 | In this NewsBrief: November 22, 2004
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| In this NewsBrief: November 22, 2004
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MRAA DEALER ALERT Grow Boating Initiative Moves Forward The Marine Retailers Association of America is urging all retailers to join the support of the long-awaited initiative to grow our industry. The Grow Boating Initiative will not just simply market ourselves to grow boating but will address all of our underlying issues that have so severely challenged our industry for some time. We will need a minimum of $10 million to get the program started. The internal programs and the creation of the initial media need to start immediately. As complete plans are finalized and presented, it will be necessary for all segments of our industry to give wholehearted support to the project. Funding for the initiative will come from a surcharge or flat fee placed on all horsepower at the manufacturing level and passed down thru the chain to the consumer. Thus the end result will be that the consumer will pay to grow boating. Preliminary plans call for up to $1 per each horsepower produced. The recreational boating industry is presently producing 52 million horsepower. MRAA is urging all dealers to write letters of support for the funding model. Send them via regular mail, fax or email to your power suppliers immediately. Copy the boat companies you deal with and let them know of your support and urge them to support the effort. Please indicate to them the need to put aside other concerns that seem to be clouding the view and support an immediate start to the collection of funds to make this project a reality. For more information please contact Phil Keener at 918-481-6871 or pkeeter@mraa.com. RMRC Launches New Online Boating Research Network Most statistical research available on the recreational boating industry can now be viewed at one convenient website, developed by the Recreational Marine Research Center (RMRC). The Recreational Boating Research Network available at www.boatingresearch.com includes more than 1,200 past studies that are accessible by researchers and anyone interested in boating industry statistical information. “This is the first effort to consolidate and collect all existing research on the recreational boating industry in one location,” says NMMA Market Research director Jim Petru. “As much as 80 percent of the information on the site is accessible to anyone who registers as a member of the Recreational Boating Research Network.” Abstracts for the remaining studies, which include proprietary restrictions, are also available on the site. Visit the www.boatingresearch.com for more information or contact Petru at (312) 946-6202; jpetru@nmma.org. As it is time to renew your MMTA membership, we encourage you take this action on the BoatMA.com web site. It is easy and fast, and you can provide all the needed business and payment information by simply filling out a single on-line form! Click here to Renew Your Membership Today.
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