MasterCraft CEO John Dorton on Fox News

Video with MC CEO John Dorton on the outlook of MasterCraft - http://mastercraftblog.com/

Thought this would be an interesting tid bit for all:

John
www.waterskis.com

(Message edited by mnwakerider on April 03, 2009)

Thanks for posting, interesting comments. I like the approach regarding the customer and getting closer to them. It is, in fact, one way Cisco is leading through this tough time as well.

T

Looks like there not chapter 11 huh?

John states that his average consumer makes $250, 000 per year and has a net worth of 7 figures. Wow I am definitely at the low end of scale, how about others here on WW?

Yeah Rob, I'm way below that. My wife and I together make just over 100k per year.

Rob,

I am at the WAY low end of that scale. Yearly income around half of that number and net worth WAY lower than 7 figures. Big numbers up there. I dragging those numbers down! Lol.

do the 2 spaces to the right of the decimal point count? maybe then I'm average!!

Interesting to see that...

I guess his figures tend to go with the combined "family" income...

Obviously hardcore enthusiast do anything they can to get a Mastercraft!

I didn't realize all you MC guys were BALLERS!!!

He states that the average consumer buying his boat is in the upper middle class that make 250 and higher , he does not mean the average middle class person.

interesting comments. thanks for the post

Holy Crap, You Mastercraft dudes make a ton of money. Too bad that Obama and Pelosi want it. haha

This is where I see that mastercraft and some of the others hell many of the others have left the regular guy behind. Its exactly what we have all been saying. Too bad that to buy a decent boat brand new you need to be in that price range. When the economy was growing these guys abused the boat market. Hell and I own an 02 xstar

I grew up 3 event waterskiing and back in the late 80's early 90's you could buy a brand new MC or Nautique for about 20-25K. Now granted there is a big difference between todays wake boats and those ski boats, but damn!! My parents were stretched to the max for that little 20' MC back in the day.

Agreed Jason - that was my point. I am surprised that he claims his average customter is in the 250k range. I thought this was quite high.

I thought that was a little high, too. I don't know why he would say that if it wasn't true, though. He must have more info. than us. The peeps making $250k+ with a 7 figure net worth might not circulate these forms?

Bryan,
I think you hit the nail on the head. My guess is most of us on WW are the exceptions to the rule. My guess is that the mean age of the MC buyer is far older than the average wake worlder and that is why we are seeing the outliers. If those numbers figure MC owners (not just new buyers) Truth be told I am skewing the facts as well.
That being said in 10-15 years I would be dissapointed if I wasn't supporting those facts.

I have been saying this for many years... I think MC and others made a big mistake with their focus all of these huge and expensive boats.

I would say that MC was smart to move into the more premium market. The way I see it, young people who don't make much money are the most vulnerable during a recession. It is easiest to lay off new workers and those who are not highly skilled.

Also, those who have a net worth of 7 figures probably are not as likely to be affected by the downturn in the economy. Even in bad times, people with money still have money.

All boats are expensive. Hell a 19ft Four Winns with a 6cyl is 30k! Look at outboard motors 250-350hp are 20k+ just for the engine.
I think when you take all of MCs New boat buyers 250k is probably right. Especially when you throw in some Sheiks from Dubai.

if 20 years ago...MC was charging 25k for a ski boat...it seems $60 to 75k is about right for a new wakeboard MC... between the dollar going up and the improvements of wakeboard boats vs standard ski boats 20 years ago....

He doesn't have a clue! It isn't like Mastercraft finances these boats and dealers DO NOT report income back to MC. There isn't any way on this planet he is even close. I would guess it is actualy less than half as I have been in this business for 15 years and so many buy these boats and stretch the loan out to keep payments affordable.

a mc dealer told me at the boat show that their average customer is a guy in his early forties that makes @ 150k per year. thats a little more realistic.

I'm gonna say this real quick ..IloveBillYeargin.

sorry, but this guy looks like a dumb redneck.

peace, love, ••••••

Goboating
Dealers don't have to report income back to MC. They get that info from various financial sources. GE being on of them.
It's no secret, MC is not looking to gain the Moomba buyer.

Pete- You're ridiculous, great contribution to the thread. Your fanboy posts might be more appreciated on a CC forum where you can get chubby's bashing CEO's that are much more intelligent than you, and have the resume to back it up.

