brunswick in trouble?

[arboldt]

Re: brunswick in trouble?

Hoo, boy...

There are many issues and factors coming to bear. Some of the most significant from my viewpoint:

1) Greed. From investors looking to make a killing to overpaid and underperforming CEO's -- and many, many others.
2) Poor business decisions. Many companies may be well managed, but most of us are convinced Dilbert's PHB runs our company. As a former coworker described it, "decision-making unencumbered by the thought process."
3) Overall economy -- who can afford to buy anything?
4) Lack of confidence -- Since economic performance is in large part determined by confidence, when there is little confidence the economy suffers.
5) We can point our fingers at fuel prices, those who got themselves overextended, or committed any of several financial errors, but the saddest point is when several factors combine like the fabled perfect storm.

In the meantime, it's not wrong for me to take advantage of depressed prices to get a good deal for myself. We all do that at a retailer, yet feel sorry for the individual who has to sell his dream at a substantial loss.

We're still getting by financially -- but only temporarily. I know the company is ending my job. In fact, it was supposed to be gone months ago (see factor #2 above) but every additional paycheck is a good thing.

[back to topic]

Did Brunswick mismanage and/or overextend? I don't know, but it sounds plausible. Is it's CEO overpaid and underperforming? I don't know. I'm sure some people might feel that way. Is it a victim of the overall economy? Absolutely.

IF the first couple of questions are true, then we could say the company deserved it. From a macroeconomic standpoint that may be correct. But that doesn't mean its employees deserved their layoffs and shattered finances.

Most of us "little guys" pay the price of other's errors and / or stupidity. I wish I could say differently.

Now my wife and I have tried to protect ourselves financially, so we'll do a little better than some of my other [former] coworkers, but in the end everyone's hurting except the guys with the golden parachutes. But life has only been that way for a few millenia now, and I don't expect it to change.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: brunswick in trouble?

Obviously, this is all very bad news for the employees of those firms who are about to be laid off. Boat sales are down, and that's the bottom line. There are many reasons for that decline, and fuel cost is certainly one of them.

I've been talking to the guys fishing on the local lakes on weekdays. I'm seeing lots more 14' aluminum boats out there this year. One guy I talked to also has a big bass boat. He said that he bought his new tinny this year so he could fish the local lakes more economically. Nice new 25hp outboard on the back, too.

A couple of other guys had also bought aluminum boats this year, for the same reason, but they bought used ones, which are in enormous supply here in Minnesota.

So, the big boat makers missed the boat on changes in the economy. Folks with wierd mortgages on their houses aren't buying new boats, and that trend got missed.

Things are about to get restructured, it seems to me. Replacing your boat every couple of years doesn't seem to be the way things are going to be going. The guys who are buying those little tinnies are still going to be using their big boat...just not so much. Pressure's going to go up on the local lakes, while the big resort lakes are going to suffer.

It's not about buying American or not. It's about making things work in an economy you can't control as an individual. Pretty soon, you'll see new products, sometimes by new companies who don't have the heavy investment load that a Brunswick does. We may see the resurgence of small local boatmaking firms, something like what happened in the 60s, when every decent sized city had its own boatbuilding firms laying up boats.

Those new builders are going to need experienced workers. It all just takes time. If Brunswick goes under, I won't care all that much, and there will still be boats getting made and sold. Brunswick took a chance in buying out all those builders. Turns out it wasn't such a good idea. That's capitalism.

There's no shame in picking up a bargain by buying someone's boat, outboard, or trailer who needs the money. None at all. Getting a deal on used equipment is one way to keep the sport going until the restructuring happens.

What's happening is what's happening. Stuff changes all the time. Me? I'm going fishing.