Last week Superior sponsored and attended the Marine13 conference in Sydney with more than 450 delegates. The group comprised marinas, boating industry businesses and boating safety professionals. With an innovative format there were multiple streams running for each area after the initial plenary sessions, which meant there was something for everyone. In fact it was often difficult to chose what to attend as simultaneous sessions meant you missed some great speakers. For this reason the presentations have been placed online at marine13.com
Superior had its commercial team there as usual and it is always fun to catch up with old friends in the industry. The MIA Marina Awards were a highlight with winners list impressive. Our clients at Royal Prince Alfred YC received their Gold Anchor flag and in general it was a celebration of all that is good in the industry. It seemed an upbeat crowd with more interest in capital projects than recent years meaning boat occupancy rates must be improving.
One of the stand out messages was the need for us all to embrace the mix of online sales with traditional brick and mortar operations. John Winning from Appliances Online was an inspirational speaker who showed with commitment to great customer service a winning online strategy can give excellent service and no longer is this channel a cheap option. We will learn from this advice as we offer new improved services over the coming year.
Finally it was the season for awards with the Global Marina Institute (GMI) awarding two honorary Certified Marina Professional certificates; one to John Spragg from Bellingham Marine, and one to yours truly. And while on the topic of “Spraggy” I want to wish my fellow director and sponsor of MIA a hearty congratulations on his Lifetime Achievement Award as well.
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