Paolo Vitelli heads the Azimut-Benetti Group, the world’s leading megayacht builder. We spoke to him about the state of the Italian nautical industry and how the world crisis is affecting it.
How do things stand right now in the sector? The economic situation remains weak though the indicators show that we have hit the bottom of the curve and that a recovery has begun.
How significant is the recovery? It’s slow and will take at least a couple of years. What does that mean for the nautical sector? I’m more optimistic for the sector. Potential buyers didn’t lose much money. But they did lose a sense of security. They were the victims of the fear factor and weren’t given credit. Those are all situations that are easier to put right than trying to sort out the economy as a whole.
What attitude are potential purchasers taking? Our potential clients are less cautious and embarrassed about buying because the atmosphere of defeat there was a few months ago has dissipated. They no longer feel the world is about to collapse and are beginning to get access to credit. They’ll give a more positive signal to our industry than other manufacturing segments. What was the worst time? November 2008 to February 2009. What can you do to stimulate the market? Create new products. Generate a desire to buy, a sense of euphoria in buyers and in ourselves, the builders. Innovation will drive the recovery.
What about exports? We have to wise up a bit. The Dutch yards didn’t panic at all and the British, who have a mature industrial mentality, took advantage of the weak sterling. Italians are the best, particularly in terms of innovation and creativity, but we have to portray an image of reliability and continuity.
What criticism do you have of our industry? The impression that companies go in and out of the sector very quickly. That anyone can set up a new yard with minimal investment. That all threatens the image of reliability and continuity that’s essential these days.
What do clients want nowadays? Boats that are as fast as before but more efficient. They want more comfort. The revolution some people are talking about isn’t happening.
So what weight do the other solutions being bandied about carry? We are seeing interest in the new segments. The pilot and trawler concepts didn’t interest anyone until a few years ago. But now they’re getting trendy. That will open a new segment but without revolutionising the traditional ones.
Your opinion of the 49th Genoa Boat Show? It got off to a sluggish start, but then it improved as time went on. The smaller models drew most interest. It’s always been tough to sign contracts on larger yachts at Genoa. It hinted at an improvement in the market.
And what about the three after-summer shows? Cannes: good enough across the board. Monaco: only positive for the over 50-metres. Genoa: quite good for smaller models.
And what is your advice to people working in the sector? Don’t float on the stock exchange, build up a solid foundation, avoid depending on private equity firms, banks and other stakeholders.
Paolo Vitelli heads the Azimut-Benetti Group, the world’s leading megayacht builder. We spoke to him about the state of the Italian nautical industry and how the world crisis is affecting it.