Boat International – August 2019

a recession hitting by the end of 2020, primarily

due to fear over a protectionist trade policy.

“Increased trade protectionism is considered

the primary downside risk to growth by a

majority of the respondents,” said Gregory

Daco, chief US economist for Oxford

Economics. The same respondents said the risk

of a recession starting by the end of 2020 stood

at 60 per cent, with a third forecasting a

slowdown even sooner.

Sanford takes a pragmatic approach to the

current market highs and forecasted lows. “I’m

used to seeing these trends go up and down, so I

know [this high] will not last forever,” he says.

“When the stock market dipped 15 per cent at

the end of 2018, it put a temporary chill in our

market that lasted through the first quarter.

However, when the market bounced back, so

did the consumer sentiment. Unfortunately,

I can’t control this, so I focus on the parts of the

sales process I can control: taking care of yacht

owners and making sure they understand that a

yacht is a great investment in their personal

lives and a fantastic reward for a successful

business or career.

“If it’s done correctly, we will keep owners in

yachting. A good experience will lead to a greater

number of owners, which will help make the

current cycle last longer.”Perhaps that is the most

important sentiment of all.B

Growth in number of billionaires in US, China and APAC 1995-2017

0

500

1,000

1,500

1,800

19951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017

China US APAC

SOURCE: UBS

Restofworld 63.82%

boatinternational.com 08 2019