Fifteen years ago, Princess Yachts began marketing its cruisers in North America. It did so through a partnership with Viking Yachts, under the brand Viking Sport Cruisers. Viking Sport Cruisers became a separate company under the Viking umbrella and handled all sales and service. Beginning with the 2011 model year, the relationship will change slightly. While Viking Sport Cruisers will remain the distributor and service agent, the yachts and megayachts will brand under Princess Yachts.
The driving force behind the decision? Since Princess markets under its own name in other global regions, the builder wishes to capitalize on a single identity. In a statement released by Princess, Chris Gates, the managing director, explains, “With Princess now part of an international luxury brand portfolio with LVMH, we have seen firsthand the benefits of a single worldwide focus and look forward to continuing to unlock that potential for our brand, too.” LVMH owns famed luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy. Additionally, it acquired Feadship’s Royal Van Lent yard in 2008. Although Princess Yachts doesn’t build to the LOAs of Feadship, it did recently unveiled plans for 32-meter (105-foot) and 40-meter (130-foot) superyachts. They’re part of its new M Class series. Currently, the line tops out at 95 feet.
Tom Carroll, the president and CEO of Viking Sport Cruisers, says that his team has “a large task” ahead of itself to transform the brand. However, “it is one that we believe will bring tremendous benefits to our customers as we look toward the next 15 years in our company’s storied development,” he avers. Viking Sport Cruisers will continue to maintain a spare-parts inventory at its headquarters in New Jersey. It has a service center in the same location, plus another one in Florida. In addition, its dealer network in the United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean will continue assisting Princess customers.
Look for the 85 Motor Yacht (above) among the models debuting stateside at the upcoming Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Leave a Reply