Denison Yachting Is A Uniquely American Superyacht Success Story [In the News]

This article was featured on Forbes in February 2021 and written by Bill Springer.

When the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, members of the yachting industry (every industry actually) were faced with a pretty stark choice— “innovate or die.” I’m sorry for the cliché but, the truth is, “innovate or die” is a cliché because it’s true in the yachting industry, and every industry actually. The global Covid 19 pandemic simply increased the pressure to innovate and pivot…fast. And not many large yacht brokerage firms in 2020 were able to innovative and pivot quite like the US-based large yacht brokerage firm Denison Yachting. In fact, no other yacht brokerage firms sold more yachts over 80-feet than Denison.

It turns out that after 11-plus months of lockdowns, boat show cancelations, strict travel restrictions and global economic upheaval, the pandemic was a wake-up call for who may had been waiting for the “right time” to buy or charter a yacht. And while many hoped people’s passion and desire to design and build superyachts, and to explore the most exclusive and remote corners of the globe was going to increase once the unprecedented global pause finally lifted. Denison and his team pivoted quickly in the earliest and darkest days of the global lockdown to bring boats to their customers by hosting “Virtual Boatshows.”

The “Virtual Boatshows” Bob Denison hosted in the scary Spring of 2020 (he went “live at 10AM and did at least four interviews with yachting experts and brokers per hour, straight until 5PM) filled the void that was formed by the glut of boatshow cancellations and travel restrictions in fun and effective ways.

It wasn’t easy, but Denison Yachting’s “Virtual Boatshows” connected boat buyers and sellers in a very special way. And the data, compiled by Boat International Media powered by Boat Pro shows they were right. In spite of unprecedented restrictions on travel and gathering in groups (two things yacht brokers need to do deals!) Denison Yachting led other brokerage houses with 65 total transactions (by 24 different yacht brokers) on yachts over 80-feet-long.

“In this age of evolving technologies, if you’re caught singing the same old tune, you will eventually be drowned out in white noise. Our in-house marketing team has allowed us to remain dynamic and nimble. Rather than waiting to respond to changes in the market of 2020, our team was perfectly poised to take on the challenges of the year,” said Josh Valoes, Denison Yachting’s Director of Marketing.

“2020 presented us with plenty of obstacles to navigate, but we entered the year with momentum from strong sales in 2018 and 2019. Our successes in 2020 were the culmination of hard work, vision, and focus,” commented Superyacht Director, Ben Farnborough. “We adapted to new ways of staying in front of buyers, sellers, and charter clients. We have a dynamic team with industry hardened experience, youthful drive, and determination in equal measure; a group that loves what they do and always asks ‘what’s next?’”