You took over as general manager of Outremer in September 2017. Can you tell us about your career path, from enlightened sailor to catamaran shipyard manager?
Stéphane Grimault: I've long been passionate about multihulls. After many years in Formula 18, when I wanted to switch to a liveaboard catamaran, I looked at what was on offer. I saw that Outremer had won the Transat upwind. This convinced me of the boats' qualities, and in 1999 I bought my first Outremer 45 from Gérard Danson. With this boat, I won the ARC twice, in 2001 and 2006. Then I bought my second catamaran, an Outremer 55, which turned out to be Xavier Desmarest's first sale when he took over as head of the shipyard. When I then bought Outremer 51 n° 2, I invited Xavier to do a transatlantic race with me. We got to know each other well, and the idea for the 5X was born in the middle of the Atlantic. Still pushing for a sport version, I'm also to blame for the birth of the Outremer 4X.
Alongside this sailing life, I was CEO of the Reebok France subsidiary, then of Converse and finally of New Balance for Western Europe. As I was taking a sabbatical to sail after resigning, Xavier came to me and said: "Grand Large Yachting is evolving. You know Outremer, the boats and the business. You fit the profile we're looking for to replace me. "We agreed. I spent a whole year on Outremer 4X, which gave me a real understanding of blue water cruising. And after that, on September 1, 2017, I took over as general manager of Outremer. It's interesting to see inside the jar!
What are your commercial and industrial objectives for Outremer?
Stéphane Grimault: My aim is to stay as close as possible to the promise we make to our customers who set off on a long journey: "serene performance. "Our positioning is very clear. In a survey of 4,000 people, we found that Outremer is to sailboats what Porsche is to cars: a sports machine that can be maintained like a classic boat. That's why I'm going to continue to work towards impeccable quality. By fine-tuning our processes, sequencing production more effectively and increasing our factory floor space, we're also going to limit delivery times to better meet demand.
We also need to think about the future, the planet and future generations, through electric propulsion for example. A new model somewhere between the Outremer 51 and the 5X could also find its place.
How are things going with Gunboat? Is it possible to pool resources?
Stéphane Grimault: Grand Large Yachting is organized by silo, with one boss for each brand. Then there are cross-functional skills, such as the design office. The group's strength lies in its ability to draw on these skills and this cross-channel vision for its new projects. For example, we combine in-house training with external skills for our new factory. We're looking for employees in the design office, but also operators, for both Gunboat and Outremer.