On another note I think that the 250k+ might be a bit of a stretch, but I would say the average MC customer makes at least 150k+ per year. I do know for sure that the 'fan fare' tactic that they are employing has been helpful, and I honestly think that if anyone has the possibility they should try to visit each and every boat plant before buying a boat (of the ones to consider) to appreciate how they are spending there money. Granted this is not very feasible but it would definitely help some decide MC vs. Malibu vs. CC vs. etc....

LOL, I'm not a CC fanboy at ALL! I don't hate on MC, in fact I think they're very good boats....what I do think is that the MC CEO looks ridiculous and he looks like he's DUBYAAA's long lost cousin or something...

Pete,I guess being from canada you conceptions about what a redneck is are a little skewed.Thats ok though its not your fault,your just not used to seeing real ones as far north as you live.
Take a trip to the rural south and you will understand why these guys don't agree with you.

that is just crap marketing to get people to think if they buy one they hit the big time. They ask u if u buy a new one how much u make. Who would tell that? More smoke and mirrors.

allright anyways, I don't wanna start a fight, I just want everyone to sell boats and feed their family. Even though Canada's situation isn't as bad as the US, I still care about what's happening in your country and I pray every night . everything is gonna be just fine.

maybe I wasn't clear in my first post....Bill Yeargin is helping the community instead of cutting jobs whereas MC's ceo is bragging on how his business is doing fine since he's targeting people with money...


cliffnotes: peace.

"What is your annual household income?" is a question on the initial ownership survey from MC.

It's pretty easy to get a skewed an average when you sell a few boats to guys pulling down millions, with a sample set of <4000 boats/year. I am not sure I would really be promoting that stat these days, though.

They went from 570 workers to 200? Ouch.

trace-

The survey method is to check a box with 250k+ being the last option.

Oddly enough, everyone at TMC sings the same tune, except a MC dealer and an old mechanic.

If $250k is the last option, the only way you get an average of $250k is if every respondant checks that option. Weird.

Why do you guys care anyways?

Beacuse this is a discussion board, and we are self-appointed armchair quarterbacks.

I just found it interesting that at the Team Master Craft (owners) forum, not one person said they fell under the $250K umbrella. The only people refuting them and saying it was true was an MC dealer or those associated with one. Sounds similar, I don't really care, I have to buy used.

(Message edited by behindtheboat on April 07, 2009)

funny that of all the information that was discussed and/or could have been discussed, all that anyone on here cares about is trying to prove Dorton wrong like he doesn't know what he's talking about...and that being the average income of customers? C'mon, does that even matter? Is it really a suprise that some who buys say a $70-80 boat has a high income? What fricken difference does it make? I'm no where near that number but streched to the gills, but whatever, I bring down the average, and the prince in dubai brings it back up....much faster than I bring it down.

Points covered in the interesting interview:

570 workers last year to 200 this (old news, and brought up here on WW a while ago)

20 boats a day to 5 (previous threads beat this to death)

How they are getting by the credit crunch (good info)

Fan Fare ----- are they doing tours again? 80% closure means its more than working

Keeping dealers, not going direct to consumers----- good answer and good to know they are helping their dealers

Buying a boat supports the economy----- Gee golly (FOX probably wanted that tid bit in there)

Not doing this to be a jerk, but as a response to the fact that the only thing people want to talk about is the $250K statement is because all the others have been topics and discussed previously, as well as it SEEMS that the reality is an MC owner is not under that category, the target customer is. It's no secret it's their target. That's how they get by.

I highly highly doubt they are doing 80% closure at fan fare. They don't market the income statement as target they market it as fact. As far as supporting dealers, if dealers won't floorplan the number of boats determined by the factory, they will yank the line. Therefore, forcing dealers to take on massive debt in a wavering economy. That is not real great support.

I believe 80% closure rate at fan fare. Firstly the dealers don't just fly down customers that have little to no interest in buying a boat. They fly down people who are already in the talks of buying a boat and the dealers give them an opportunity to test drive and see a little bit more about MC in hopes that this will seal the deal. Additionally I know for a fact that the people getting flown there usually end up with a pretty good deal on the boat of their interest. I also disagree with your statement on forcing dealers to take on massive debt as my local MC dealer doesn't have an excessive amount of MC's just sitting around while they take on debt.

strange I got invite to fan fare and certainly no plane ticket. Pretty sure they extended to all mc owners or members of there mailing list. As far as forcing dealers to floor plan a certain number, we agree to disagree, because that is certainly their practice in southeast tn. If that is the way they chose to conduct their business I guess it is fine.