21 Sep 2009
BOAT SHOW: The PSP Southampton Boat Show closed on Sunday afternoon having attracted 121,671 visitors to Mayflower Park, which is not only 282 more than last year, but also a welcome confidence booster as we go towards winter.
The stunning ladies of Escala helped launch Sunseeker’s Predator 130
The show being 15% smaller in space terms from last year helped it appear busy most of the time, although the nether regions of Solent Park were draughty and sparsely populated some of the times BB went walking there.
But the overall response from just about all the exhibitors BB spoke to was they were very worried going into the show. But the mood changed as the show went on and – by the end – just about every exhibitor had a smile on his or her face.
Maybe it wasn’t record business - but most did more business than they thought they would, which was a nice surprise.
And the weather stayed on our side. The Tuesday was rubbish, but even Mark, the man on the Outdoor BeanBag stand, remained cheery in the rain.
The rain disappeared for the Wednesday, much to the delight of the 65 people who turned up to run, ride bicycles or motorbikes on the charity night based at Premier’s Swanwick Marina. Over £1,200 was raised and everyone had a great time – see separate story.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
On top of that, the delightful Sophie Ellis-Bextor opened the show, the stunning ladies of Escala helped launch Sunseeker’s Predator 130 and hordes of people turned up to break the record for the greatest number of people to send a semaphore message.
Then there were over 100 new products launched and, as well as Sunseeker, all the Big Four showed glossy new big boats. Oh yes, Eddie Jordan turned up and wrote out his cheque for the first Sunseeker 46 – his 10th boat from Mr Braithwaite.
In all, not a bad show, we’d say.
Organiser National Boat Shows (NBS) says it’s delighted with the success of the show, which boasted more than 500 exhibitors and almost 1,000 boats, and reckons its exhibitors reported a feeling of ‘cautious optimism’ for the future.
‘I believe this show proves the resilience and innovative nature of the British marine industry,’ said NBS chairman Paul Strzelecki. ‘To have such a positive show in the current economic climate is remarkable and we are delighted with the number of visitors who have come to enjoy it and, importantly, make purchases.’
Exhibitors say
We exceeded last year’s value of finance applications by 32% - Ian Braham, Lombard Marine Finance
A 50% uplift in year-on-year sales - Toomer and Hayter
We secured sales or offers on more than 60 boats during the show - Boatshed.com
We’ve achieved twice as many sales as we did at the 2008 PSP Southampton Boat Show - Frank Stevens, Crownline
Absolutely fantastic! We’ve had a number of orders on our new offering - Matthew Hornsby, Williams Performance Tenders
We’ve had a very successful Show and look forward to taking that high to the Tullett Prebon LIBS - Robert Braithwaite, Sunseeker International
We’ve been delighted with the Show and have seen a very encouraging mood of improved optimism - Alan Morgan, Avon/Zodiac
We’re extremely pleased at the number of genuine boat buyers looking at a new Princess - Will Green, Princess Yachts International
Our show sponsorship has proved a great success and committing to next year’s sponsorship was the easiest decision I’ve ever made - Frank Dixie, PSP
I came here dead worried, but I think it’s going to be OK – James Grazebrook, Halyard
Great show and great quality people - Ian Cooke, Onward Trading
Source: Boating Business www.boatingbusiness.com
Following the official opening of the PSP Southampton Boat Show on Friday 11 September by pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Show organisers are delighted that attendance is slightly ahead of last year. Advance ticket sales are still selling strongly with a further 2,300 sold on Saturday alone, with the overall figure an amazing 36% ahead of last year.
Attendance on the first day was roughly the same as last year with 8,018 visitors. Saturday saw 14,872 visitors attending the Show, which was 2% ahead of last year, while Sunday saw another great attendance of 13,592 which was again ahead of the same day last year. Attendance on Monday continued to grow, with 9,056 visitors - 3% ahead of last year whilst Tuesday (8,523 visitors) was only 1% down on last year. Yesterday (Wednesday) saw 10,118 visitors attend the Show, 5% ahead of last year. This puts the running total after six days at 64,179 which is 1% ahead overall.
