West Marine Restructures Debt

[Kettlewell]

And then there is this trend. The trend is down, except for the Covid bump. Sailboats are declining more in number, but the dollar size of the market is more level, suggesting more charter boats and larger boats, which means less business for WM. I know I go to chandleries less than I used to.

Decades ago I attended several conferences where sailing industry leaders bemoaned the decline in sales and all sorts of ideas were floated for what to do about it, but nobody (or almost nobody) followed any of the advice. The result was decades of more of the same from the industry, with predictable results. The basic problem with sailing is that there aren't newcomers coming in to replace the people aging out at the other end. I've been attending boat shows from more than four decades, and in that time they have continually shrunk in size and number. It used to be that you could go to the New York boat show in January and there you would see all the major sailboat manufacturers with a full line of sailboats on display, from sub-20 footers on up to fairly large cruising boats. There were acres of daysailors on display. The same was true in Boston, Newport, Stamford, Annapolis, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, etc. Most of those companies are just gone, and the shows are much smaller on the sailboat side of things. Remember, Newport was originally a sailboat show only--no power, and it took up more space then the current show. You could go there and lots of chandlers were competing for your business: BoatUS, West Marine, Defender, and many others. Now, you're lucky if you can pick up a pair of shoes or a new foul weather jacket from the fashion-oriented displays. I see the same thing on the water and in boatyards in New England. The smaller family cruisers are mostly gone. You used to see lots of 30-40 foot modest boats with mom, dad, and the kids onboard. Now it is almost all retirees on giant cats and expensive boats. I'm sure this has impacted West Marine tremendously, along with the many chandlers that are just gone now.