Sector leaders take the stage at the opening of The Superyacht Forum
Sector leaders take the stage at the opening of The Superyacht Forum
Giovanna Vitelli, Chair of Azimut|Benetti Group, and Rose Damen, CEO of Damen Yachting, provided valuable insights on opportunities and challenges within the superyachting sector during this morning’s keynote panel, chaired by The Superyacht Group’s Martin Redmayne. In this eagerly anticipated session, both CEOs opened with positive reports on their respective company’s currently strong positions. Azimut|Benetti saw a strong growth with €1.3bn revenues in 2023/2024 and is forecasting a 15 per cent increase for the following year with a backlog of €2.6bn, while Damen Yachting has a current order book of more than €1bn despite the loss of the Russian market which had comprised around 20 per cent of its business. Rose Damen also welcomed the clear outcome of the recent US elections which she said had helped eliminate uncertainty. Sustainability quickly became a central theme in the session, with both panellists reflecting on the need to make authentic progress today. “Sustainability should be looked at realistically,” Giovanna Vitelli stated. The first pillar is about the state-of-the-art technologies that can be applied today. The second pillar concerns next generation technologies. The first pillar is currently the most important – we need to demonstrate that industry is making a difference today and, to prove so, we already build vessels with up to 30% fewer emissions rather than talking about zero emission propulsion that is not yet possible. Delivery of sustainability is not just about one technology, it is a puzzle with many pieces including hull shape, materials and propulsion. Right now, this is a transition period.” The panel conversation highlighted that clients buying larger superyachts were now typically driving conversations about sustainability, whereas it was still a harder push to get buyers of production and semi-custom yachts to pay the inevitable premium of a more sustainable build. Rose Damen continued: “There is work to be done in educating clients on this topic. A lot of focus is on propulsion, but the sustainability programme is much bigger. We cannot do this on our own, but are doing a much better job of collaborating with the supply chain now. To get the best result you must sit together at the design stage to discuss the smartest way of achieving things.”
The Superyacht Forum 18 Nov 2024 - Rose Damen, CEO of Damen Yachting (left) and Giovanna Vitelli, CEO of Azimut|Benetti (right)
Collaboration in the supply chain
Giovanna Vitelli is actively promoting the development of certification standard for the Industry, although expressed some concerns about the forthcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive with its inevitable impetus towards lifecycle assessments and potential impacts on less well-resourced artisan small businesses on which superyacht builders depend for elements of their builds. Rose Damen also commented on price pressures within the supply chain. She suggested that the current trend to pass on rising costs to the customer might need to be reconsidered by approaching equipment production in a smart and sustainable way.
Future vision
When asked for her overall vision over the next 5-10 years, Giovanna Vitelli asserted: “We are in a transition phase and things are changing very quickly so you need to be quick and open to catch the differences. Whenever you make something different you must take risks. Being realistic we don’t want to burn our companies, so we need to say what is possible. But if things should be done, then we have made sure they happen.
“We pushed to get new designers into the industry from other sectors, to get a change in style that reflects new lifestyles and the way people want to go boating. For Azimut we want to think differently to widen perspectives and talk to wider audiences, such as running promotions in New York’s Times Square and appearing at the New York and Milan Design Weeks.”
Looking forward over the same timescale Rose Damen turned the attention on reputational risk: “Trust in our industry is going to be so important. It depends where you are based as to how the sector is perceived. Building trust requires competitors to get in the same room, work together and show how the industry is advancing in in terms of innovation and sustainability.”
Notes for Editors
The Superyacht Forum
Our Founding Partner, The Superyacht Group, developed The Superyacht Forum over more than three decades into the number one premier conference and networking event for senior leadership professionals in the superyacht industry. The Superyacht Forum was acquired by METSTRADE owners and hosts, RAI Amsterdam, in March 2024 with bold plans to build on the foundation of past successes and fully integrate the event with METSTRADE’s SuperYacht Pavilion to create the most compelling business to business event for the sector in the world.
The Superyacht Forum opens today, 18 November and runs until tomorrow 19 November. All tickets are sold.
Visit www.metstrade.com/the-superyacht-forum/
METSTRADE
METSTRADE is the world’s largest trade exhibition for equipment, materials and systems for the global leisure marine industry. Organised by RAI Amsterdam in cooperation with ICOMIA (International Council of Marine Industry Associations), METSTRADE’s target global audience includes yacht builders, naval architects, refit yards, distributors, dealers, wholesalers, captains, marina owners and marine equipment manufacturers. METSTRADE 2024, including the three halls of its SuperYacht Pavilion, will take place from 19-21 November 2024 at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam.
