Korea International Boat Show 2010 – Fairline - building the brand

by Guy Nowell, MarineBusiness-World on 14 Jun 2010 Fairline was at KIBS for the third year in a row. No boats on display, but Bryan Jones said 'we are not under any illusion that we are here to sell boats – we are here to build exposure for the brand. An appreciation of quality boats is something that will undoubtedly happen in Korea – everyone knows that a Rolls Royce or a Bentley stands for quality motoring, and a Fairline comes in the same bracket, but on water. The market is not there yet, but it will come.'

Jones views the Far Eastern market as coming in three flavours – 'developed', as in Hong Kong or Australia; 'potential' as in China (where, he tells us, he recently counted 4,000 empty marina berths. 'The marinas need to be improved, but they are actually there'); and starting-from-zero, like India. Or Korea.

'This is a cash-rich society, where the age of first-time buyers is likely to become lower than we are used to. Along with higher lifestyle aspirations will come the appreciation of quality that recognises the difference between an item like a Fairline, and the cheaper alternative. We will never compete with Asian manufacturers on price, but we can compete on pedigree.'

They are definitely doing something right at Fairline, as the company was recently awarded the title of ‘Best Brand Penetration Improvement in Asia’ at the recent Asian Marine and Boating Awards held in conjunction with the China (Shanghai) International Boat Show. We have been waiting quite a while for the much-touted China market to really take off… 'No sooner than seven years from now,' says Jones. 'Maybe longer. And longer again for Korea.'

Fairline have appointed CK Marine Group as their exclusive dealer in South Korea. 'It's an exciting new partnership for us,' said Jay Lee, Marketing Manager. 'We look forward to welcoming new clients to our boating 'family', as well as existing ones. The government infrastructure projects on the drawing board, and the economic measures in place for the marine leisure industry, make this a very exciting time for the boating industry.' (CK Marine is also the Korean dealer for Beneteau and Lagoon).