Todd Morgan...When you going to

[DEdwards]

get the new Strampion in for evaluation?

[Tx Champ]

C&O is no longer a Stratos dealer ...

[DEdwards]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Tx Champ &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">C&O is no longer a Stratos dealer ... </td></tr></table>

Oh crap!

[speedcrawler]

did Stratos have to pick there boats up from CandO? I guess if they repoed them then that would explain why they are not a dealer.. I loose my car to the bank they wont let me buy one again!!

[Todd Morgan]

We told GE to stick everything we had from them up their A hole. Genmar managed a hook and move owing us a lot of money just before PE bought them. But then again.....4000 of us suppliers were left with over $100,000,000 in bad debt by Genmar.

Unless something seriously changed, I don't like the way the Arkansas management does business.

The long bankruptcy and lack of customer support has left a very bad taste. Anyone we deal with will have to be honorable.....something that seems to be lacking.

[GregA]

Damn Todd, sorry to hear about that. F them

[gleninaz]

Note to self: cross Ranstrampion brand off my list for the new boat. Todd-let us know what brands you get hooked up with. Good luck and hang tough.

[Bassin08]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Todd Morgan &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">We told GE to stick everything we had from them up their A hole. Genmar managed a hook and move owing us a lot of money just before PE bought them. But then again.....4000 of us suppliers were left with over $100,000,000 in bad debt by Genmar.

Unless something seriously changed, I don't like the way the Arkansas management does business.

The long bankruptcy and lack of customer support has left a very bad taste. Anyone we deal with will have to be honorable.....something that seems to be lacking.</td></tr></table>

So Todd, are you in negotiations with Bass Cat now? You will have to remove that #1 Stratos Dealer from your logo. Sorry to see Champion go and also sorry to hear that Genmar stiffed a lot of dealers. Genmar destroyed a good company with Champion. I know I will never own one of those R boats in my life.

[Bassin Bob71]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Bassin08 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">

So Todd, are you in negotiations with Bass Cat now? </td></tr></table>

That could be awesome.

[JohnM]

C&O spoke with Cat a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if there have been further talks since then or not. Keep in mind Cat is a small volume company, they are not going to pump out the numbers that C&O is capable of selling.

I own a Cat and have been on C&O's "Promotional Team" since inception. Personally I think it would make for a FANATSTIC combination but it has to work for both business owners. C&O needs a line of boats they can move in volume to keep the top notch staff they have employed.

Just food for thought.

[pmgoffjr]

I will be interesting reading to see which way the wind will blow. The number of capable manufacturers is now pretty slim...
You've got toons down the road from them, the great Texas scourge Skeeter, and well....um....can't think of anyone else that could provide the horsepower.

[H2O_Fowl]

What about Pheonix? Can they pump out big volume?

[pmgoffjr]

Being an *ex* boat guy, here's the dilemma a small builder runs into when they encounter a dealer the size of C&O..

Everyone wants to sell a lot, problem is, that's the same thing that puts them out of business, very very few have succeeded with a model that allows them to grow at a manageable level. Rick Pierce has done it, and Allison, Bullet and dang few others. When you jump into the everything for everyone mode, you can't handle the market ups and downs. Investing in molds, labor and buildings to be big time, also takes big time cash to keep running. Todd could easily suck up half of your production, then the boat builder feels the dealer owns them.

For the perfect example, refer to Travis and Cajun, Sprint, Viper, Cobra, and what happened when the dealer overwhelmed the manufacturer. Takes a lot of self discipline to reach for that cookie.

[H2O_Fowl]

Interesting. Whole new perspective.

[jbabin76]

Makes a lot of sense... thanks for posting...

[jbabin76]

To me it seems like a good opportunity for Charger Boats. No one really talks about them on this board, obviously, but that's probably the closest thing to a champ hull out there. They look a little nose heavy, but anyone I've talked to who's been in one says they ride like a caddilac.

[Todd Morgan]

Cat would be our first pick but they have a dealer in Nashville.

We always did 550-700 boats a year between all new and used.....I think those days are gone. 130 Stratos' alone and always 80+ Champions a year. We dumped several brands over the years for quality issues and lack of warranty. I think quality over numbers will be the new future.

We are selling the crap out of Nitro's.......and believe it or not, no cracks and no issues when we do need a warranty item taken care of. It just takes a LONG time to get an ordered boat in and the outsourced shipping hasn't been efficient.

Phoenix hired a terrible bass boat dealer here in Nashville. He's a pleasure boat guy and very limited on service....especially to fishermen. He has none in stock and has stated he won't stock. Only catalog sales. Phoenix has been relegated to signing tiny dealers just to show coverage. I don't know if they could handle a Tsunami like C&O......all at Phoenix know us very well from Stratos and know the numbers and service we do.

Nashville lost it's big Skeeter dealer who was doing a really good job. Skeeter had become #2 in this market surpassing Triton......of course Stratos was #1 here. We have had no talks with Skeeter.

Taking our time and in no hurry. All our 2010 Nitro's are already gone. We still have 1 Stratos Evo left.

The only reason at this point I would consider Stratos again is to service the hundreds of friends and customers we have. I will admit I am very interested to see the Champions.