BassPro Shutters Stratos Boats, Triton Next? 2024
Peacock Choppa reply :
I have been trying to buy a new Stratos Boat and have been told no new orders are being taken. Only existing stock is available for sale. I was also told Triton will cease to exist next year. I figured BassPro would pull something like this after they acquired the companies. I feel they are under the impression people will purchase their Nitro brand if the competition is eliminated. Guess what, people buy Triton and Stratos for a reason. The reasons are usually A) They can't afford a Ranger B)They are faster than a Ranger C) They prefer the styling D) They do not want a Nitro due to poor finish quality and low resale value.
Very bad move Mr. Johnny. For all your great business moves and the good you've done for the sport of bass fishing, this isn't one of them. Just sayin.
This is great news for Pheonix, Skeeter and the up and coming Falcon brands. I know where my next boat purchase will be going and that's not to the mass produced schlock coming from a giant company that has bean counters making decisions that cost the good citizens of Murfreesboro their jobs.
slonezp reply :
Hmmmm....
flyfisher reply :
1 post and a whole lot of speculation.....i am guessing he got fired
lo n slo reply :
he said schlock
12poundbass reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 9:50 AM, flyfisher said:1 post and a whole lot of speculation.....i am guessing he got fired
Very plausible
Peacock Choppa reply :
Nope you guessed wrong, never worked in the boat industry. I run 25 Maaco Auto paint stores in the Southeast. It's not speculation my friend. Go try and shop a Stratos boat and see how far you get. If you think one company controlling all of your bass boat choices is good, then you may want to rethink that. No haggle pricing is what you have coming to a dealer near you with reduced choices in how you go fishing. Take a look at what happened to Procraft. Lowe is also out of production. Shuttered by Johnny. Alumicraft shut out at Cabelas. If you don't already know, BassPro owns Cabelas now. One of the most respected names in bass boats, Randy Hopper, left Ranger/White River Marine Group when asked to lay-off 300 employees by the bean counters. There was also the crossover parts usage that has the potential to tarnish Rangers' reputation that factored into the decision. Should be noted two other top execs resigned the same day. One a relative of Forrest L Wood. That should say something.
flyfisher reply :
I just find it to be a very personal ordeal when a person comes to a board and their first post is ripping a brand.
As far as no haggle pricing goes, I don't have an issue with it myself. Makes my job easier as a buyer because i research online and don't have to waste my time trying to save a few dollars.
And i am just curious, how has ranger been doing as of late, I honestly don't know other than the normal talk and how most people are really high on their aluminum boats.
Fishing Rhino reply :
Well, if there is enough demand for Stratos, Triton, etc., then there is a golden opportunity for someone to jump in with both feet and make a fortune.
Morris can buy companies and close them down if he so wishes, with a willing seller. But he cannot stop anyone from jumping in and filling the void, if that void actually exists.
Peacock Choppa reply :
Ranger sells more than the rest combined at this point. And the TX line of aluminum boats is a big seller. As a side note, I'm currently a Ranger owner. I'm sorry you feel I was ripping a company. I'm not. I wanted some discussion on the topic that is productive. So far, I'm seeing personal type replies that don't address what is happening in the bass boat industry. No haggle is fine when competition is healthy. That competition has been greatly reduced with consolidation and elimination of these brands. Consolidation is nothing new. In fact, to a large extent, consolidation back in the Genmar days is what got us to this point anyway.
Lets look at Legend Boats, recently bought by BassPro/ White River Marine Group. A highly thought of bass boat and known for it's very high standard of quality. Do you really think that translates into the Nitro mantra?
I agree with you Fishing Rhino. That was my point in my original comment. Why go thru all that pain as a company to figure that out in the end. Pheonix and Skeeter are licking their chops to make big inroads for market share.
WRB reply :
Who owns Ranger today?*
When a brand is purchase the brand trade name is included in the sale, no one can use it unless they buy it.
Tom
* BPS
Peacock Choppa reply :
White River Marine Group owns Ranger Boats. White River is Bass Pro Shops' marine arm. The sale was completed late 2014 and finalized in 2015.
Fishing Rhino reply :
"That was my point in my original comment. Why go thru all that pain as a company to figure that out in the end. Pheonix and Skeeter are licking their chops to make big inroads for market share."
They can lick their chops. Making big inroads is another matter. Why have all these companies sold out to Morris? Could it be that the bass boat market is in decline, and these companies got out while the getting was good?
