New frontiers in service
Choosing a luxury yacht is no longer just about the design and brand name. A whole new buying psychology is emerging; one which sees clients seeking out the very best in long-lasting customer service, as Andrew Pelis discovers.
In one corner of the UAE, ship building has been taken to new levels. But it is not just the quality that differentiates Gulf Craft from its competition; rather, it is the whole buying and aftersales experience that has cast this privately owned company into the international luxury yacht limelight. ÔÇ£We profile ourselves in the luxury industry far more as a service supplier than a boat builder,ÔÇØ says Erwin Bamps, chief operating officer for the Ajman-based business.
ÔÇ£Our clients want to spend on the best they can get for their money and we have set out to extend that experience in terms of customer service, our business profile, the confidence customers have in our name and reputation and through our dedicated aftersales approach.ÔÇØ
Gulf Craft started back in 1982 when it mainly built small fishing boats for the local industry. Within 10 years it had begun to build yachts and today, the business is truly global, building around 700 customised yachts and leisure craft a year which range from 20 feet up to 135 feet long, with plans for bigger vessels very much on the drawing table. 
So to what does Belgian-born Bamps attribute this remarkable growth during tough economic times? Again, the answer comes down to a very special blend of customer focus. ÔÇ£We are now extending our reach to the higher end. Over the last seven years we have focused on upgrading our yards and yachts,ÔÇØ he explains. ÔÇ£The European boat builders have a focus either on niche markets or on volume markets, but customers pay more for respectively the high costs associated with custom design in Europe or for the risks involved with high volume production.
ÔÇ£Our approach is more like a hospitality experience for the client and is very different to the traditional sales technique. It is currently a customerÔÇÖs marketplace and they want to be pampered; right now, customers are looking beyond the brand name for more value. They are looking at how the builder can provide aftersales care, maintenance and repairs services and help with the sell-on value of a vessel, as well as the quality of the yacht itself and the financial strength of the business.
ÔÇ£They come to us with the confidence that 27 years of reputation in the Emirates brings: financial strength and an exemplary delivery track recordÔÇöwe have a very sound ethical relationship with our clientele,ÔÇØ he says.
Gulf Craft is aggressive in its pricing; but even more so with its customised, personalised focus, says Bamps. ÔÇ£Our priority is the private client and the key to our success is that 70 per cent of our sales come from existing customers. This has been our goal: to build a business that retains customer loyalty as we extend our product range of yachts and leisure craft.ÔÇØ
Gulf Craft also carries out direct repairs and tries to use dealer networks for maintenance and troubleshooting, so that its customers are well looked after wherever they are in the world. ÔÇ£For example, I currently have people in Qatar and Cyprus providing our international support service and over the last 24 months this has proved even more important as customers have looked for value for money,ÔÇØ asserts Bamps.
The impact of the global economic downturn has provided a curious twist in the fortunes of Gulf Craft, which has diversified into supplying vessels for hotels and resorts, transportation (such as small ferries) and semi-government projects.
ÔÇ£The effects [of the financial slump] have changed our markets and we have seen functional boats sales increase while the leisure market has polarised,ÔÇØ Bamps explains. ÔÇ£People who were previously looking to spend up to $1 million on a boat are now more often looking to spend half that figure, whereas those operating at the higher end (in the region of $12 million) are still spending at that level.ÔÇØ
Since joining Gulf Craft in 2002, Bamps has seen a dramatic growth in the company from just over 200 employees to the present 1,500 workers spread over three shipyards in the area, with a fourth yard based in the Maldives. ÔÇ£I have worked in this region for the past 12 years and had previously spent time in Philippines and ChinaÔÇöall developing markets where it was absolutely necessary to be able to make quick, dynamic decisions,ÔÇØ he states.
The company typically sells its smaller yachts through networks but also undertakes direct sales through brokers and agents at the higher end. ÔÇ£We currently offer three brands, with our Majesty range representing the premium option from 44 to 135 feet in length, while our Oryx range of sports cruisers and yachts has gradually built up a presence since 2005,ÔÇØ explains Bamps. ÔÇ£The Silvercraft range provides smaller, family boats. All of our boats are personally customised so no two boats are the same. My job has really been to oversee brand creation and develop a strategy that would take us towards a global range,ÔÇØ he adds.
That push towards the global marketplace has seen Gulf Craft with a presence at all the major international boat shows. Overseas growth is a constant source of focus for Bamps, who explains that it puts the company in a unique position: ÔÇ£We have arrived at this level in a very short period of time; what we do internationally is unusual for a business from our region.ÔÇØ
Of course, such rapid growth requires extraordinary vision and investment and Bamps has received the full support of the stakeholders. ÔÇ£We have good controlling governance of our company with minimal long-term liabilities, which means we can take decisions very quickly. Our investors have also decided to continuously reinvest their profits in the company, to help maintain our growth and a healthy cash flow.ÔÇØ
And reinvestment has come to Gulf Craft in a big way, as the company streamlines its approach to meet world-class standards, with one eye on a possible IPO several years down the line. ÔÇ£Being privately owned has allowed faster expansion but in the longer term we keep our eye on what makes business sense for us. We are already putting budgeting and forecasting in place along with proper governance; part of that initiative has seen us implement an ERP system across all facets of the business including logistics and procurement that ties in all activity under one roof, including our Maldives facility.ÔÇØ
Bamps says that the system is also enabling the company to monitor time management on products and reduce supplier costs through better forecasting. ÔÇ£We are able to monitor production efficiency at all levelsÔÇösomething rather unique for the ship building sector. We have created a culture that really embraces change within our business.ÔÇØ
Heavy investment in automation, machinery and continuous training of its workforce has been a requirement rather than a luxury, in a region where suppliers of the niche services Gulf Craft relies upon are exceptionally rare. ÔÇ£We have to do everything ourselves,ÔÇØ says Bamps. ÔÇ£We have separate divisions like stainless steel and as we have developed these skill sets we have been able to offer additional services not only to our traditional customers but to other marine-related industries and even non-marine, providing high quality semi-finished or finished products.ÔÇØ
Bamps is keen to highlight Gulf CraftÔÇÖs recent formation of strategic alliances with other companies and the possibilities that these will open up. ÔÇ£We are in the middle of a recession so we are now preparing for our next expansion stage. We recently formed an alliance with Dutch-based Icon Yachts, who can build 50 metre-plus steel and aluminium vessels. We only build in fibreglass to 50 metres and this gives us the opportunity to provide our customers with up to 150 metre yachts.ÔÇØ
Aside from alliances and streamlining, Bamps is looking at three key areas of expansion: building inroads into relatively untouched markets such as Venezuela, South Africa, China and central and eastern Africa; the super yacht market, which continues to attract high end users; and how Gulf Craft can best utilise its skill sets beyond boat building.
ÔÇ£Our company has many strong points,ÔÇØ states Bamps. ÔÇ£We are not just building boatsÔÇöwe own a skill set to provide a quality in products and services that can be useful in offering interiors for palaces and hotels as well as for refit and renovation works in marine markets.ÔÇØ
For Gulf Craft, all of these opportunities have a common denominatorÔÇöcustomer bonding for a long-lasting relationship.
