One of the most exciting pieces of news at the Beneteau Group's autumn press conference was not news at all. When the top management of the world's largest sports boat shipyard presented positive trends and numerous interesting new products at the Yachting Festival in Cannes at the beginning of September, one brand was conspicuous by its absence: the Beneteau First range.
In fact, the cruiser/racer is one of the problem children in the group, which otherwise sailed through the financial crisis in remarkably good shape. The glorious model series has been falling short of the expectations of manufacturers and dealers for years. Even last year there was no real innovation. This time, First was not even mentioned in the presentations.
And there is no shortage of successes on the regatta course. The current First 40 "BM-Yachting" recently won the title at the International German Sailing Championship off Flensburg. Last year, the same type of boat won ORCi Group 2 in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race.
When asked, the new head of the Beneteau Group, Hervé Gastinel, confirmed that the First line is being put to the test. "Today, there are fast cruising yachts that rival our boats," he said. The continuation of the model range is therefore being discussed intensively. "We are not taking this lightly. It's a real challenge for the company."
In fact, the classic cruiser/racer segment has come under pressure from all sides:
- Owners who want to develop their sporting skills tend to favour Grand Prix-like designs that are IRC-optimised, such as the Ker 40.
- In the meantime, new competitors are also making inroads into the traditional environment. Brands such as Pogo, JPK and Django have incorporated features from Class 40 and Open 60 into their yachts and offer more potential, especially on the beam, and in some cases also more space. They are also optimised for smaller crews and single-handed operation. Beneteau's First models, on the other hand, are more conservative.
- At the same time, the sporty segment is less in demand overall because owners are turning more to cruising as they get older - and favouring other boats for this purpose.
While earlier First models such as the 27.7 or 40.7 sold hundreds of units and were real bestsellers, their successors were unable to build on their economically successful past. The First 30 was something of a last-ditch attempt to catch up technologically. However, the boat designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and co-developed by Michel Desjoyeaux with twin rudders, chines and an extremely wide stern fell well short of expectations: it was too heavy and not agile enough.
Is the entire line now at risk of being cancelled?
This possibility is at least not ruled out. Beneteau boss Gastinel did not want to make a commitment, let alone a guarantee for the company's continued existence. He referred to the ongoing talks and announced a decision for December at the earliest - at the Salon Nautique in Paris.
However, things should not be quite so bad. At least that's what several sources close to the company assured YACHT online when asked. "There will be no end to the First series," said a Beneteau insider. "That would be Madame Roux(the granddaughter of shipyard founder Benjamin Beneteau, long-time boss and shareholder; the ed.) not allow it."
One aspect of this could be that the Figaro II - the boat on which young French sailors train and which was built in 2003 on the basis of the First 31.7 - is due to be replaced in 2019. It is hard to imagine that Beneteau would leave this prestigious project to others.
This raises the question of how First will continue in the future: will it be more classic, as before - or more innovative, reduced and lighter, as shown by the domestic competition? A groundbreaking decision!
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
