Brunswick realigning Lund and Crestliner

[sakazulu]

What's the gig with the recent radio ad's about Brunswick getting everybody to sell off Lunds and Crestliners?

[PerchJerker]

I've heard Brunswick is going to fewer dealers in their Lund and Crestliner network, like they do with their glass boats. Don't know if it's true, it's just what I heard.

I also heard that Brunswick wanted the boats ordered from the factory and displayed at the dealerships with Merc motors on them. The boats have left the factory with Merc rigging the last couple of years but didn't have to have motors on them --- the difference now is they have to have Merc motors on them too when they leave the factory. Might not be true, it's just what I've heard.

[Wade Joseph]

There goes the neighborhood......

[c&amagn]

I was calling around Lund Dealers this past July and talked to one owner in Staples, MN and he said the Lund 2007-Line up, that all the Lund boats will now come with Merc's and all pre-rigged as packages, with specific Depthfinders, electric trolling motors, covers and all Lund boats 17' or larger will now come with the heavier duty trailer with brakes, which he said like the Explorer line, you wouldn't need the heavier wieght wise trailer for instance and would be costing you the $500-extra on just trailer part alone. If you didn't like the Motor brand or Depthfinder, it's now going to cost you extra to change any thing out on the rig, they are now pushing the Lund line like the Crestliner's he said, also they are dropping the Pro-Angler 16 for next year.

Thanks,

[LMITOUT]

I heard the same thing about Lund/Crestliner dealers from a local dealer a while back. Say goodbye to your local mom and pop shops. They are basically going to turn it into Walmart style big-box stores and feel that the customer will receive better service and satisfaction.

[Valv]

This year alone Crestliner lost 30 dealer just by having to pre-rig for Mercury only.

They were able to install Honda, and Suzuki, but no Yamaha, or Bombardier.

Looks like it changed again.

[ChuckN]

I think this may have contributed to the loss of my local dealer, and others in the area. Now I have to go over 40 miles for parts.

If I ever buy a new boat I know what it will NOT be.

[Ely Lake Expert]

It sounds to me like they think they have found a way to make more money, but it may backfire. It's a good thing I have my lund from the 70's that should last forever and the good old trusty Sea Nymph.

[c&amagn]

Yea, I think it will back fire on them big time. I guess year to year now just depends on who they are in bed with as far as Depthfinders, Minn-Kota's, Motor Guide, Hummingbird, I meean what if a guy is a Lowrance guy and doesn't like last years Hummingbird depthfinder's on the boat pre-packaged, or a guy is a Yamaha Motor guy, I think you will start to see more and more G3's on the water as NEW boats next year? I'm sure the boat dealers have to pay for all the pre-rigging at the factory and then the consumer has to pay once again more pre-rigging if any changes are to be made for your new boat purchase and trailer.

[LMITOUT]

This would be an excellent opportunity for Alumacraft to steal some of the market share as they do not sole-supply engines with their boats and leave some flexibility for the customer to choose the engine of their choice. I have been told they cannot produce enough boats though to go for the throat of Lund unless they expand their manufacturing facilities.

[Black_Bay]

It sure hasn't hurt Ranger's sales. They have been pre packaging boats for a few years now. The one difference is that you can get most any brand of outboard.

[ib_jigged]

Brunswick also owns Mercury Marine. Would it really makes sense for them to have their own boats rigged with competitor motors. Can you buy a Ford with a Durmax in it? I don't think so, but if you wanted one that way you would have to pay extra for it, if even possible to do without much modification.

I agree one should have a choice in motor, but Brunswick is protecting it self. Is it right? Not sure.

[V-12 Merlin]

Good point. But, it does seem excessive, if electronics are also prepackaged.....

[Valv]

It is a very different market than automobiles. Boats are completely separate from motors, thust your choice of outboard brand.

Crestliner lost the dealer due to Brunswick imposing restrictions, not because they pulled the dealership. Dealers discovered re-rigging was too expensive to add to price of boats and dropped the brand, which is on it's way up to the top sales nationwide after many years of struggling.

It will be a matter of time and you will see these 2 companies going under or being sold out again, just becouse some hotshot CEO decided the corporate route instead. Both owners of Lund and Crestliner left the companies after all this, that tells you a lot.....

[cold one sd]

Can you buy a G3 with a Honda or Merc on it??

[Ely Lake Expert]

Off topic question,

Is Brunswick that owns Lund, crestiner, and mercury the same Brunswick that makes pool tables? Just curious.

[shamalex72]

Quote:

---

Off topic question,

Is Brunswick that owns Lund, crestiner, and mercury the same Brunswick that makes pool tables? Just curious.

---

yes.

[sakazulu]

I was almost certain they already tried this and that Yamaha, provider of Merc's powerheads or lower units (one of the two), cut off Merc's supply so Brunswick was forced to provide the "all options" method. Man, if this is really true, I'd go Alumacraft next go round! I'm with Wade.

[cold one sd]

Not trying to start anything, but some of the opinions on here are that it is wrong for Brunswick to own Mercury, Crestliner and Lund and put only Mercury outboards on their boats, but it is ok For Yamaha who owns G3 boats to sell them with only Yamaha outboards. What is the difference other than some people prefer Yamaha to Mercury. I guesss the solution is simple. Buy a G3. I still won't be looking for Brunswick to go out of business because of it.

