Denison banks on client conversion for success of superyacht arm

Denison Yacht Sales, the US charter and brokerage house so far focused on the small boat market, will launch a Superyacht Division in the Spring.

'Denison Super Yacht Division' will focus on the sale, marketing, and charter of yachts over 30 metres as well as leverage sale of new construction yachts from Mondo Marine, the Italian builder which appointed Denison as broker in January.

But is there room for another superyacht broker to join an already competitive and tough re-sale market? The new company’s management is ambitious to sit ‘side by side with the large brokerage houses’ and believes it can do this by offering a new proposition:

“We are 100 per cent targeting our small boat clients to upgrade. We want to develop our younger and smaller yacht owners and stay with them and slowly grow as they upgrade over the years,” said Alex G. Clarke, who will be the division's managing director.

Clarke explained that they have already sold a boat to an upgrading client who swapped his 18m catamaran for a 24m explorer boat. He also added Denison has seen reaction from a 'guerrilla' style marketing campaign, focused on digital and targeted contacts, ahead of launch.

“We send out over 400 thousand pieces of direct mail a year and so we find that has gotten us a huge amount of results in the smaller segment of the market. We’re applying it the larger segment and we’re already seeing results.”

Other progress made ahead of the official launch include a near concluded new construction project for 68m Mondo Marine explorer yacht, eight weeks of charter sold and a recently concluded two week charter on a 50m yacht.



The US is performing well in the small yacht sales market. At the Miami Boat Show Dusty McCoy, chairman of Brunswick Company, which sells brands including Sea Ray models up to 60 feet, quoted a 10 per cent sales increase for 2012 in America. Denison has seen a 20 per cent increase in sales, said Clarke.

Yacht owners of small boats are more likely to sell assets if they believe there will be a buyer, so a healthy market in this sector bodes well for their interest and ability to upgrade.

“The key is we can handle boats from 30 feet to 300 feet, and we’re probably only company to handle both segments. I know there’s not another company that offers that,” concluded Clarke.

Profile links

Denison Yacht Sales

Mondo Marine SpA

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