Nautical Ventures named first N.A. dealer for Schaefer Yachts of Brazil

Published February 9th, 2017 by Bernardo

Nautical Ventures has added another boat brand to its stable of water toy offerings.

The Dania Beach-headquartered marine company was recently selected by Schaefer Yachts, a 25-year old builder of luxury sport yachts in Brazil, as its first North American dealer.

“As we begin this milestone [25^th] year for our company, it was a natural business evolution for us to enter the North American marketplace,” said Samuel Brito, Schaefer’s CEO and partner of U.S. operations, in a statement. “Our boats, and how they are designed, will be an ideal fit for the U.S. boating customer.”

Nautical Ventures, which has marine superstores in Dania Beach, North Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, will sell a selection of Schaefer yacht models, which range in size from 30 feet to 83 feet in length.

“We’ve been looking to expand our boat lines into the 36-foot – 80-foot segment and Schaefer Yachts really fills that sweet spot,” said Roger Moore, Nautical Ventures CEO. “We are pleased they have chosen to make their American debut through us.”

Five yacht models including the Schaefer 640 and Schaefer 560 will be displayed during the 29^th annual Yachts Miami Beach Show, which runs Feb. 16-20 along Collins Avenue across from the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc hotels, in Miami Beach.

The price tags for the Schaefer yachts to be exhibited range from $140,000 to $7.5 million, Nautical Ventures said.

“We’re confident in their ability to offer their clientele the same high standards of customer service we deliver elsewhere in the world,” added Brito, of the decision to select Nautical Ventures as its first U.S. dealer. “We also did our due diligence in researching U.S. boat dealers when we discovered Nautical Ventures.”

In 2017, Nautical Ventures’ retail sales of Schaefer vessels are expected to hit $10 million and reach about $25 million annually by 2020, Moore said.

At Yachts Miami Beach, the Dania company also plans to introduce the Schaefer Yachts Premier Club, a VIP program that will offer a variety of benefits to first time U.S. buyers of the brand, such as a guaranteed trade-in value and deeply-discounted price incentives on limited-run production models, Moore noted.

As part of its foray into the U.S. market, Schaefer is planning to open an operations office in South Florida, company officials said. The Brazilian boat-builder is also eyeing possible manufacturing facilities in the U.S. including South Florida, for the production of key models sold here.

The new Schaefer dealer-agreement comes on the heels of Nautical Ventures recognition in December as a Top 100 Dealer for North America by Boating Industry magazine.

The Boating Industry award was instrumental in helping Nautical Ventures snag a new dealer agreement with Seattle-based Ranger Tugs vessels as their eastern Florida and the Florida Keys representative, officials have said.

The first order of Ranger tug boats, representing a value of $600,000, is expected to arrive in its superstores in time for promotion at the 76^th Miami International Boat Show, Nautical Ventures has said. That boat show also runs Feb. 16-20, but at the Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin in Virginia Key.

The Ranger Tugs brand is expected to generate about $3 million annually in sales, according to Nautical Ventures.

Last July, Nautical Ventures also became the first U.S. dealer for UK-based NautiBuoy Marine, a manufacturer of high-end inflatable floating platforms.

In addition to its three superstores, parent company Nautical Ventures Group’s portfolio also includes yacht brokerage and boat repair and services provider QPS Marine in Dania Beach and refueler LukFuel, of Fort Lauderdale. The Group’s sales are forecast to top $40 million in 2017, the marine outfit said.

asatchell@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport

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