Shame on Malibu corp.

[Chappy]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

[MalibuTime]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

Bottom line, any way you slice it the truth is they yanked the franchise from a 20+ year dealer. The fact that he had ordered a ton of boats not too long before things tanked and took about two years to sell through that inventory seems to have been conveniently forgotten. What a short memory that they have. It's not like Bake's is not selling boats at all. It is very smart business in this economy to keep your inventory next to nothing, have a production backlog and build everything as a custom order.

Edited June 22, 2010 by MalibuTime

[upinya]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

[CedarLakeSkier]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

The above statements just don't make sense to me.

I find it hard to believe about ordering boats if Bake's knew they were going to lose Malibu. If I was trying to sell a business, like Bakes, having a premier brand would be one of the big selling points. I can't imagine the purchase price for Bake's being anywhere near what it was before this.

[rodman]

The above statements just don't make sense to me.

I find it hard to believe about ordering boats if Bake's knew they were going to lose Malibu. If I was trying to sell a business, like Bakes, having a premier brand would be one of the big selling points. I can't imagine the purchase price for Bake's being anywhere near what it was before this.

Right On Ceder Lake. If Bake's was one of the top dealers and they are for sale there marketability would be with a franchise. Something is not right here. There are 2 Malibu dealers in my area one is a small family owned shop and the other is a state of the franchise they are still in business. Malibu is trying to survive the economy the same as we are and they are not going to get rid of there top selling dealerships it makes no sense.

My family owned a Olds dealer since 1934, GM closed the small mom and pop stores for there 2000 plan. The 2000 plan was to increase sales with bigger multi line dealers that stocked up inventory.

We all hate to loose our local stores, and bigger is not always better, but it is 2010 we encouraged these types of corporate decisions. We put out all the local mom and pop stores by our own greed. Think of them every time you get food, ice, and gas all at the same place.

If we didn't support Builders Square, Lowe's, Home Depot, Wall Mart, K Mart, and all the other big super markets our little mom and pop stores would still be surviving.

[Bobby Light]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

Do you have any idea how many boats they sold this year? Alot but it was not enough to make Malibu happy, in fact they had sales that Malibu wouldn't even let them order for from what I understand, that doesn't make alot of sense to me. Bill didn't stop ordering boats, he stopped flooring more than 3 boats at a time. Yes challenging economic environment Bakes had to survive too. An ex Bakes employee probably wouldn't know what went down in the last weeks of this thing. I heard a very different story on the boat quota.

You're right though, two sides to every story. There is no happy ending here for Bakes or Malibu. Malibu will definetely loose some customers because of this. It's not just the Malibu brand that makes the ownership experience it's great dealers like Bakes. With the way Bridge City Watersports screwed over Malibu you would think they would want to keep a good honest dealer like Bakes around. Bridge City was sure ordering alot of boats, they just weren't paying for them.

Edited June 22, 2010 by 06vlx

[Bobby Light]

The above statements just don't make sense to me.

I find it hard to believe about ordering boats if Bake's knew they were going to lose Malibu. If I was trying to sell a business, like Bakes, having a premier brand would be one of the big selling points. I can't imagine the purchase price for Bake's being anywhere near what it was before this.

Exactly there is no malibu dealership to sell anymore. At least the service, online, and canvas are all separate businesses.

Edited June 22, 2010 by 06vlx

[Ndawg12]

Can I take back everything I've said about Mastercraft..??

[JDubya]

Can I take back everything I've said about Mastercraft..??

"Shun the non-beliver...shuuuuunnnn!"

[shawndoggy]

From the position of a neutral observer, the lesson or hidden truth I see from this is that Malibu must be pretty desperate to move some units. As a long term business strategy it doesn't make a lot of sense. Which tends to suggest that planning for the long term isn't a luxury that Malibu can afford right now?

[Ndawg12]

I'm trying to be a neutral observer as well but I thought production was way behind, has that changed in the last month or so? How can Malibu put so much pressure on dealers to carry stock if they can't keep up and deliver in a timely manner to help dealers keep their customers happy...??

