Düsseldorf, 23 January 2023: For the first time since 2020, the open boat show will be held again in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. For the public it is one of the most popular and spectacular fairs not only in Düsseldorf but in the whole of Germany. For some yacht builders, Boot Düsseldorf is the most important date in the annual calendar. And after a day at the fair, you can round off the evening in Düsseldorf's legendary old town. The Boot is for everyone and it's great fun. Everything is on offer, from yachts, boats, sports, action, even art on over 220,000 square metres to the Aquatower where you can dive in.

In Hall 6, things are a little more special. Here visitors will find the manufacturers of the biggest and most beautiful yachts in the world. During our tour we meet the British luxury yacht manufacturer Princess Yachts from from Plymouth, whose ships live up to the royal name. Founded in 1965, the Princess shipyards cover 1.1 million square metres and specialise in motor yachts between 40 and 95 feet. All the components of a Princess yacht, according to the company, are manufactured in their own workshops within a 16 km radius around Plymouth.

Interesting questions arise.

How have manufacturers of luxury yachts experienced the past few years? What skills are needed to satisfy the demanding clientele. How do sales contracts come about in this business; are contracts for objects in the multi-digit millions made directly at the fair?

At the Princess Yachts stand on Boot, Düsseldorf, 22 January 2023

©Rose Fedi

Emma Cotton is Head of Communications for Princess Yachts International, who are currently making a splash at Boot 2023 with 4 new yacht models. The British yacht builders are delighted that the Düsseldorf show is back for the first time in 3 years and describe it as one of their most important show in the global calendar. Princess Yachts will be exhibiting 7 vessels on their huge stand,  such as the Princess Y85, Princess S72, Princess F45 including 4 premieres and including the Global reveal of the S72. Emma Cotton admits that when the pandemic broke out, they were not sure how the market would develop in terms of sales prospects, but they were taken completely by surprise: "The market for Princess boats and  the boating industry has just gone crazy. All our boats are built to order and are sold out on some boat until 2025. The demand has really exceeded our expectations."

She attributes this to the fact that "people had a sense of their own mortality. Actually, now is the time to make their investments in yachts and enjoy some of their hard-earned money. They didn't have the opportunity to travel much or go to the office during the pandemic; so they had time to make these decisions and purchases." She adds that buying a yacht also seemed ideal for families to be together and away from everyone else.

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One wonders which of the many people on the Princess Stand are likely to be the buyers of these gigantic investment properties. According to Emma Cotton, it is rare for a buyer to go to the stand and buy a yacht outright, on the first visit to Princess because with the purchase comes the research. "We have a lot of customers who join the Princess family with smaller boats and exchange them for larger boats over the years. Our customers are very loyal to the Princess brand. Once they come into the family, they tend to stay in the family." 

Princess Yachts does not sell direct from the factory, but through distributors. Customers come to the Princess yard in Plymouth, do factory tours, also to see the process of building their boat.

Why does a customer choose a Princess yacht? In Plymouth, Princess Yachts has over 3500 employees, all skilled workers who make every single part of the boat themselves, from the cabinets to the doors to the  decks. Emma Cotton: "This craftmanship gives incredible attention to detail. We pay great attention to detail and design, we hand craft our boats so they are classic, beautiful and timeless.

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If you want to dream a little, but also want to see really spectacular objects, you will find this in Hall 6 of the Boot on the grounds of Messe Düsseldorf. And afterwards, we definitely recommend visiting the Aquatower, where visitors can go diving. All this and much more until 29 January 2023.

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boot.co.uk

princess.co.uk

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