Nearly 80 percent of boat dealers have applied for a loan from the Small Business Administration as part of the federal stimulus programs, but the vast majority of those who responded to a survey conducted by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas report a lack of clarity on where things stand.   “I have […]

Boat dealers remain on shaky ground at the beginning of April as the nationwide shutdown of non-essential businesses forces them to consider cash position and expense structure, according to the monthly Pulse Report, published by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, Soundings Trade Only and Robert W. Baird. The report, which was published today, […]

This Guest Blog was authored by Jerry Mona of Left Brain Marketing The emergence of the COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted nearly every aspect of society. And, while there are more important concerns than going boating or fishing, these activities remain important to the lifestyle of many. In this article, we discuss the findings from […]

    Along with the health battles, the economic battles and the ensuing emotional battles our society is faced with today, a new frontline battle has emerged for our dealerships: A philosophical battle.   For the past two weeks, there has been a frenzy of activity here at the MRAA and at our sister associations […]

Over the course of the last three weeks, your MRAA team has been in contact with thousands of dealerships, including hundreds of one-to-one phone conversations and hundreds more email conversations. Additionally, we’ve been keeping a pulse on dealership operations as the government imposes more and more “shelter-at-home” orders and businesses scramble for “essential” status to […]

Remember The Great Recession? How out of control things felt at that time? Can we agree that nothing has ever felt as out of control for our businesses as things do today? Forced shutdowns. Unfathomable spike in unemployment filings. The tenuous outlook of cash flow projections. It’s crazy. And that’s to speak nothing about the […]

I spent the better part of last week in San Diego at the International Boating & Water Safety Summit. I’m disappointed to tell you that, prior to joining the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, that I knew nothing about this event. But YOU should know about it. There are many outstanding groups in this […]

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is off to a great start in 2012! I’m thrilled to let you all know that not only is 2012 the association’s 40th anniversary, but we’re expecting this year to be one of our best years yet. Why? Well, we have numerous initiatives underway that will make membership […]

Historically, I’ve been fairly poor at understanding economics. I barely skated by in Econ 101 in college, and my collegiate-level understanding of supply and demand was warped by the ever-increasing demand for the libations of my classmates and the never-ending supply flowing from the local taps. The real world has taught me a lot more […]

The keynote at this year’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo was by far the most talked about presentation the event has ever had. Not only was it entertaining through its incorporation of humor, but it also hit home because of the clear connection the topic had for the MDCE audience. The topic was simple: There’s […]