[liljohn]

As usual there are two sides to every story. I am pretty sure Malibu didn't want this to happen. I spoke with a former Bakes employee about a month ago who told me this was coming. He said Malibu had no choice because Bill had quit ordering boats. This was due to a couple of factors. 1) The ecomony, 2) trying to sell the dealership and 3) flooring financing basically non existent. Bill did not want to drop any money and order boats since he was looking to sell and get out. I heard he had a June 1st deadline to start ordering boats. (On a side note, I also heard Malibu never gave Bakes an annual quota/allotment of boats to sell.) I am spretty sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle but I would settle down on the Malibu bashing because at the end of the day they are trying to run a difficult business in a tough economic environment.

Chappy your right there are two side to the story. I have had the privallage of hearing both and the brain to sort the truth. No matter how you slice it Malibu had the knowledge of what they were doing. I think that Bill was smart in not ordering boats and passing on the custom order discounts to customers. In reality that theory worked they sold there share and had more sales lined up.

The hole thing is shaddy Bakes had NO knowledge of a dealer change untill a customer came in and wanted to see all the color charts.. A customer dropped the bomb that he was ordering a 2011 from Seattle boat co.. I happen to be in the shop when this happened. Thats when I started "researching" and uncovered the truth. I was told that this info would not be public untill July. As far as I know Malibu has NOT told Bakes! odviously there is more to all of this and I honestly hope that the powers that be from all side speak there peace.

Untill someone can convince me other wise I will continue to enjoy my bu with the knowledge that she will be my last. My family has all agreed that if what we belive to be true is, that are boat will be for sale before the season is over. It is a crappy feeling. I have looked forward to purchasing a new one and working with the people who have made it what it is to me and my family. unfortunatly seattle boats has had my buisness in the past and will never see a penny of my money in the future.

[TrickyNicky]

Chappy your right there are two side to the story. I have had the privallage of hearing both and the brain to sort the truth. No matter how you slice it Malibu had the knowledge of what they were doing. I think that Bill was smart in not ordering boats and passing on the custom order discounts to customers. In reality that theory worked they sold there share and had more sales lined up.

The hole thing is shaddy Bakes had NO knowledge of a dealer change untill a customer came in and wanted to see all the color charts.. A customer dropped the bomb that he was ordering a 2011 from Seattle boat co.. I happen to be in the shop when this happened. Thats when I started "researching" and uncovered the truth. I was told that this info would not be public untill July. As far as I know Malibu has NOT told Bakes! odviously there is more to all of this and I honestly hope that the powers that be from all side speak there peace.

Untill someone can convince me other wise I will continue to enjoy my bu with the knowledge that she will be my last. My family has all agreed that if what we belive to be true is, that are boat will be for sale before the season is over. It is a crappy feeling. I have looked forward to purchasing a new one and working with the people who have made it what it is to me and my family. unfortunatly seattle boats has had my buisness in the past and will never see a penny of my money in the future.

Sounds like you live up to your signature line. And Malibu will reap the loss.

[OTN]

"Shun the non-beliver...shuuuuunnnn!"

+ 1 million for Charlie reference

[Bobby Light]

Charlie the Unicorn.

Edited June 22, 2010 by 06vlx

[Bill_AirJunky]

Can I take back everything I've said about Mastercraft..??

Our local MC dealer just took on Skier's Choice too. The old Supra/Moomba dealer is right down the road & was equally surprised of the change. They lost MC to the same dealer a few years ago too. So now their left with a couple of I/O brands.

The new dealer doesn't really have a great reputation for giving good service. Where the local Malibu dealer does. Limits our future boat purchase choices in a hurry.

Makes you wonder what manufacturers are thinking when they pull things like this. And then to let it be leaked out like this rather than releasing the information on their own?? I don't care how you spin it now, they will never be able to back peddle fast enough.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Bill_AirJunky

[Ndawg12]

Charlie the Unicorn.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen but couldn't stop for some reason.