I have witnessed the boom and bust of commercial fishermen when markets developed for what had once been trash fish. Here are some of them. Dogfish (aka sand sharks), Skate (rays), and Monkfish aka goosefish were a nuisance to the cod fishing gillnet fleet. Those who got in as the market started to grow, cleaned up and made a fortune. Other fishermen seeing this change in direction started gearing up, but they were already too late. These booms last a year or two, and it's nearly impossible to play catch up. In the case of what was once considered trash fish, when the fleet starts to gear up to get in on the action, the government will not be far behind.
Trash fish have not been regulated. Once they become a viable species to pursue, the government notes the large numbers being harvested, takes a look at what is going on and usually imposes restrictions on the harvesting.
Oh you can jump in and make a few bucks, but you will be too late to cash in on the bonanza.
The same has been true of the automobile industry. Why should boats be any different. The law of supply and demand determines price. The market got saturated with bass boats. Those who got in on the ground floor did well. Those who jumped into the fray when the market was booming got there in time to see the market stagnate.
WRB reply :
Champion boats were far more popular than Stratos, so both become a memory, victims of a struggling boat industry. White a River Marine is BPS/ Johnny Morris. Forest Wood sold Ranger than bought it back and sold a second time. Where all this is going only Johnny Morris knows.
Tom
Peacock Choppa reply :
TThe cash crunch of '08 was still being felt at those companies. I forget the name of the private equity group that owned them before Fishing Holdings bought them. Historically, these types of private equities buy with only one purpose in mind. That purpose is to sell the group for a profit. They have little interest in manufacturing above the maintaining status qou.
WRB reply :
If you want to support a family owned boat company look at Bass Cat.
Tom
Peacock Choppa reply :
Actually, you can buy a Champion hull and deck rebadged as Charger Bass Boat. Have a look at the website. They even use the striping scheme from the Champion line. Champs were one of my favorite hulls, a real great boat.
True that, I Love Bass Fishing. I forgot all about Basscat
WRB reply :
2008 we had at least 6 bass boat dealers within 200 mile radius in SoCal, today we have 1, Anglers Marine. Anglers was a Ranger and Champion dealer and has gone through all the transitional term oil the past 8 years. No Bass A Thon this year at Anglers after 18 consecutive years, not sure what the reason are but hope we still have 1 dealer in the area.
Disposable money is still tight, getting better so let's hope the further looks better.
Tom
Peacock Choppa reply :
I know Anglers Marine in Anaheim. They did some work for me back in 2008. I had a prop issue and they helped me out. I was heading up to Stockton to fish the FLW tournament on the Delta.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 11:31 AM, WRB said:If you want to support a family owned boat company look at Bass Cat.
Tom
Bass Cat was sold not that long ago as well, but not to BPS. Can't remember the details though.
volzfan59 reply :
This is nothing new. Stratos has been on the way out since the days of Irwin Jacobs. I can't tell you how many times I've been told they were shutting down. They were basically relegated to an entry level boat years ago. I'll be shocked if Triton goes away, but I learned years ago to never say never.
If memory serves me correctly, Johnny purchased Ranger, Triton and Stratos from an investment group called Sterling Capital. He also got the ChampioN name in the deal. Before anyone says he closed ChampioN, it was either Irwin Jacobs or Sterling Capital that shut them down.
Catt reply :
I don't see the big surprise!
Stratos & Champion have been toast long before Johnny Boy
I've said for years bass fishing is going the way of duck hunting & pricing themselves out of certain markets.
Logan S reply :
Been a long time coming unfortunately...Stratos and Triton are both similar brands, mid-level boats...Not super luxury and not budget, so they compete with each other. If you owned both it probably makes sense to eliminate the lower performing brand, which was Stratos. I doubt Triton goes anywhere, they are moving their production into the Legend factory. Some people think Legend is also on the chopping block, but my guess is that JM is going to try to make the Legend production more efficient (profitable) by bringing Triton in house.
This isn't my pic or data and its 8 months old now, but it shows annual sales numbers...I think many will be surprised at how small the bass boat market is overall. You see Stratos down there at only 260 boats and down 14% compared to Triton at 961 and up 15%...Easy decision for the executives to make.
slonezp reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 2:41 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Bass Cat was sold not that long ago as well, but not to BPS. Can't remember the details though.
A ski boat manufacturer bought them along with Yarcraft. The name escapes me.
