For more information on this subject, tune into Episode #349 of GarageCast
The formula for success in marine and powersports retail used to be straightforward: manage inventory well, move units, maintain your OEM relationships, and ride consumer demand. For a long time, that was enough.
It isn't anymore.
The dealers who will lead this industry through the next decade aren't necessarily the biggest ones. They're the ones who recognize that the competitive landscape has fundamentally shifted — and who are willing to change how they operate before they're forced to.
We had the opportunity to sit down with John Durnian and Russell Baqir of Northpoint Commercial Finance, two of the sharper minds operating in this space. Their perspective on where the industry is headed reinforced a lot of what we see in our work with dealers every day.
Your Success Is Built on Someone Else's Success First
One of the most common patterns we see in underperforming dealerships is an almost exclusive inward focus — internal targets, internal metrics, internal problems. That focus isn't wrong, but when it crowds out attention to the broader ecosystem's health, it becomes limiting.
Durnian frames it plainly: "Our success is directly connected to the success of the dealers, manufacturers, and partners we work alongside every day."
That's not a feel-good philosophy. It's an operational truth. In a franchise-based industry where manufacturers, lenders, dealers, and consumers are tightly interdependent, businesses that optimize purely for their own short-term position tend to erode the relationships that sustain them in the long term.
The dealerships we've seen consistently outperform — through inventory cycles, economic pressure, and market normalization — tend to be the ones that invest in their partnerships before they need them. They're the ones their OEM rep calls first. The ones their floorplan provider works with creatively when things get tight. The ones their customers return to because trust was built long before a transaction was needed.
Mutual success isn't idealism. It's strategy.
Technology Is a Tool. Relationships Are the Business.
The technology conversation in retail right now is loud, and for good reason. AI-assisted customer service, digital retailing platforms, online F&I tools — these are real developments that are changing how consumers engage before they ever walk in your door.
But here's the risk: dealers who over-index on technology as the solution often underinvest in the thing that actually closes deals and retains customers.
"Relationships are still the foundation of everything," Baqir says.
We'd agree without reservation. The dealers navigating the current environment most effectively aren't the ones with the most sophisticated CRM. They're the ones with the deepest relationships — with their customers, lenders, OEM representatives, and peers in the industry.
Technology should make your people more effective. It shouldn't replace the judgment, trust, and human connection that define a high-performing dealership culture. When markets get volatile — and they will — your strongest asset isn't your software stack. It's the quality of the relationships you've built on every side of your business.
Rental and Membership Models Aren't a Threat to Your Sales Floor. They're a Pipeline.
This is a conversation we're having more frequently with dealers, and it's worth addressing directly.
The consumer relationship with ownership is changing — particularly among younger buyers. The upfront cost of entry into boating or powersports is significant. The maintenance responsibility feels unfamiliar. The long-term commitment creates hesitation. For a meaningful segment of the market, the traditional "finance and own" model isn't the first step they're willing to take.
Rental programs and membership models lower that barrier.
"Sometimes people simply need access before they're ready for ownership," Durnian says.
Dealers who offer rental or experience-first programs aren't cannibalizing their sales pipeline — they're building it. A consumer who spends a season riding or boating through a rental or club program is far more likely to convert to ownership than one who never enters the lifestyle. The experience does the selling.
If your dealership hasn't evaluated what an access-first model could look like alongside your traditional sales operation, it's worth the conversation. The dealers who figure this out early will have a meaningful advantage in customer acquisition over the next decade.
Consolidation Is Accelerating. Preparation Is Now a Survival Requirement.
Dealer consolidation is not a future trend. It is the present reality. Larger groups are expanding. Private equity remains active. And the window to participate — either as an acquirer or as a desirable acquisition target — is open only to operators who are prepared when opportunity arises.
"Acquisitions move fast," Baqir says. "If financial preparation isn't already in place, opportunities disappear."
The dealers who are consistently positioned to grow through acquisition aren't scrambling to clean up their financials when a conversation starts. Their books are organized. Their operational systems are scalable. Their lending relationships are already established. Preparation isn't a pre-acquisition task — it's an ongoing operating standard.
The same logic applies to OEM consolidation. As manufacturers continue to merge and restructure, dealer risk profiles shift in ways that aren't always immediately apparent. Warranty exposure changes. Inventory strategies evolve. The dealers with the strongest balance sheets and cleanest operational practices will have more options — and more leverage — as that landscape continues to shift.
Financial discipline has always been good management. In a consolidating market, it's a competitive differentiator.
When Markets Get Hard, Communication Is the Job
Every dealer in this industry has lived through the post-pandemic cycle — the record demand, the inventory constraints, the normalization that followed, and the aging inventory that came with it. Some dealers navigated that correction well. Others are still working through the consequences.
The difference, more often than not, came down to communication.
"The worst thing a business can do is stop communicating when challenges arise," Baqir says.
We see this pattern consistently. When problems surface, the instinct for many dealers is to go quiet — to avoid difficult conversations with lenders, OEM partners, or even internal teams until there's something concrete to report. That instinct is understandable and almost always wrong.
The dealers who work through downturns most effectively are those who surface issues early, remain transparent with their partners, and collaborate on solutions before problems compound. Strong partnerships prove their value in hard markets — but only if you activate them.
If you're navigating a difficult stretch, communicate more, not less. The relationships you've invested in are built for exactly that.
The Retail Model Is Evolving. The Opportunity Is Still There.
Electric propulsion, subscription models, shifting consumer behaviors, experience-driven retail — these developments are real and worth taking seriously. But the fundamentals haven't changed.
Consumers still want to be on the water. They still want to ride. They still aspire to the lifestyle this industry sells. What's changing is the number of pathways into that lifestyle — and the dealers who offer more of them will capture more of the market.
Boat clubs. Flexible financing. Rental-to-own structures. Experience-first retail environments. These aren't replacements for the traditional sales model. They're additions to it — and for the right dealership in the right market, they're significant growth levers.
The dealers we work with who are most bullish about the next five years aren't ignoring change. They're leaning into it selectively, staying anchored to what they do well while building the flexibility to serve customers in new ways.
What We Know to Be True
After working with dealers across North America through up and down cycles, the pattern is consistent: the businesses that sustain long-term success aren't simply those with the best inventory or the best location.
They're the ones who invest in their relationships — with customers, OEM partners, lenders, and their own teams.
They're the ones who communicate proactively, operate with financial discipline, and are willing to evolve before the market forces them to.
And they're the ones who understand that a rising tide lifts all boats — that helping the people around them succeed creates the conditions for their own growth.
The industry is changing. The fundamentals of building a great dealership are not.
If you're evaluating where your business stands and where it needs to go, that's a conversation we're always glad to have.
Garage Composites works with powersports and marine dealers across North America to strengthen operations, culture, and long-term profitability.
