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  • Essay / Recreational boat market: Malibu vs. Mastercraft

    When it comes to Malibu, they have been strategically positioned to deliver consistent performance and capitalize on the growing boat market. They currently classify their operations into three brands, Malibu, Cobalt and Axis, producing over 30 world-class boat models. The historic Malibu brand serves the premium sport boat segment, accounting for 59% of total revenue. Axis also offers performance sports boats, but it targets the low-cost entry-level segment, accounting for 4.7% of total revenue. Cobalt, a newly acquired brand from Malibu, serves sterndrive and outboard recreational boats, accounting for 36.3% of the company's total revenue. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Tailored Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayBy positioning its products as premium, highly innovative and customizable, Malibu has been the market leader in performance sports boats since 2010, and its market share in 2017 it was 21.6%. Meanwhile, their main competitor, MasterCraft, has declined in share and holds only 21.7% of the total market. Malibu's marketing strategy focuses heavily on organic and inorganic growth. First, they are building a strong national presence through their award-winning website, where customers can browse different boat configuration options and choose the one they prefer. Since 2015, they have gained an organic digital audience with social interactions up to 2.7 million, representing the largest combined social audience in the marine industry social media landscape. Malibu is also strengthening its local marketing by sponsoring several specialty water sports events, attracting individuals and teams, as well as collaborating locally with dealers. For example, the Malibu “Just Ride Tour” is a multi-stop marketing event in which Malibu staff, athletes, dealers and VIP customers participate in regional and local water events. Second, Malibu strategically strengthens its brand through product innovation and diversity. They partner with several major brands with engineering capabilities such as GM Motors, McLaren Engineering and Davinci to design, develop and test their new engines. Malibu invests heavily in engineering with over 15 graduate engineers, an in-house R&D department where engineering and manufacturing work closely during product integration to respond quickly and nimbly to changing customer preferences. Thus, Malibu was able to launch four new Malibu or Axis models and 30 to 40 new features per year. And they are applying this approach to Cobalt, the newly acquired brand, to quickly dominate the market. Third, since Malibu sells most of their products through dealers, they focus on maximizing dealer productivity and developing their exclusivity. Malibu has a distribution network of more than 350 dealerships worldwide, some of which are ranked among the top 100 dealerships in the boating industry. Malibu has also focused its efforts on reviewing its geographic coverage to identify opportunities to expand and improve the dealer network. Finally, Malibu aims for aggressive growth by pursuing strategic acquisitions and accelerating its international expansion. They completed their IPO in 2014 and acquired Cobalt in 2017, which.