Shogren and Fountain Part Ways
After a successful 7-year partnership, Shogren Performance Marine of Waukegan, Ill., will no longer carry the Fountain Powerboats line of sport boats and center consoles. The top Fountain dealer in the country for seven consecutive years—Shogren reportedly sold nearly $40 million worth of new Fountain models—Shogren has decided to focus on the Nor-Tech line of custom performance boats and center consoles.
“It was a great seven years,” said Scott Shogren, the owner of Shogren Performance Marine. “Reggie and Wyatt Fountain brought me into this industry and taught me a lot, which I will always respect and never forget. I wish the new Liberty group (owners of Fountain Powerboats) the best of luck in their endeavors in the future.”
Shogren said he believes that the go-fast powerboat industry has shifted in the direction of custom boats, which command higher prices than their production-boat counterparts but are built to order rather than en masse.
“The mass-production side of the industry is very challenged because very few banks providing floor-plan financing for sport boats,” he explained. “A production sport boat manufacturer requires a certain production volume to keep its facilities operating, and that has become more challenging.
“A number of sport boats are financed, and with the banks being not so friendly it’s tougher to get loans on these boats,” he added. “Also, with so many repos in the field over the past two years, the prices have been driven down. There’s a perception of value out there now that makes it tough for production manufacturers to build new boats and sell them at the correct prices when repos have been selling for 50 to 60 cents on the dollar.”
In addition to focusing on Nor-Tech sales, Shogren said he plans to develop other parts of his business including his used-boat sales and his consignment service, which has grown dramatically in the past two years. He also said he sees a growth opportunity in service and has added two additional Mercury Marine technicians. Shogren said he also just purchased three new trucks for the company’s growing powerboat transportation services/concierge business.
