Contents

• Table of Contents 1
• Introduction 2
• Market Analysis 2
• Industry Analysis (PEST Framework) 3
• Political Factors: 3
• Economic Factors: 4
• Social Factors: 5
• Technological Factors: 6
• Company / Product Portfolio Analysis 7
• Company Financials 8
• Break Even Analysis for Existing Business 10
• Manufacturing Plan for new yacht project 12
• Marketing Plan / Strategy 13
• Financial Planning and Forecast for the Yacht Project 14
• Break-even analysis for new yacht project 14
• Cash Flow Forecast 15
• Conclusion 16
• References 18

Description

“Far Horizon” (FA) which was established in 1994, has been steadily growing in the UK marine leisure business over the last 15 years expanding from being a supplier to a manufacturer of its own sailing dinghies and small yachts in 2001. With a current turnover of £1,250,000, it has established a presence in the UK inshore yacht market. Looking forward, the company is now analyzing the opportunity of expanding its manufacturing and sales operations to medium size sea going sailing yachts suited for 4 to 6 berths which would offer greater sales value and higher contribution, thereby expanding the company’s product portfolio and improve its long term profitability and sustainability.
There are approximately 668,000 UK households that own a boat, including canoes/kayaks, rowing boats and wind surf boards, kept in the UK or abroad (UK Trends in Water sports Participation, 2008). In addition, the report shows that demographically, the 16-34 year age group has been the most active in boating activities, but there has been a declining trend in this segment while involvement of the 35-54 and 55+ age groups has been steadily increasing over the past few years. On the other hand, in terms of socio-economic segments, while the AB has the highest participation numbers, C1 have the highest absolute numbers in sail boat and yacht activities (UK Trends in Water sports Participation, 2008).
Leisure boating and yachting is a seasonal activity strongly impacted by weather conditions. In fact, since almost 50% of boating / yachting occurs in the summer months, for example, the relatively cold and very wet summer of 2008 coupled with the economic crunch of 2008-09 led to a sharp decrease not only in new sales of marine crafts but also in overall participation by people in marine leisure activities. This strong seasonal bias in participation is also reflected in sale of marine leisure goods including dinghies, boats and small yachts. The summer months account for most of the annual sales of boats.
Other key market trends include the fact that while casual participation has seen a slight decline, committed participation has increased. Also, while motor boats continue to make up the larger segment than sail boats, sailing has seen a greater rise than power boating, which may be partially driven by the rising fuel prices.