Groupe Beneteau outlined its modified, five-year strategy Thursday, saying it will respond to the Covid-19 pandemic by taking a number of measures.
The Groupe will move from 12 strategic brands to eight: Beneteau, Jeanneau, Prestige, Lagoon, Four Winns, Wellcraft, Delphia and Excess.
“The four remaining brands will have the opportunity to continue their stories through new partnerships or joint ventures currently under discussion,” said Groupe Beneteau CEO Jérôme de Metz in a webcast. Glastron and Scarab are among the four brands that the Groupe will not focus on moving forward.
The new plan, called “Let’s Go Beyond,” is based on three pillars, according to a company statement.
1. Groupe Beneteau will build its strategy around the eight brands but will cover the same number of market segments with reduced investments.
2. It seeks to make plants more efficient to accelerate development times.
3. The company will seek more streamlined managerial organization structured around global core functions.
The company also released its third-quarter financials.
The Boat business is down 43.3 percent, while the housing business is reporting a drop of 39.4 percent, the company announced in a separate statement. The Boat business is down 17.8 percent for the nine-month year.
As plants were temporarily shut down due to health risks, the contraction in revenues concerns all segments and regions, which all show a downturn in business, with the exception of fleet sales, which are up 26.8 percent.
For the first nine months of the year, the 21.7 percent downturn for powerboat segments showed contrasting trends. The decline was limited for 30- to 60-foot outboard and inboard boats, but significantly more marked for the inboard (smaller than 30 feet and larger than 60 feet) and jet segments.
Read more about Groupe Beneteau’s five-year plan in Monday’s Trade Only Today.