[JDubya]

+ 1 million for Charlie reference

Yeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

End Hijack.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Ramman17

[MalibuNation]

Wow ... wondering about the other dealers when you have such a good one like Bakes. I've been on this forum since the beginning and with MBO back in 2001 and shocked. Beside my dealer I've heard all good things about Bakes and Smooth Water Sports (Peter)

[Chia]

well, i am reluctant to post in this topic as i know a lot of you are very passionate about Bakes and i agree Paul has been a valued contributor to this site and will hopefully continue to be.

I also see that malibu needs to sell boats even in this economic downturn, their survival depends on it.

Getting solid commitments (thru quota's if that is what happened) from their dealers is a way to guarantee production at the plant which is necessary to and keep them afloat.

A dealer (because he had to accept the quota) who now has more boats than he wants or believes he can sell at the same profit margins as before will maybe bring the price down to move the inventory.

In business it is never "what have you done for me", it is "what have you done for me lately".

A friend of mine would have lost his longtime Mazda dealership if he didn't build a new building at a new location, this stuff happens in the corporate world, it is never easy, especially in these economic times.

I feel badly for Bakes and especially the staff that may be affected by this turn of events.

[Bobby Light]

well, i am reluctant to post in this topic as i know a lot of you are very passionate about Bakes and i agree Paul has been a valued contributor to this site and will hopefully continue to be.

I also see that malibu needs to sell boats even in this economic downturn, their survival depends on it.

Getting solid commitments (thru quota's if that is what happened) from their dealers is a way to guarantee production at the plant which is necessary to and keep them afloat.

A dealer (because he had to accept the quota) who now has more boats than he wants or believes he can sell at the same profit margins as before will maybe bring the price down to move the inventory.

In business it is never "what have you done for me", it is "what have you done for me lately".

A friend of mine would have lost his longtime Mazda dealership if he didn't build a new building at a new location, this stuff happens in the corporate world, it is never easy, especially in these economic times.

I feel badly for Bakes and especially the staff that may be affected by this turn of events.

I see what you're saying but there is no way in hell you can compare a car dealer to a boat dealer that has only ever carried one brand (Malibu) for it's entire existence. I would say apples to oranges but it's more like apples to grapes in comparison. Car dealers move more cars in a month sometimes than a Malibu dealer would move in an entire year.

[NewMalibu]

well, i am reluctant to post in this topic as i know a lot of you are very passionate about Bakes and i agree Paul has been a valued contributor to this site and will hopefully continue to be.

I also see that malibu needs to sell boats even in this economic downturn, their survival depends on it.

Getting solid commitments (thru quota's if that is what happened) from their dealers is a way to guarantee production at the plant which is necessary to and keep them afloat.

A dealer (because he had to accept the quota) who now has more boats than he wants or believes he can sell at the same profit margins as before will maybe bring the price down to move the inventory.

In business it is never "what have you done for me", it is "what have you done for me lately".

A friend of mine would have lost his longtime Mazda dealership if he didn't build a new building at a new location, this stuff happens in the corporate world, it is never easy, especially in these economic times.

I feel badly for Bakes and especially the staff that may be affected by this turn of events.

I agree with this statement completely. however, from what i understand, Bakes has consistently been in the top performing dealerships for many many years (i dont have any facts or data to back that up though). Though Bill has not been buying a lot of boats to keep on the floor, he is still selling a good number of them.

IF a set quota was the sticking point, it seems very nearsighted of Malibu to discount the trackrecord that Bakes has. From my experience, you set standards/expectations for the masses, but you to things a little differently to retain the star performers. There is definitely more going on here than we are privy to, but without all the facts, this just does not seem or feel right.

[TheKiwi]

I'm really waiting for Bill to fill us in on what the actual truth is. No offense to anybody but unless I hear it from the horses mouth its all hearsay.

[CedarLakeSkier]

I'm really waiting for Bill to fill us in on what the actual truth is. No offense to anybody but unless I hear it from the horses mouth its all hearsay.

Two people have mentioned "Bill" now. Should I know who Bill is?

[Bobby Light]

Two people have mentioned "Bill" now. Should I know who Bill is?

Bill is the owner of Bakes Marine and other associated businesses.

I have a feeling he's formulating his resonse as we post on this subject .