[LMITOUT]

Well the difference is the volume of Lunds/Crestliners sold vs G3's. A lot more people buy Lunds or Crestliners than G3's and that is why it seems one-sided to complain about Brunswick and not Yamaha.

Simply put, Brunswick's business strategy affects a lot more people than Yamaha/G3 and that's why people are upset.

[primetime49]

The realignment of Brunswick companies has been going on for several years.They even bought some OMC boat companies and have had the idea to put only Mercury brand outboards and i/os on aqusations since this started.The only real competitor they have is Genmar who they purchased Lund and crestliner from.The Uncle Irwin group decided that holding aluminum boat manufacturing rights just wasnt for them.They kind of between them had the rights to prey upon Evinrude ,johnson , OMC etc but so no future in the most part of it.Genmar has Ranger,Stratos .Seawhirl,etc,and another dozen or so great boat companies and will have the availability of almost all brands of in and out board motors available to them.Brunswick has Sea Ray ,Bayliner,Lund , Crestliner and several other brands available to them and also supplies the worlds best selling aluminum bat exclusivly with motors{Tracker}.Yamaha has done its best to compete with Skeeter and G-3 and supplying its motors to independant manufacturers but does not seem to gain grounds on Genmar or Brunswick.Suzuki is doing well at supplying lose outboards to manufacturers and dealers but seems to have troubles in growth,but they have a great product.Bombrardier seems to have been constantly losing ground since they purchased omc and cant develop or convincepeople that two stroke motors are the wave of the future.Some of the nations mega dealers are now being set in place with restrictions of one brand or another in boats but not all. This is supposed to realign the smaller dealers with a more marketable plan to stay small but in buisness.If you understand any of this your probaly doing better than me as as a dealer ,manufacturer,user etc,I am totaly bewildered by everything these companies are doing.But its great to see such intense competition isnt it?

[cold one sd]

I guess I'll just have to wait to see how it all shakes out. I'm glad I bought my new Lund this year. I think Honda is an option, but I don't know if that is for Lund, Crestliner or both. I can see what is upsetting to some people and I can see why it would be cheaper for the consumer to have a boat rigged at the factory. I guess that puts me in the middle and that is familiar territory.

[hondavxr]

It's just a big Wally=World now. Many have predicted this years ago but its happening in our time. Small comapnies can not compete any more, because it's getting harder and harder. So you either join them, go bankrupt, or be taken over. Get ready to be spoon fed, our options are the options that the company ALLOWS US? We were spoiled before with so many choices. It's sad that this is happening, but it gets truer and truer everyday. I guess I will just fix my old leaky boat and put whatever I WANT in it. New boat is out of the question now

[Wade Joseph]

I was tinkering with the idea of a new boat myself. I think I'll wait and see how this shakes out. All I know is my boat won't have a black motor on it. Blue, yes, Silver maybe.

[HARPOON-OR-BUST]

Once you go Black you never go Back! kidding couldn't resist. I do have a lund with a black one right now, when I was looking though it wasn't my first choice (since my dad used to own a dealer with johnson/evi) but now that I have it I guess I haven't had anything to complain about.......so I'm in the middle too

[cold one sd]

I have a friend that was an OMC tech for years and hated Mercs with a passion. When the package boats started coming out and he had to start working on Mercs I asked him what he thought. He told me that he couldn't believe how trouble free Mercs actually were. I talked to a friend that owns a dealership yesterday and he told me that they have had more trouble with the large horsepower Yamahas that they have with Mercs of the same size. It is a amall dealership and they have only sold three Yammy 250s and all three blew the powerheads. I have never owned a Yammy, but I would have no problems with owning one. I think they are all good outboards at this time.

[eyepatrol]

Being in the market for a boat early next year, I've heard some grumblings from dealers (okay, some are happy) about this Lund/Crestliner/Mercury deal. Some dealers are being hit hard by it. A small Lund dealer (basically one man outfit) in a nearby town is being affected, and I know R&R Marine in Shakopee has now dropped Crestliner and will be Sylvan and G3. Personally speaking, I think this will be a mistake to only offer Merc motors on the Lunds and Crestliners. Boat owners are, for the most part, pretty dedicated to the brand of motor they buy. Sure, some like myself keep an open mind about it and consider various options, but I tend to think that Merc owners are dedicated and Yammi owners are dedicated and perhaps the other brand motor owners too. I've got to believe that eliminating the pre-rigging of various motor brands will hurt. To what degree it's yet to be seen.

One thing I have been told from a dealer though is, now that Yammi's aren't being put on Lunds and Crestliners, Yamaha Corp is making a big push to move the G3 into the northern tier states to compete with the other aluminum boats.

[Wade Joseph]

I have read grumblings on another forum that this "restructure" means Lund/Crestliner plants in MN are gonna be closing as well.

[Try Too Fish]

I cant see how forcing you to use a specific brand of motor is going too be good for lund long term. When it comes too boat motors,just like autos everyone has there pet brand and most will go elsewhere rather than buy what they don't want!

[eyepatrol]

I think too that now days, boats are so similar in set-up that boat brand is not quite as important. Sure there are some brands which may not be as tried and true as others and some have a little better fit and finish, but overall the boats on the market today are pretty good quality, thus if someone wants a specific brand motor, they are able to choose from many different brand boats. Just another reason why I feel this move by Brunswick will hurt the Lund and Crestliner sales to some degree.