Rosetti Superyachts: Fulvio Dodich interview

Fulvio Dodich is the chairman of newly-established Rosetti Superyachts, a subsidiary of Rosetti Group.

How is business?

“It has been very busy. When you start a new venture, you have to keep the line of people as short as possible and this means that everyone is busy but enthusiastic.

“Rosetti Superyachts is built on the long-established history and experience of Marino Rosetti. The shipyard is almost a century old, starting in 1925. Rosetti Marino has built 190 commercial vessels. Rosetti Superyachts can bring this vast experience and expertise in commercial supply and anchor vessels to superyachts.

“Whatever the level of luxury the customer wants, anything from a shadow vessel to an extremely high-end luxury yacht that can cost up to EU20,000 to EU30,000 per square metre for the interior.

“At every one of our yachts core is the strength of the hull. Our hull design is derived from our commercial vessels and that is what we are bringing to the yacht world. We are taking the best parts of our commercial ships into the luxury space.”

How has the customer reaction been?

“It has been very positive, I have been surprised. We founded the company on 30 June this year and we were working on the project months before.

“After we went to Monaco, I decided that we did not want to communicate anything about Rosetti Superyachts until the first of October.

“By the end of September, we already had 11 prospective buyers for the boats we are offering, and we are very happy with this result and it succeeded my expectations.

“Until everything was sorted, I did not want to communicate anything publicly. The goal was to finish everything by September to reveal the project once everything was in place. We did not want to be pitching a product we did not have.”

What is the market like for a new shipyard?

“We are manufacturing Italian designed yachts with north European technology. Everything inside our yachts will come from Norway.

“We decided on this because, we believe there is a market for not just a wonderful Italian design, but the practicality of a north European vessel at the base.

“The first market we want to breach into is Europe as it is the most consolidated market in terms of customers. It is not the biggest, that is still the US – which is our second goal. We are getting ready for the US, I attended Fort Lauderdale Boat show to establish contacts, a broker network, and to meet some potential customers. Europe and the US are definitely the most important markets for us.

“After this, we will pursue the Asia pacific market. It is not as big a market as either Europe or the US but there is business there. When we move there, the boats we offer in Asia will have to be tailored specifically for that market. This is also true for Europe and US.

“Going forward, we are examining a number of different ways of to reach new customers. One way is through the designer, the second way is through the dealers and the other important way is through brokers – brokers especially are of paramount importance.  These are the three avenues we are using to meet new customers going forward.”

What is Rosetti Superyachts’ five-year plan?

“We are already making large investments this and next year, so we can have a positive balance sheet on the second year of activity.

“This is possible as we already have a very strong shipyard and production facility. We have 250,000 square metres of shipyard in Ravenna and 64,000 people at Rosetti Marino that are educated in shipbuilding. This is all supporting our business plan.

“This should allow us to reach the financial figures we are hoping for. I think we will exceed this goal.”

Is it a buyers’ market? And is the market welcoming to a new shipyard?

“I think the market today is a great market, but we need to learn lessons from the past. You have to be prudent for the future.

“There is a high demand for the type of yachts we are selling. We are coming from a supply vessel background and we are seeing an increase in demand for shadow/support vessels.

“There is also an increasing wish from buyers to explore. Owners are looking to buy a yacht that can sail in Europe, but is also able to venture out to the Arctic Sea on expeditions. We cannot say that buyers will definitely go on these expeditions, but they now want the option.

“This is manageable for us. It is not hard for us to make an Ice Class 1,2 or 3 vessel as we have the ability at the shipyard, as long as we know the buyer wants this at the beginning. We can easily provide a yacht of their dreams and the ability to go to these places.

“In summary, the market is very good and there is an increasing demand for the motoryachts we are offering. However, we always need to be ready to face a decrease in demand in the market.

“You have to be prudent but, at the same time, realise that the market is good.”

Growing supply market, are people seeing the reason to buy one?

“In my opinion yes, they are a big vessel and investment but there is a market.

“A supply vessel is a visually less appealing yacht that does not mean the customer is not enjoying life on board. We can still offer everything from a top-class yacht interior to the most commercial support vessel interior to customers who want the simple life on board.

“This does not mean we will not have any less customers looking for luxury superyachts. But supply and support vessels are gaining a momentum as customers are looking for real quality, more than just how they appear sitting in the bay – this is supporting the growth of the support vessel.”

Summary

“It is true that we are coming to the world of yachts new, but we are the second biggest shipyard in Italy. There is no other shipyard that can count on the level of experience we have.

“We can offer some of the most reliable vessels available. Our 100 years in shipbuilding expertise will push our company ahead in the future. We will not build the usual yachts that are nice to look at.

“The mission is not to just sell yachts and market them, but to make our customers happy by also offering a good service and taking care of them.”