Southeast Asia has been witnessing a remarkable increase in yacht sales in the past two years, with customers showing a stronger preference for big and bigger yachts.
Thailand-based Boat Lagoon Yachting, one of Southeast Asia’s largest yacht dealerships, has recorded sales of 85 luxury yachts during the past two years, among which 42 were new yachts. Group CEO Vrit Yongsakul says this has been one of the strongest couple of years since they started to represent Princess Yachts 27 years ago. He has attributed the surge in sales to the company’s loyal customers upgrading to bigger boats and their referrals to and from friends “who seek the service assurance of a long-standing local dealership,” highlighting that half of the new yacht sales were made by existing clients.
According to Yongsakul, during the last 24 months, as a result of this trend, the company’s best-selling yachts have also become the larger ones, with 30 of the new yachts sold being 70 feet long or even larger. Also, in this year alone, the company has also sold three of Princess Yachts’ 95-foot yachts, including two X95 yachts and a Y95 yacht that was the first to be sold in the world.
Yongsakul adds that Singapore, and particularly Thailand, stand out as more challenging and demanding markets, where word-of-mouth and long-term relationships play a key role in the success of sales. He says this has helped the company secure more than 75 percent in the market share of new yachts sold that are between the range of 55 to 100 feet and manufactured by a global brand, and the company has sold more than 90 new boats in this size range in recent years.
Besides the growing preference for larger boats and referrals from existing clients, Yongsakul also thinks the new designs in the range also help to attract an increasing number of boaters into yachting.
Boat Lagoon Yachting is one of the largest yacht importation, distribution, and after-sales service organisations in the region. Its regional network covers Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Maldives.
Image courtesy of Princess Yachts.
