2009 has absolutely been the worst economic year that I have seen in the 50 years I have been involved in the boating industry, and I have seen the industry go through and survive a lot of recessions. However, none of the past downturns have had the devastating effect on the overall economy and all recreational industries like what we are seeing now.

Dealers who have survived this economic “perfect storm” so far are now facing a long winter, which means the overhead continues and sales opportunities are even slimmer. The challenge now is surviving the next few months of the off-season. It is not a pretty picture. The latest report shows unemployment just hit 9.8% and is expected to top 10% this winter. And economists are predicting a weak recovery as we slowly climb out of the worst recession since the great depression. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index revealed that consumers are worried about job security and this is offsetting any positive reports on rising home values and the stock market gains.

The good news is that a lot of dealers have found ways to survive the recession by taking their business focus back to the basics. Here is what four dealers had to say about surviving this winter: Continue reading Surviving the winter →