Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 7

92 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 7 out on four boats in the past two weeks, he didn’t want to take the chance on missing out and paid the deposit online.” White Lake Marine prides itself on lifelong business partnerships, such as the one with Nautique Boat Company. Since 1955, White Lake Marine has been a dealer of their boats. Which means many employees from both companies have watched families grow. DeAndrade recounts, “I grew up going to these dealer meetings as a kid, now I’m the owner. I’ve known some of the factory guys all my life. This creates a unique dynamic, we don’t conduct black and white business transactions, it’s so much more.” In these unusual times, businesses are continuously having to adapt. Case in point is the shift away from boat shows. In the past, these spectacular events were a huge drawcard. Hundreds of thousands of people would attend the large national boat shows, but in 2020 that was all put on hold. The results were nothing Marine only having one boat available for sale at the end of May. The company’s e-commerce site has also seen an increase in sales of upwards of 30 percent. White Lake Marine’s site also offers spare parts, as well as service parts. But there’s now a shortage due to unparalleled demand. DeAndrade admits, “We’re shipping hundreds of packages daily, but we definitely have back orders and a lot of customers are having to wait for suppliers to keep up. Some lead times are now running at 8 to 12 weeks, while some have just flat out said they don’t know when they’ll be able to meet demand.” With such high demand, customers are even buying boats sight unseen. The market has completely pivoted to a seller’s market, where if there’s stock, clients will rush across state lines to buy it. “We had a gentleman from out-of-state, who found us online,” says DeAndrade. He drove up, hooked up the boat, and left. Having missed