Approximately 650 industry participants gathered yesterday for the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s annual Industry Breakfast on day two of the Miami International Boat Show.
Larry Berryman, vice president, Miami Boating, for Informa Markets, provided opening comments.
“This year, we successfully brought back the Miami Beach Yacht Collection to Collins Avenue,” Berryman said. “This move strengthens the connection between the Miami Beach Convention Center and the prime waterfront space along Indian Creek. In addition, we introduced a new home for Sailor’s Cove at IGY Yacht Haven Grande Miami.”
“With an 85-year history and legacy to protect and promote, this is an important and transformative year for the show,” he added. “We believe our continuing efforts to improve the show will deliver fantastic results. You can rest assured we will continue to seek new and improved opportunities to make this incredible event even better.”
NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer then delivered the State of the Industry keynote address.
“Like captains navigating an open sea, the marine industry doesn’t get to choose the conditions that surround us,” Hugelmeyer said. “But we do get to choose how we respond to the moment. For several years, we have been negotiating a complex, wait-and-see consumer environment. It’s been driven by some stronger-than-usual economic pain.
“The marine industry continues to tread water,” he added. “Based on NMMA estimates, new powerboat unit sales were down approximately 10% in 2025. That was just under the range of 220,000 units, levels that we have not seen since shortly after the Great Recession.”
Hugelmeyer also noted positive signs in the industry.
“Manufacturers and dealers, however, remained resilient, and they responded with tremendous discipline,” he said. “They’ve managed inventory and staff levels carefully, and stayed focused on long-term competitiveness, and most importantly, product and business innovation. Despite managing through this challenging year, the market did witness some bright spots, in categories like aluminum fishing boats, personal watercraft, a seemingly undaunted luxury market, and a buoyant sharing economy across rentals and clubs. Meanwhile, the preowned market continues to help anchor overall demand, accounting for roughly 75% to 80% of total boat sales.”
A “What to Watch” graphic, shown by Hugelmeyer, had only one category in the “Good” category: fuel prices. In the “Caution” category were interest rates, new housing starts, wholesale and retail credit availability, wages and employment, SUV and light-truck sales, and marine dealer and RV inventories.” The “Trouble” category had consumer confidence and sentiment, and consumer net worth and debt.
“Consumer intent remains mixed,” Hugelmeyer said. “Some buyers are ready to move forward, while others wait and see. In times like these, it’s really important for us to remember our unique strengths. Boating delivers something that Americans value more than ever. Boating isn’t just a purchase; it’s transformative.”
Members of NMMA’s Market Expansion Advisory Group, which aims to look at the future of marine retail, joined a panel discussion on what needs to be done to further growth in the industry.
The panel was hosted by Brunswick chief marketing officer Lauren Beckstedt, who was joined by Yamaha vice president Bryan Seti, MarineMax vice president of marketing Abbey Heimensen, Sportsman Boats chief marketing officer Victor Gonzalez, and Correct Craft chief revenue officer Thomas Bates.
“We’re here to elevate the discussion about growth and create some momentum for this industry,” Beckstedt said. “Guided by just-refreshed consumer data, we’re working together to deliver a growth strategy that maximizes consumer reach by maximizing the role that all of us play in this ecosystem, across Discover Boating, manufacturers and our dealers.”
Seti spoke to the importance of bringing the next generation of boaters into the fold.
“The question is, how do we reach that younger audience?” Seti said. “And I think we have to step back and realize that that younger audience we’re talking about — those in their 20s, 30s, early 40s — this group actually does have a lot of money. We can scare everybody out there thinking that there isn’t a lot of money, but they have a lot of money; they spend a lot of money. They spend a lot of money traveling, going to restaurants, taking Ubers three or four times a day, getting bottle service at clubs. They spend money. We have to recognize that. So the question is, how do we get them on our side of the table to grow participation?”
Heineman noted the need to get people to spend their time boating, when competition for leisure time is more amplified than ever.
“We are up against the most important thing to everybody in this room, which is time,” she said. “How are you going to spend your precious time? It’s not about money. It’s not about the golf course. It’s how you spend that precious time. As dealers and manufacturers, we need this opportunity with Discover Boating to grow the top of the funnel. We need to take these data insights that we are learning and we are seeing, and we need to grow that top of the funnel. If we can then keep those people in boating and keep them in the lifestyle that we are creating, we’re going to succeed. We need to create the experiences to keep them in the lifestyle.”
The industry awards portion of the program began with the presentation of the Charles Chapman Marine Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Yamaha Marine president and executive officer Ben Speciale presented the award to MarineMax founder Bill McGill Jr.
“Thank you, NNMA, and thank you for the guests that are here,” McGill said. “I also think there’s 50 MarineMax team members here. So thank you. I appreciate it. You know, we’re in an industry that’s incredible. We do change people’s lives, and when you do it by connecting them with their inner self, we help them connect with others. I am proud to have been in this industry for so long and thank you for the award.”
Rob Newsome, NMMA chief administrative officer and senior vice president of operations, presented the Alan J. Freedman award to Sunstream CEO Ken Hey.
“I want to thank our thousands of customers over 30 years,” Hey said. “Fortunately, they liked our product. I also wanted to thank our team, our suppliers and service providers. … As marine insiders, we all know about the two best days of a boater’s life. Our team isn’t stopping until the second-best day is when we start next year’s boating season.”
Newsome and Rollick senior vice president of enterprise solutions and marketing Jeff Coffman presented the annual Customer Satisfaction Awards across 12 categories. Click here for this year’s winners.
The NMMA Miami Innovation Awards were presented by judging chair Tim Murphy.
“At this moment, I can’t think of anybody luckier than an NMMA Innovations Award judge,” Murphy said. “For two very full days, seven of us had the chance to move through the convention center aisles, down the docks of Collins Avenue, stepping aboard the very latest boats and examining the newest new products.
“We saw fresh thinking in the shapes of boats and how they moved through water,” he said. “We saw the propulsion products we’re using to drive them and the electrical power used to run the appliances that make boating ever more comfortable. We saw electronic devices that help us look farther and deeper into dark places using sonar and LIDAR technology, as well as stereoscopic and thermal cameras. And we saw the way these sensors can help drive our boats remotely and even autonomously.”
This year’s Miami Innovation Award winners can be viewed here.
