One to watch

The superyacht industry is constantly examining where the next potential sales leads are going to come from, and rightly so, as emerging markets need to be identified early in order for opportunities to be capitalised upon. The Italian Sea Group has appointed FYI Superyachts, a division of Florida Yachts International, as the exclusive distributor for its custom brands Admiral and Tecnomar in Latin America, with particular focus on Venezuela, Peru and Colombia.

“The Latin American market is growing fast and we know it’s becoming one of the most important future markets for superyachts,” Francesco Carbone, sales director and vice chairman of The Italian Sea Group, said of the decision. “We already have yacht owners coming from those territories and understand the importance of having a partner who has a solid structure in Latin America and offices in Florida and the US, which remains the favourite destination for many South American buyers. Florida Yacht International is very well known and organised and will be looking after the Venezuela, Colombia and Peru markets. They have a big database of repeat clients who want to upgrade, so the choice was very easy to make.”


Speaking exclusively to SuperyachtNews.com, Ralph Navarro, CEO and founder of FYI Superyachts, acknowledged that this region holds great potential for the superyacht industry. “I think everyone in the marine world has realised that the Latin American market is a very emerging market,” he affirmed. “Most of the usual buyers that we had in Latin America were satisfied with 90-foot boats, but now the owners that want to be different in status are starting to move up in size into the 100- to 130-foot boats.”

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Commenting on the trends in this growing market, Navarro believes that a new generation of owners is emerging due to inherited wealth. “What is happening is that there is a new generation that is coming up in Latin America and their wealth is compounded with the money that their parents made,” he explains. “So that is creating a more active market on the superyacht side of things. It is also bringing some younger owners into the game that love boating and want to enjoy the lifestyle. I think one of the main reasons why they are moving to the larger vessels is to have the flexibility to move the boat around and just meet the boat wherever it is.”

But what is the region’s growth potential in comparison to other identified emerging markets in the superyacht industry? “It is still in its infancy but it is moving at a very rapid pace,” Navarro believes. “I think, in the next five years, you will probably see an emerging market in Latin America very comparable to the Asian and Middle Eastern market.”

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