boating and exhibiting at PSP Southampton Boat Show is a great way to get us in front of the public. Exhibiting is such a valuable force of marketing as today people like to see the product. Being on the Marina means people can get onboard the boat and really imagine what it will be like to own it for themselves...PSP Southampton Boat Show and the London Boat Show are the only two Shows we do."

IPC Media, Marketing Manager, Richard Shead: "It's been an exceptionally good Show. Subscriptions are up more than 30% across the titles, with Motor Boat & Yachting proving particularly strong. It's been great to see and meet a new audience, visitors have come to the Show as novices but clearly been so inspired they have gone home as readers."

Bray Marine Sales Ltd, Dominic Smulders: "Extremely good Show and we are ahead in both leads and sales. Exhibiting at PSP Southampton Boat Show we have certainly had the most positive business we have had in the last five to six years."

Fairline Boats, Commercial Director, Stuart McCullough: "Fairline has enjoyed another great Show in Southampton this year, with lots of enthusiasm for the brand. We have seen a steady stream of orders throughout the Show and our new 48ft range has continued to prove especially popular with visitors. Following on from a very successful Cannes Yachting Festival, we are delighted with the results we have seen. The PSP Southampton Boat Show is an important event for us and the beautiful weather has made being here especially enjoyable this year. We are now gearing up for the London Boat Show and looking forward to an exciting year ahead for Fairline."

MDL Marinas, Operations and Marketing Director, Dean Smith: "We have had a fantastic Show. Berthing enquiries are up 15% in comparison to last year, and we welcomed thousands of berth holders from our network of marinas to the Show. It has been a great platform for us to really explain the benefits of Freedom Berthing, which has seen significant interest and is gaining real traction. We have seen a higher number of enquiries specifically for this product with customers looking for increased added-value from their marina berthing."

British Marine Federation – new business opportunities

The Show has once again been an important venue for the British Marine Federation. Fifty five apprentices were celebrated at the BMF's graduation event, receiving their certificates from Sir Ben Ainslie; eight MPs visited members from their constituency at the Show with Penny Mordaunt MP (Portsmouth North) - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Coastal Communities Minister) also attending the event; and 400 meetings took place at the BMF's Meet the Buyer event enabling new business opportunities.

Hayley James, Head of Member Relations at British Marine Federation: "From a membership perspective the PSP Southampton Boat Show has been fantastic, we've signed up double the number of members we did last year and we've got some great leads to follow up on. But the Show isn't just a recruitment drive for the BMF, it is a chance to meet existing members and build relationships to ultimately deliver better value to our strong membership of over 1550. It's one of the best Trade Shows in the world, within a Consumer Show."

London Boat Show – Beneteau signs up

Following the launch of 2015 Show and its new creative with its dramatic imagery, exhibitors are quickly signing up to take space at the world-class event. Beneteau, with its sailing yachts and outboard and inboard boats, is leading the way after a three-year absence.

Jean Francois Lair, Beneteau Export Manager, says: "Over the last 10 days at Southampton, we have clearly noticed an uplift in the market. The sales figures are up, and all our dealers are reporting a stronger interest compared to last year. In this improved market, we are pleased to announce that Beneteau will return to the London Boat Show in January 2015. We will be strongly represented with all our different products: sailing yachts, outboard and inboard boats, including the MC5, 2014 European Boat of the Year."

The 2015 London Boat Show takes place from 9-18 January at ExCeL London. Go to www.londonboatshow.com to see the teaser video and take the challenge to see if you are an Adventurer, Innovator or Pioneer.