Built on A Strong Dealer Networ
Because Ray grew up in Detroit and went to school at Detroit University in Grosse Pointe, MI, he knew how General Motors had quickly become the sales and profit leader of the Big Three in the 1920s. While there are a number of reasons, one of the most important was the fact that top GM executives went around the country and identified the best capitalized, best located and best run dealerships that existed at the dawn of the automobile era. Alfred P. Sloan’s vision for the future of GM and its dealers was sold to – and embraced by – the best dealers in the country. GM stayed on top for 50 years because of its dealers.
Only the Best Dealers
“He believed that distribution was king, that you built a good-quality boat, backed it up, delivered good customer service, and got the best dealers,” said Robert J. Parmentier, Sea Ray’s current president and an employee of Ray’s in the early 1980s.
Most veteran industry observers know that the bedrock of Sea Ray’s success was the incredibly powerful dealer network Ray set up around the country. Like most boat builders starting out in the 1960s, he personally sold dealers on becoming a Sea Ray dealer. But he didn’t want just any dealer. Like GM he wanted only the best, and if couldn’t get a good dealer in a territory, he took a pass.
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