Brp to exit sport boat market

Faztbullet

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
15,616
Valcourt, Qu?bec, September 14, 2012 ? BRP today announced it will exit the sport boat business over the coming months, citing the continued global sales decline in the marine industry, particularly the drop in sales of sport boats since the financial crisis.

?This is a difficult but necessary decision for BRP,? said Jos? Boisjoli, president and CEO. ?We worked hard to grow our sport boat business through a serious sales decline that began in 2007. But now, we must focus our research and development resources and capital investments in areas of our business that offer greater growth potential.?

BRP entered the boat manufacturing business in 1994 and purchased the assets of Celebrity Boats in 1995, at which time it moved its facility to Benton, Illinois.

"We looked for a buyer for our sport boat business, but that effort proved unsuccessful," Boisjoli added. "Consequently, we decided not to resume production of the upcoming model year due to seasonal production planning requirements."

All impacted employees will receive a good transition package.

BRP will continue to provide parts and honour warranties for its customers.

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.

www.brp.com

Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Lynx, Evinrude, Johnson, Can-Am, Rotax and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates.

-30-

For information:
Johanne Denault
Manager, Corporate Communications
Tel: 450.532.5173
johanne.denault@brp.com

Note: Also attached is the letter informing dealers of this news, it comes as quite a shock to many of us and we are very saddened to hear of this news today.

Attached File Sea-Doo boats letter_NA_20120914.pdf 18.35K 34 downloads
 

JEBar

Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 4, 2012
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Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

exactly what product lines are they doing away with

Jim
 

nwcove

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Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

i can foresee their next press release " BRP is sad to announce that due to low sales because of high fuel prices , they will be discontinuing the production of anything "sporty". but are pleased to announce a new line of mo-peds, with some of the nicest decals in the market".
 

sschefer

Rear Admiral
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Nov 13, 2008
Messages
4,530
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

Truly it is a sad day but a wise business decision.
 

LongLine

Chief Petty Officer
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Nov 2, 2008
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494
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

sounds like they're just shutting down sea-doo & not evinrude . E-rude is in Wisc.
 

LongLine

Chief Petty Officer
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Nov 2, 2008
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494
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

Don't really know but letter is addressed to employees of sea-doo.
 

JEBar

Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 4, 2012
Messages
462
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

sounds like they're just shutting down sea-doo & not evinrude . E-rude is in Wisc.


I hate to see any manufacture go down .... the company that made our Sea Pro was bought out by a large corporation and promptly shut down .... as a strong Evinrude fan, I sure hope that is the case

Jim
 

Jlawsen

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 22, 2012
Messages
810
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

Don't really know but letter is addressed to employees of sea-doo.

I guess if they're shutting down the plant then that means the entire product line. I read an article not long ago about how the federal classification of PWC's as powerboats has taken all the fun out of them. I'd bet that has as much to do with it as anything else. The law isn't really new but is being enforced to a greater extent with each accident or death that's attributed to negligent operation. I sure don't see as many of them on the lakes as I used to.

I don't think Ultra Light flying enthusiast will provide enough support to keep Rotax going but I don't know of all the uses for those engines so they may be o.k.
 

woody66912

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
690
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

Sounds like they are just dumping the sport boat jet line, i.e single/ twin engine line.
Key words. Its portfolio of brands and products includes:.
 

JimS123

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
7,992
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

The buzz on the PWC forums is that they are retaining the "Jetski" line (called SeaDoo). Its only the jet boats that are being discontinued.

The funny thing is that their major competitor is Yamaha, and their recent buzz is that this business segment is growing (for them) and they intend to EXPAND the product line.

My local Doo dealer sells 80% of the PWCs in town, but hardly any jet boats. They also sell Bayliner. OTOH, my local Yami dealer sells only a few PWC's, but they stopped selling jet boats altogether. Their franchine went to another boat dealer, who spent the summer selling out of high end express cruisers.

Jet boats are not practical and many have come to realize that.
 

JEBar

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2012
Messages
462
Re: Brp to exit sport boat market

You can read the article here at Sounding trades Only ( Google)


info appreciated .... from reading the article it is clear that they are upgrading their Evinrude production facilities .... I'm really happy to see them doing so

Jim
 
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