Dometic yesterday announced it is creating a global marine division that unites its previous three geographic regions of the Americas, Europe and APAC. Eric Fetchko, president of Dometic Marine Americas, will assume responsibility for the new global structure.
“We see a lot of ways to grow our marine business,” Fetchko told Trade Only Today at a press conference during the Miami International Boat Show yesterday. “We plan to do that both through organic growth and acquisitions.”
Fetchko said that North America is Dometic’s strongest market for marine and has the most potential for growth. Europe, he added, could also see much stronger sales results going forward.
Dometic recently reported lower fourth quarter sales for its marine divisions but gains in full-year sales. In the Americas, Q4 marine sales fell from $96.9 million (940 million SEK) in 2018 to $92.7 million (899 million SEK) for 2019, though full-year sales rose to $413.1 million from $388.6 million in 2018. In Europe, Q4 marine sales dropped to $19.2 million from $20.5 million, and for the full-year, 2019 sales rose to $87.4 million from $83.2 million in 2018.
Dometic’s branding campaign is integrating SeaStar Solutions’ products into the Dometic brand. Fetchko said many former SeaStar products are either known as Dometic or SeaStar Solutions by Dometic. “The products with the SeaStar designation could be like that for years to come,” he said.
The company has a water pavilion on the docks at the Miami show, with new products that include the Optimus eActuator, Turbo Global Air, Dometic SeaStar Trim Tab and Dometic Skysol Motion blinds.
Dometic CEO Juan Vargues said the boating industry remains “very fragmented” and that it makes sense for the company to have a single global operation. “Marine will grow by geography, new products and acquisitions,” Vargues told Trade Only Today. “We can definitely go deeper with geography in certain regions.”
Fetchko said he would like to see Dometic’s marine division reach $1 billion in annual sales. “Before SeaStar was acquired by Dometic, we’d acquired six other companies that added cumulatively to our growth,” he said. “Those acquisitions have proven beneficial to the company, and we expect that any others going forward will make sense for our portfolio and growth.”
Vargues said the marine division will focus on the global boating industries. “If you’re competing in a specialized market, it makes sense to get more specialized,” he said. “That’s how we’ll gain market share.”
