Uncertainty in the lead up to the American presidential election did nothing to dampen interest and sales at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, finishing early this week, with iconic Australian luxury cruiser manufacturer, Maritimo, reporting its best results at this year’s show.
Maritimo had a large display at Fort Lauderdale and International Sales and Marketing Manager, Greg Haines, said sales were recorded across the range.
“Our M64 cruising motoryacht was by far the most popular model in terms of interest and we have achieved sales of that vessel and also the M51 and M54,” he said.
“The thing about this year in Fort Lauderdale was that the confidence among prospective buyers was very high despite the election result not being known at that stage.”
“The numbers were up and the quality of the traffic was also up.”
Haines said that the Maritimo caravan had now moved from Fort Lauderdale to Key West where Maritimo Racing was competing in the World Offshore Powerboat Championships.
He said as part of that support team a ‘Maritimo Muster’ was being held involving about 45 Maritimo owners and their friends and families. The flotilla will cruise and socialise together while at the same time providing moral support to the Maritimo race team.
“We have also arranged for a number of people who visited us at the Fort Lauderdale Show to come to Key West and the muster and conduct sea trials on some of our models,” he said.
“We have sea trials scheduled on the M64 and the M70 and I am confident that more sales will result.”
Haines said the sales recorded at the show included both European and USA buyers. He said Maritimo’s USA based dealer partners along with the company’s representatives from Europe were in attendance at Fort Lauderdale.
“The Maritimo brand goes from strength to strength in both the USA and in Europe and the skills and expertise of our dealer partners combined with their extensive networks will only see that brand recognition continue to grow,” he said.
“Now the Presidential Election is out of the way we expect even more positivity in that market and as a result we are confident of more sales stemming from the Fort Lauderdale Show.”
