think of all the various 'naut models
It’s more than just discontinuing one boat.
exactly
By getting rid of all the Aquanaut models (except the Club), Valley eliminated five boats right there.
Aquanaut…
Certainly a good boat, but I can see why Valley would discontinue it in many ways.
As many have stated here, they are offering many overlapping niches. The Etain seems to fill a similar niche. Additionall, I think they really want to push this boat and prioritize its sales over their older models.
Additionally, despite how good one feels the Aquanaut is, it does not seem to have gained in popularity compared to the ever poplular Explorer. This is not me saying that the Explorer is a better boat, but it is just a lot more popular and seems that the Aquanaut just did not compete well with it in terms of popularity from my perspective.
Last thought…not sure if Valley is under new management or if they perhaps decided to call in a consulting firm or something like that, but reducing the number of models you offer is often a smart business decision. It is in line with the concept of lean manufacturing, etc. thus reducing operating costs and most likely increasing your bottom line. Offering too many models and too many options is not efficient from a business persepctive in most cases.
Matt
see rest of thread
– Last Updated: Oct-07-12 12:20 PM EST –
Yup, many ppl have made excellent comments along the same lines.
Nothing like a Valley
– Last Updated: Oct-09-12 10:29 PM EST –
My favorite boat is an Aquanaut lv compostite(not to
be confused with the plastic version) and really feels
responsive, quite maneuverable on edge which surprised
me where the standard aquanaut is stiffer tracking.
Also laying on the back deck there was nothing in the
way, the cockpit combing is recessed quite low and rolls so easy. The cockpit also fit a bit tighter
then a cetus lv or TD Xplore s. Really feels like it's between a
Std aquanaut and an avocet but fits tighter. Liked this boat so much
sold my xplore s and bought one. Also another thing
I didn't like about tiderace boats was the cockpit
combing really dug into my back when doing laybacks,
even with the tiderace xcite s I had the same problem.