[dropcap]A[/dropcap]mer Yachts, brand of the Italian Shipyard Permare, announced on the occasion of the recent Genoa International Boat Show, the sale of the first Amer 110’. The Permare Group, established in the ’70s by the great passion for the sea of its founder Fernando Amerio, and started as a center for technical assistance, today has come to be an excellence in the Italian shipbuilding.
After the success of the revolutionary Amer ’94, which made her debut last September in Cannes, the shipyard is now already actively working on this new challenge. The first Amer 110′ shall be equipped [highlight color=”yellow”]with 4 engines Volvo Penta IPS[/highlight], with delivery date foreseen in 2017.
Three questions to the Shipyard. Interview with Barbara Amerio.
[highlight color=”yellow”]Q: How was the Boat show September-November Season? You have recently introduced the new Amer 94′ and just closed the sale of the first Amer 110′. Someone talk about an excess of optimism, which does not mirror, however, a real return to important sales. Which are your impressions about the sector?[/highlight]
A: In these latest years, still affected by the global crisis, under the Amer Yachts brand we tried to invest our resources in research and innovation, so to be ready for the next recovery of the market. We thought that our clients we have ever served could be now ready for more innovative choices, such as the IPS engines, valid alternative to the most traditional propellers, thanks to their capacity to improve the comfort on board and to reduce consumption and emissions. And our sale activity and all the interests grown around Amer Yachts seem to prove us right. We have two new boats under construction with delivery foreseen for next year and another one for 2017, all three equipped with the IPS system.
[highlight color=”yellow”]Q: In short time – only in three months – as soon as the Boat Show season starts, as many other shipyards do, you face three different markets. Is there a different approach for each market, Europe, the United States and the Middle East?[/highlight]
A: Yes, there is a different approach. The European target is the one closer to our product. America, instead, is definitely a wider area compared to our range of products, in fact, we rae now studying for the new units an American version in the interior design: we will offer a custom-made product and thanks to our flexibility, we will be able to adapt, like a chameleon adapting to its surroundings. We are also trying to develop a new offer exclusively targeted to the first use of the boat in the Mediterranean, including a network of services specialized for this first emotional yachting experience, with the possibility for the owner to move the boat, at a later stage, in the US. In this way we are able to bring an increase to the supply chain, strengthening our customers liability.
For the Middle East Countries, it is a completely different matter. We have already several units in the Gulf, our brand has become very familiar over the years and our products are now very well-known. We are now trying to achieve new partnerships relating to yachts owned by Arab clients and usually cruising along our Ligurian coast, in order to provide assistance, services and support through other companies belonging to our Group (Gruppo Permare), and specialized in shipbuilding. In particular, in Qatar we feel like at home. Their extraordinary welcoming attitude, especially from our local partners, which work to give our brand as much visibility as possible. During the Boat Shows, “what goes around comes around”, this means that we try to develop as many contacts as possible, and then, afterwards, you must achieve your objects with determination and steadfastness. You usually need at least three years spent in marketing actions and international branding strategies, before beginning to give effective results.
[highlight color=”yellow”]Q: You represent a shipyard with a very strong team-oriented attitude, and it seems that you usually share each aspect of your mission. How could you preserve such a “low profile” in this unparalleled exclusive segment of the luxury market?[/highlight]
A: We are a big family with a strong passIon for yachting and shipbuilding. Each member of our staff is constantly encouraged to professionally grow and shares our same passion, being protagonist of the same growth process of our company, but according to his/her capacities and aptitudes. Our staff is involved in each activity of the shipyard and we are used to talk and discuss together; they also interact with suppliers and take part in boat shows and events. We like being multi-tasking professionals, covering different roles and sharing a common vision.
As to our “low-profile” attitude, you can preserve it if you make the public aware of the building process, if you let them know the “scenes behind”, not only the finished product. You don’t have to fear about moving the attention from the shipyard to the handicraft skills of our workforce. The shipyard has only a collecting function of this craftmanship, and the ability to manage the team during the building process, but only if we work in team, we can build a real “Amer Yacht”.
As to the suppliers, you got their confidence and trust if you have respect for their work; today my brother Rodolfo and I manage the same clients our father started to serve, and we now operate with the second generation of the same suppliers we have worked with since our beginning.
We have grown with an open-mind vision, we do not have any problem in sharing our positive results also with our competitors. For the project Amer 94′ Save the Sea, we worked with Volvo Penta and other three companies in the yachting sector, which helped us to improve our standards, especially in the design of a new larger tender garage or, for example, in the use of the cork for the fly bridge as innovative alternative to the teak, up to our partnership with Seakeeper, we are stregthening further.
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