Andrew Williams, Managing Director of National Boat Shows, comments: “This is a fantastic result, both in terms of attendance and the advance ticket sales; we’re really pleased that the PSP Southampton Boat Show has started off on such a positive note, and anticipate the rest of the Show will continue in the same vein.”
Join in the fun this weekend and head down to the Show to help us break the world semaphore record! Only ten people short last weekend, we’re calling for all hands on deck this weekend to smash the record.
Source: BMF Newsletter www.britishmarine.co.uk
BOAT SHOW: The first weekend of the PSP Southampton Boat Show brought a smile to many faces as the sun shone and the visitors came to see what they’d been missing all year: some fantastic boats and a bit of a dream.
After last year’s press day, where journalists wandered disconsolately from event to event, this year saw so many press launches the journos were spoiled for choice.
And that so many companies were willing to put new products on the market is a very good sign for the immediate future.
Organisers National Boat Shows (NBS ) had made much of the nearly 100 product launches planned for the show - including 30 world launches - and it seemed all were set for press day.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor provided the glamour for the opening ceremony, after which attention switched to Sunseeker’s Predator 130 where the four equally glamorous girls from Escala played as the new boat met her PSP SBS crowds for the first time.
After that, it was down to Formula One pundit Eddie Jordan to bring a smile to Mr Braithwaite’s face as he signed his cheque for the first Sunseeker 46 - his 10th Sunseeker - quoted in one newspaper as being worth £12m.
After that, we had launches from Peters & May, Sealine, Mastervolt, Golden Arrow Marine, Northshore Yachts, Discovery Yachts, PSP - where Frank Dixie announced his company would sponsor the Southampton Boat Show for yet another year - Williams Performance Tenders, Garmin, Clipper Marine, Fairline, Raymarine, Marine Electronic Services, Premier Marinas, Scorpion RIBs, Ultrasonic Antifouling, The Green Blue, Standard Horizon, Princess Yachts and Sunsail.
Then it was on to the Saltwater Party, where members of the press get the…er, mickey taken out of them for their transgressions over the past year.
Boating Business got off lightly with a prize (and a tube of Anusol) for its headline of Painful Piles Removed about some boat owners forcing a harbour authority to remove some badly-placed mooring piles.
An excellent press day by all accounts. And the visitor total over the weekend was just about on a par with 2008 which, after the ups and downs of the last year, was a great result.
And we understand 100 people went to the Sunday evening dinner at Dockgate No 4 and had a great time.
Fingers crossed the weather stays with us (OK, it would be nice if the high pressure drifted a little to the south to take the north easterlies away), but the people we spoke to reckon business had been a great deal better than they were expecting.
Source: Boating Business www.boatingbusiness.com
Dorset Business Awards 2009
Don’t forget to enter! Closing date is the 18th September so be sure to start your entries soon. Using the fantastic new website you can work on your entry and save and go back to it before finally submitting.
Celebrating the achievements of businesses, the Dorset Business Awards are an accolade to those companies whose vision, ambition and skills have led to new heights of success. Please remember these awards are open to any business in Dorset or with a BH or DT postcode. The Awards are free to enter and you do not need to be a member of Dorset Business (the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) to enter, Individual awards are judged by key business people across Dorset who are chosen by the Award Sponsor(s).
It’s really worth taking the time to enter one or more of the awards and it’s not always the large, well known companies who win - small companies have won lots of awards in the past ! The positive publicity and recognition for becoming a finalist is fantastic.
Joanna Clarke, Teachers Building Society a finalist within the Excellence in Customer/Client Care Award in 2008 said “The recognition of reaching the final was a morale boost for the whole team. The awards process and gala dinner event provided opportunities to raise our profile locally and make valuable connections with other business people”
Award Categories:
Creative Company/Project of the Year Award
Dorset Charity of the Year Award
Dorset Exporter of the Year Award
Entrepreneur of the Year Award
KPMG Company of the Year Award
Linking with Schools Award
NatWest Excellence in Customer Service Award
Princecroft Willis Family Business Award
Team Dorset 2012 Legacy Award
The Dorset Tourism Award
Go to www.dorsetbusinessawards.co.uk for more info, online entries and Gala Dinner ticket info.
Please contact Sylvie or Shirley at Dorset Business on 01202 714800 for any queries.
