The 58th annual Detroit Boat Show sees strong sales and new

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nicki Polan, Executive Director
Michigan Boating Industries Association
P: 734.261.0123, ext. 4, [email protected]
Amanda Wendecker, Marketing & PR Manager
P: 734.261.0123, ext. 3, [email protected]
The 58th annual Detroit Boat Show sees strong sales and
new boaters enter the market
LIVONIA, Mich., February 23, 2016 – The Detroit Boat Show wrapped up its nine-day run at Cobo Center yesterday with positive
sales reports from exhibitors and a general consensus that new buyers are entering the market.
“Forty percent of our business at the show was new buyers, which is great for the industry. We had a strong closing weekend and
exceeded our goals. I expect follow up business to be strong based on the number of people we quoted,” said Tom Haag, vice
president of Colony Marine in St. Clair Shores.
“From a sales perspective, this was our best show ever, by far – since Bennington has been participating in boat shows,” said Pat Call
of Bennington. “Show management did a great job, the boat displays were awesome and attendance was great.”
“More than anything we want our exhibitors to have a great show experience and to have solid sales,” said Nicki Polan, show manager.
“This year everyone we talked to was having a great show.” More than 100 exhibitors covered all things boating in 350,000 square feet
of Cobo Center, with more than 700 boats of 85 brands. “We saw younger people, which was encouraging, and comments from
dealers indicated there were a good number of first time buyers, which is also encouraging for our industry,” said Polan.
Attendance increased by nearly 2,000 attendees over the nine days. “Attendance was solid, gas prices were down, buyers were in the
hall, financing is solid, weather was great – all made for a great show!” said Ron Wilson of Wilson Marine.
The 2017 Detroit Boat Show will be held Feb. 11-19 at Cobo Center. The Detroit Boat Show is produced by the Michigan Boating
Industries Association (MBIA), a state-wide marine trade association representing Michigan’s $7.4 billion boating industry. For more
information on the Detroit Boat Show, go to detroitboatshow.net. For more information about MBIA go to www.mbia.org.
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