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Shipchandlers are not just distributors of accessories. They are the first point of contact between the industry and the yachtsman. He's the one who sees the weak signals: the upturn in maintenance activity, the rise of electrification, the growing interest in sustainable solutions, customers' budgetary trade-offs. It is also the one who accompanies the long cycle, when the yachtsman defers the purchase of a boat but continues to equip, maintain and improve it.
Product training, increased technical expertise, appropriation of new ranges, understanding of regulatory and environmental issues. Teams keep up to date, or even move upmarket, to meet the needs of a more demanding, better-informed customer.
This increase in skills is strategic for the entire industry. At a time when volumes are under pressure, value is created through advice, technical relevance and the ability to propose customized rather than standardized solutions. A trained shipchandler is a prescriber. And a convinced prescriber is a sales gas pedal for both equipment manufacturers and shipyards.
Boaters are more selective in their spending. He invests less spontaneously in a new boat, but continues to maintain, optimize and improve his existing unit. Shipchandlers are at the heart of this logic. He captures a more fragmented, but regular, activity, and helps maintain the fleet.
In a boating industry looking for ways to revive, shipchandlers play a central role. They support the maintenance-refit business, spread innovation, secure customer relations and supply the aftermarket. Their dynamism at the start of the year sends out a clear message: specialized distribution is not in retreat, it's getting ready.
Nothing spectacular, just a lot of hard work. And in these times, that work counts.
