Singapore Yacht Show 2015 – in the rear view mirror

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World.com on 1 May 2015 For four afternoons in a row the heavens opened and dumped. And then they dumped some more. By the fourth day we really wondered if there was any more to be had – but there was, and if anything it was more than the first three days. With the show starting at 1300h every day this was not the sort of weather to encourage the crowds out on to the pontoons, and certainly the docks looked to be sparsely-populated each afternoon. If any further discouragement were needed, entrance tickets this year were charged at S$48/day.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of traffic indoors, and the VIP Champagne Lounge was a favourite spot for anyone who could get past the XL bouncers on the door. Exhibitors inside the shore-side pavilion benefited from the visitors sheltering from the torrential downpours.

But at the end of four days there was not a negative word to be heard from anyone, indoors or outdoors, which can only lead to the conclusion that the visitors to the Singapore Yacht Show 2015 made up in ‘quality’ what was lacking in ‘quantity’. Simpson Marine reported ‘record sales’ without being any more specific, and every exhibitor that we spoke with said that they had been busier than a one-armed paperhanger. This is interesting: it means that from a commercial point of view it is absolutely not necessary to fill up a boat show with tyre-kickers and pram-pushers. What is really necessary is to somehow make sure that the attendees are the Right People.

So why do people go to boat shows? Or yacht shows? From the point of view of those walking the pontoons there will be opportunity to look at boats, to compare similar (meaning that they have probably done the research before going to the show), and to come and see what’s new (implying some experience with boats).

Dealers and brokers will tell you that very few boat show visitors arrive at the event with a cheque book and the intention to buy. Rather, they are there to take a look at the reality after having already trawled the internet and the relevant websites. They have researched the catalogue, and now they are after some hands-on, touch-feely. A friend (nameless) who long ago worked for a dealer for one of the major sailing boat brands (un-named) was sent on a training course in How to Sell Boats. “When you have identified the party in charge of the purchasing decision – usually the one wearing a skirt – make sure that you show them the clever fridge arrangement and the really nice cushion covers. You can probably whizz past the battery capacities and winch specifications without mentioning them at all.” To bear this out, Nils Jeppesen of X-Yachts was recently asked in a Seahorse interview, “why is it that modern design and materials allows you to produce something that looks like a mini-VOR racer, but they tend to go less fast than an X-99?” He replied that current build regulations (scantlings and safety requirements) and the demand for two fridges, a washing machine and a tumble drier in every 30-footer tends to slow things down a bit.

On the other side of the pontoon, why are the exhibitors there? Ok, to sell boats, for sure. But also to see what’s new from their competitors, to ‘establish leads’ with new and potential customers, and to spend some time networking with industry suppliers and the peripherals manufacturers – instruments companies, radar, pumps, what-have-you. And also the logistics people that move large and pricey things around the world.

A boat show is not just a shop window that says ‘come in and buy.’ That would be a poor boat show. A good boat show is an entire industry occasion that allows anyone who is anyone to get together with the rest of their industry colleagues and compare notes, and this is where the Singapore Yacht Show scores. After only five years the event has established itself as an ‘occasion’ at which people and companies from all the multifarious sections of the leisure marine industry can get together in one place and communicate – from the charter brokers looking to attract new clients to the people producing add-on options such as zero-speed stabilisers and mini-submarines, from the yacht salesmen to the inflatable slide manufacturers. It has be assumed that there needs to be a sort of critical mass for such an event to work – and the Singapore Yacht Show has succeeded in this. The potential customers on the docks and in the shore side pavilion were not only from Singapore. The SYS has in a very short time become the place in Asia to see, and be seen. We spoke with visitors from Hong Kong (where the Gold Coast Boat Show is happening this very weekend), from Malaysia, Thailand and from Indonesia. This is a proper regional show.

Non-Asian manufacturers are looking towards this part of the world to take up the slack occasioned by decaying markets elsewhere. The Singapore Yacht Show is rapidly becoming the most significant showplace in Asia – if it isn’t already. In Europe the big show are dominated by manufacturers, not dealers. You want to look at superyachts? – go to Monaco. Something a little smaller? – try Cannes, or Genoa. Hardware? – METS. Asia has neither the size nor the influence of these old and established events, but if anywhere is shaping up to fill that spot in the calendar in this part of the world then it is Singapore.

Funny old thing that: Singapore is very small, and it does not have the cruising grounds to attract boat and yacht owners in the same way that any of the major ports in the Mediterranean can. But it has facilities, infrastructure, international accessibility, and largely intelligent regulations where the coming-and-going of boats are concerned. It is a world port with a history of understanding this sort of stuff.

In a year’s time, if you are manufacturer looking to make a splash in Asia, wanting to launch a new model, on the qui vive for information and industry intelligence – pay a visit to the Singapore Yacht Show 2016. And maybe the Asia Pacific Yachting Conference that precedes it – you probably won’t be disappointed, even if it rains stair rods for four days end to end.