Back to topic. Johnny can do what Johnny wants with Johnny's money. We as consumers don't have to buy from Johnny if we don't want to. Stratos and Triton have always taken a back seat to Ranger. There are other choices. Piggybacking on what @Fishing Rhino said, maybe overall sales are on the decline. Can you blame people for not purchasing bass boats? A 17ft-18ft glass boat rigged well will set someone back $40k and prices pushing $100k on the high end. It's insane. Young fishermen with young families simply can't afford it. Boats are not cars. They are not a necessity, only a want. I purchased a new boat in 2004 and sold it in 2013 for half of what I paid for it. That same model boat today is $10k more than it was new. There certainly isn't $10k of upgrades or technology added to the boat. I'm willing to bet the current hull design is similar or identical to the 2004 hull.
@flyfisher Other companies have followed in Johnny's footsteps with "Nationally advertised pricing" on their entry level models. I guess if it works for Johnny, it's worth a try. I don't care for the business model. I don't like to buy what someone wants to sell me. I like to buy what I like.
flyfisher reply :
Nationally advertised is different than no haggle though, isn't it?
slonezp reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 11:31 PM, flyfisher said:Nationally advertised is different than no haggle though, isn't it?
Yes and no. For example, Alumacraft has a 16ft boat called the Classic. The standard model will cost the same no matter where it is purchased in the United States. There is no haggling on that pricing. You can buy the standard model as is and make deals on the upgrades.
Tracker/Nitro and specifically BPS don't allow you to make deals on upgrades. (Might be different with independent Tracker/Nitro dealers) It's been my experience that floor models are sold as is. If there is a $200 graph on a $30k boat then you are buying that $200 graph even though you want a $2k graph. If you want a $2k graph it needs to be ordered that way. I walked away from a deal on a BPS floor model Z9 because it had a 200hp hanging off it and I wanted to upgrade to a 250. If i wanted it with a 250 it would need to be ordered that way. The boat I mentioned in the earlier post that I bought in 2004 had a smaller motor on it in the showroom. The dealer pulled a bigger motor off another boat and put it on the one I purchased to close the deal. No questions asked.
Fishing Rhino reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 11:22 PM, slonezp said:A ski boat manufacturer bought them along with Yarcraft. The name escapes me.
Back to topic. Johnny can do what Johnny wants with Johnny's money. We as consumers don't have to buy from Johnny if we don't want to. Stratos and Triton have always taken a back seat to Ranger. There are other choices. Piggybacking on what @Fishing Rhino said, maybe overall sales are on the decline. Can you blame people for not purchasing bass boats? A 17ft-18ft glass boat rigged well will set someone back $40k and prices pushing $100k on the high end. It's insane. Young fishermen with young families simply can't afford it. Boats are not cars. They are not a necessity, only a want. I purchased a new boat in 2004 and sold it in 2013 for half of what I paid for it. That same model boat today is $10k more than it was new. There certainly isn't $10k of upgrades or technology added to the boat. I'm willing to bet the current hull design is similar or identical to the 2004 hull.
@flyfisher Other companies have followed in Johnny's footsteps with "Nationally advertised pricing" on their entry level models. I guess if it works for Johnny, it's worth a try. I don't care for the business model. I don't like to buy what someone wants to sell me. I like to buy what I like.
Many years ago an old Yankee told me this. If you want to make a living, do something people need. If you want to get rich, do something people want.
volzfan59 reply :
Slonezp, It really depends on where your buying your Nitro/ Tracker. When I sold boats, I heard of some dealers and BPS stores that refused swap anything. It's crazy how many boats I sold to people for that reason alone. I once sold a Grizzly Sportsman to a guy that drove to us, FROM DETROIT, MI!!! All over a motor swap. How many dealers/ stores did this guy pass because they wouldn't swap a 25 h/p for a 40?
I'll say this up front, as far as the motor goes it's always cheaper to order your rig. They have to hang a motor on it. Bubba doesn't care if it's a 200 or a 300. At the BPS I work at, we've done motor swaps. You pay the difference in the motors and labor. As for trolling motors, electronics or power poles, they swap/ add them every day. Again, you pay the difference and labor. That would be the same at any dealer/ any brand.
While at work today, I spoke to someone in senior management. I am not at liberty to disclose his name or position, but I promise you, he knows. The Stratos part of "Peacock Choppa" post is true, they are going away. My friend has not heard the Triton part. Here's the rub, Stratos was going to be toast regardless if White River bought them or not. The people that previously owned Stratos had already planned on shuttering the brand.
WRB reply :
What does Stratos and Triton have in common, Earl Benz started both companies and Johnny Morris may kill them both.
Tom
rangerjockey reply :
I doubt Triton is going anywhere. The rumor mill in the area has it that Legend was purchased for the facility and that they Will move Triton there.
