Hanseboot 2007: Positive Conclusions, Final Report

Hanseboot 2007: more than 110,000 visitors have attend the 48th Hamburg International Boat Show. “The hanseboot has demonstrated once again that it is the indicator in the boat industry, both in expertise and in quality. Things are improving and people are buying again – that is the mood among exhibitors,” said Bernd Aufderheide, Chairman of the Management Board of HMC (Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH), in his summary. “The site expansion was very well accepted by visitors.

The high standard of expertise is much appreciated by the hanseboot exhibitors, as confirmed by the visitor survey. About 94% of Hanseboot visitors are actively engaged in watersport. Visitor interest is primarily directed at sailing, with 56% (versus 53% in 2006). That  is followed by acccessories  and equipment with 46% (versus 49% in 2006) and motor boats with 35% (versus 39% in 2006). 75% (versus 75% in 2006) of visitors own their own boat and another 14% (2006: 15%) charter a boat from time to time. Purchasing power of visitors is very strong. 22% (versus 20% in 2006) have a net household 
income of more than €5,000 per month.

“Hanseboot met the high expectations in many areas,” said Claus- Ehlert Meyer, Executive Director of the German Boat and Ship Building Association. “Exhibitors and visitors describe the 
restructuring and resorting of contents as successful. Exhibitors expect good post-event business on the basis of the strong demand at the hanseboot”.

Exhibitor opinions:

Sailing boats / Sailing yachts
Mike Reuer, Bavaria: “It went very well for us. We had better sales results than ever before. In fact our expectations were even exceeded for sailing boats. And they were at least fulfilled for motor boats. The trend is going more towards bigger boats.”
Christoph Barth, X-Yachts: “It went very, very well. We were able to close deals, more than we did last year, and we are hopeful of good follow-up business.”
Jonathan Russel, Marten Europe Distribution: “This is the first time we are exhibiting a boat in Europe. The response this year was incredible. There are a very large number of interested prospects for a carbon ship like this in North Germany, and the lifting keel means the whole of the Baltic Region is open for potential sales for us. We sold the exhibited vessel to an English owner on Tuesday, at a price of one million euros.”
Jürgen Schwern, Dehler: “We were overwhelmed by the run on our new 34 series. The mid-range segment has enormous potential, especially in North Germany. We have done good business.”
Niels Töpke, Comfortina: “It went extremely well, even better than in the previous year, and we made really good sales at the fair.
The hanseboot is the most important fair for us, with a high proportion of expert visitors. Most of them come from the North, but we did also sell a boat to South Africa.”
Reimer Petrich, Solaris-Yachts Nord: “The hanseboot went brilliantly well for us. There was a particularly high level of interest in the Solaris 48 in the Hall, and also in the Solaris 53 at the hanseboot harbour. We found customers for these yachts.”
Fiete Renkhoff, Janzen und Renkhoff: “Our 12 metre one-off by Georg Nissen attracted a great deal of interest. We are very pleased with the way the hanseboot went.”
Ben Vaes, Oyster: “It was a very successful hanseboot. We were able to sell the new 525 from the design drawing. The hanseboot harbour was the ideal location for us again.”
Thomas Bohrer, Nautor’s Swan: “The hanseboot is the key show for us.”
Dines Pontoppidan, Diamond Yachts: “The Wednesday was exceptionally good. Najad is running well, and is a real crowd puller in this hall. We are not expecting actually to sign contracts until later, after the end of the hanseboot.”
Thorsten Bergheim, Beneteau: “It went very well, and we have made sales, especially in the upper and mid segment.” Mathias Lenz, Vilm Yachts: “The launch of the new Vilm 34 we well received, and we are expecting good follow-up business. The visitors come mainly from the Baltic region. Our observation is that many are switching back from bigger boats to smaller ones, but  are increasingly aware of quality.”
Arne Schmidt, Contest: “We are very pleased with the demand and with sales. The Contest sold better than in previous years. We also had customers from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Russia at our stand.”

Motor boats/Motor yachts Henning Mittelmann, Mittelmann’s Werft: “The world premiere of the Pinasse gave us outstanding success at the hanseboot. That was a nice surprise for all of us, and we were able to sell more of the Pinasse.”
Sylvia Loeber, Sunseeker: “The second weekend was very good for us. We were able to sell several yachts.”
Ralf Hartwik, HW Bootscenter: “It was a successful fair for us, with sale of three large motor yachts up to Friday alone. The motor boat hall proved very effective, enabling visitors to make comparisons with other builders at nearby stands.”
Michael Schmidt, Hanse Yachts: “We had sensational sales results. The autumn fairs were difficult this year, but now at the end of the season we have made good all the shortfall we had before. We doing better than last year’s result, and that was already a very good one. This is the first time that we have had a Fjord (motoryacht) on show at the hanseboot, and we have already sold 
more than one of them here.” Sven Sieg, Thalmann Boote und Yachten: “Visitor quality at the hanseboot has improved. There was a lot of interest in our Jeanneau motor yachts. We are expecting good follow-up business and are satisfied.”
Ivar van der Leij, Jachtbouw Pedro-Boat: “There was a great deal of interest in our new steel-hulled displacement boats. We are happy.” Wieardus Reichl, Linsen Yachts: “The hanseboot went very well for us. There were a total of nine builders of steel-hulled boats with stands close to ours. That made it easy for visitors to compare. We had a particularly large number of visitors from Scandinavia at our  stand.”
Peter Neumann, Kiel Classic: “The location in the hall with the classics was very positive for us. The hanseboot worked well. The boat builders can be happy with results, and can be confident of job security.”

Accessories and various Robert Marx, Marx, Motors: “The hanseboot is the indispensable primary show for us. The quality of hanseboot visitors is exceptionally good. They are very expert and know what they want.” Bernhard Fründt, Volvo Penta, Motors: “Contacts with the boat dealers were better for us than they were last year. We did good business at our stand in Hall B6, thanks to economic recovery.”
Peter Frisch, Frisch: “We are very satisfied. In fact, our expectations were exceeded. The concentration of accessories in Hall B6 was very much in our interest. hanseboot visitors are looking for quality again.”
Helge van der Linden, M.u.H. von der Linden: “We are very pleased with the way it went.”
Albert Schweizer, Sailmaker: “We were very happy with this show.”
Joachim Philippi, Philippi Elektrische Systeme: “We were just as successful as last year. There is a particularly large proportion of owners among visitors, and that is very good for us.”
John Dempsey, Furono Deutschland: “We are absolutely satisfied with sales.” Helmut Bremer, Eissing Elektronic Essentials: “This year’s hanseboot went better for us than in 2006.” Michael Mühlhausen, Nautic Tours, Charter: “Hamburg continues to be the best boat show for us.”
Verena Hoffmann, Moorings Deutschland, Charter: “We are back in Hamburg again for the first time after a long pause, and that was definitely the right decision.” Harald Baum, Pantenius, Insurance: “It is going better than expected. We are doing about 10 or 15% more business than last year.”

The hanseboot 2008, 49th Hamburg International Boat Show, will be held at the Hamburg Messe site and at the hanseboot harbour from 25 October to 2 November 2008.