It took our team almost 3 years of research to determine the trends and peculiarities of the antifouling market for yachts and pleasure crafts. It was not an easy task to separate the products on the market that would theoretically serve only commercial vessels (commercial/passenger ships and workboats) and those, instead, dedicated to yachts, super yachts and pleasure boats.

The antifouling market for yachts and pleasure boats has two, essentially distinguished, types of usage that show different market dynamics depending on the size range (<8m, <15m, <25m, >25m,)  of vessels one takes into account. The two macro types of usage relate to the size segments are:

1) The professional use done by shipyards and professional painting/coating companies working on both new vessels and used ones and

2) The DIY (do-it-yourself) non-professional use done by boat owners.

We have analysed that the breakdown of the above macro category can differ depending on the geographic area that is taken into consideration. For example there are more DIY customers in relation to the country’s overall fleet in France using antifouling products on vessels larger than 30 feet than there are in Italy. Whereas the number of shipyards that use antifouling and coating products for new vessels (before vessel 1st launch) larger than 25 meters is by margin greater in Italy than in France.

It’s very interesting to observe that markets that are very fragmented in the distribution towards the DYI customers such as Italy show less profitability for the manufacturers than other markets where the distribution is much more efficient. In our professional opinion the associated the fragmented distribution channels are high and obsolete making a very poor use of technology. On the specific topic of point of sale, we have surveyed directly over 3000 qualified responders (boat owners, yacht brokers, marine paint specialists, captains, hardware stores and others) in 12 different countries (France, Italy, UK, USA, Spain, Slovenia, Malta, Croatia, Netherlands, Turkey, and others), asking them “where they would mostly would like to find (a sample) antifouling products?” Right after the physical stores and ship chandlers which still accounted for 50% of the answers 20% stated that he/she would prefer to find the products Online on the producer’s website. In our view this is a sensitive sign of how the generational shift will influence the distribution dynamic and its overall impact on profitability on antifouling coatings and associated products.

Ultimately, the result of our survey show how the companies have a significant opportunity to increase profitability progressively shifting their distribution models and increasing progressively the use of e-commerce.

(Please contact us for further information or to request a consultation +44 7445 30 86 22)

Through our research we also analysed the dynamics that relate the end users (boaters) and the professional users (shipyards) to be more or less loyal to a certain brand (please contact us here for more info). In general terms we noticed that the smaller the size segment and the younger the boat owner the less brand loyalty he/she would show. Whereas, in the professional use, both the brand choice and the brand loyalty had a high correlation with the customer support and after sales reputation of the brand (and manufacturer).

From a data point of view we have segmented the market in two macro segments:

1) The “OEM” Market (the market generated by new built vessels)

2) The “Replace” Market (the market generated by the existing fleet in need of new antifouling coating as part of regular maintenance of the vessel)

The methodology: To accurately estimate this two markets we have built a complex algorithms to sub-segment they types of hulls and therefore estimate the amount of coating needed. Furthermore, we have used an adjustment factor for those vessels that do a new coat of antifouling paint every year and those that choose cycles of two years. Lastly, we have cross referenced the sales data in litres collected and estimated from direct research on the various players in the market  (Akzo Nobel, Jotun, Hempel, Boero Group,etc..) with the data built through the new and existing fleet of vessels.

Having collected and processed data form 2011 onwards with regards to the antifouling coating market for yachts and pleasure crafts,  we were able to calculate and compare the compounded annual growth rates (CAGR). Between 2011-2014 and forecasting 2015 in specific geographic areas we have analysed key markets such as Italy, France and other European countries and the U.S. and others.

In terms of estimated monetary value, the data emerging from our research showed us that markets that have a strong production of large yachts and super yachts (>15m and >25m) such as Italy (Antifouling coatings -6% CAGR 2011-15) were more affected by the reduction of new built than France (Antifouling coatings +1.3%  CAGR 2011-15). Instead, the “Replace” market for antifouling coating did not show such large difference between these two established yachting economies; Italy (Antifouling coatings +4.1% CAGR 2011-15) vs France (Antifouling coatings +6.5% CAGR 2011-15). 

Economic Value CAGR antifouling market

Please contact us for further information or to request a consultation +44 7445 30 86 22