Fishing Rhino reply :
On 11/24/2017 at 11:32 AM, WRB said:What does Stratos and Triton have in common, Earl Benz started both companies and Johnny Morris may kill them both.
Tom
Ahhhhhh, the obstetrician and the undertaker.
slonezp reply :
The Triton "name" ain't going nowhere look at the photo gallery's and compare.
https://www.tritonboats.com/boat/557.aspx
https://www.trackerboats.com/boat/gallery.cfm?boat=4276
Ohio Archer reply :
And the next name is.......Legend. That's the rumor. Gone the way of the Dodo bird.
volzfan59 reply :
Again, the Stratos decision was made prior to the BPS/ White River purchase. I guess it could have been reversed, but why? Stratos is not the player in the industry that they once were. Assuming "Peacock Choppa" is being truthful, and I have no reason to doubt that he is, he is literally the first person I've heard in years say " I'm trying to buy a Stratos". When I sold boats, people would mention that they were looking at Ranger, Skeeter and Triton. Sometimes Ledgend, but never a Stratos and few Bass Cats.
Sloanzp, Your right, looks like a Grizzly Sportsman with Triton decals. The name Triton is still active, ain't gone anywhere. If I remember correctly, Triton tin boats were never built by Triton to began with. They bought someone else out and slapped on Triton decals. Much like Ranger tin boats used to be built by Crestliner.
But, to the bigger picture. To the victor goes the spoils. Sucks, I agree, but that's business, like when GM shuttered the Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn and Hummer brands. Johnny's money, Johnny's playground. So far he's the one person making it in the outdoor game. Cabela's was loosing money head over heels, Gander couldn't stay open due to tick poor decision-making (we'll see how well Lemonis does with Gander Outdoors) and Sportsman Warehouse stock is dropping. Same with boats. If Ranger, Triton and Stratos were making tons of money, Sterling Capital probably would never have sold out. There is an argument to be made that they didn't really know what to do with what they had, lime ESPN buying B.A.S.S. Time will tell.
slonezp reply :
I just left Cabelas. What's left of their non Johnny brand boats are on clearance.
Further North reply :
On 11/23/2017 at 8:25 AM, Peacock Choppa said:I have been trying to buy a new Stratos Boat and have been told no new orders are being taken. Only existing stock is available for sale. I was also told Triton will cease to exist next year. I figured BassPro would pull something like this after they acquired the companies. I feel they are under the impression people will purchase their Nitro brand if the competition is eliminated. Guess what, people buy Triton and Stratos for a reason. The reasons are usually A) They can't afford a Ranger B)They are faster than a Ranger C) They prefer the styling D) They do not want a Nitro due to poor finish quality and low resale value.
Very bad move Mr. Johnny. For all your great business moves and the good you've done for the sport of bass fishing, this isn't one of them. Just sayin.
This is great news for Pheonix, Skeeter and the up and coming Falcon brands. I know where my next boat purchase will be going and that's not to the mass produced schlock coming from a giant company that has bean counters making decisions that cost the good citizens of Murfreesboro their jobs.
I am curious what your source is. I'd love to call them and follow up with some questions....
On 11/23/2017 at 11:29 AM, Peacock Choppa said:TThe cash crunch of '08 was still being felt at those companies. I forget the name of the private equity group that owned them before Fishing Holdings bought them. Historically, these types of private equities buy with only one purpose in mind. That purpose is to sell the group for a profit. They have little interest in manufacturing above the maintaining status qou.
...and often not even that. They have been known - often - to slash personnel and other costs to make the bottom line look attractive to potential buyers who don't know due diligence from their...um...backside...
Elkins45 reply :
Why aren't there Japanese or South Korean bass boats invading the US market, as happened with the auto market? I know Yamaha is a big name in outboards, but if there's an Asian maker of hulls I'm unaware of them. Seems like there's a place for a KIA or Hyundai equivalent to sell you a nice 17' aluminum boat package for $8-$10K and totally kill the Tracker market share.
Bass boats crossing the Pacific in container ships...I wonder.
Russ E reply :
On 11/26/2017 at 2:34 AM, slonezp said:I just left Cabelas. What's left of their non Johnny brand boats are on clearance.
Kansas City Cabelas still has quite a few Lowes.
they also have Nitro and tracker boats.
still looks strange to see new Trackers and Nitros sitting next to Rangers on the same floor.
related Bass Boats Canoes Kayaks topic
most viewed Bass Boats Canoes Kayaks topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.