Spring Fever, New Stores Make Boat – Sales Splash

Managers at area boat dealers said good spring weather and their new locations have helped boost sales.

Rick Whitten, general manager of Rainbow Cycle & Marine in Rogers, said sales are up about 15 to 20 percent year-over-year after the company’s April 4 opening of a new, 23,000-SF showroom on Arkansas Highway 102. The ownership previously operated the business on Walnut Avenue for a decade.

The firm has six acres of display and storage space at the new site where it sells Chaparral and Hurricane boats plus Sweet Water Pontoons. The store’s pontoon and ski-boat inventory starts at about $13,000. Its Chaparral cruisers range from $40,000 to $250,000.

“This year the deck boats have been big hits,” Whitten said. “Customers are wanting the four-stroke, outboard engines and we’re getting good demand for fishing packages.”

The dealership also carriers Kawasaki and Suzuki motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles as well as Bombardier ATVs.

Gary Shepherd, manager of Arrowhead Boat Sales in Rogers, helped open his 6,000-SF showroom last June. It’s across the street from the Prairie Creek Marina on Beaver Lake. Arrowhead, a 28-year-old firm, has four existing stores and one pending store in Oklahoma.

The dealership carriers the coveted Cobalt line plus Malibu and Formula boats.

“We don’t have a full year of sales to compare it to, but I can tell you our sales companywide are tracking 15 to 18 percent ahead of last year,” Shepherd said. “… We’re seeing a lot more people wanting the wakeboard and ski towers, big speaker systems and the new CD-stack units for their sound systems.”

Arrowhead has a 27-foot Formula cruiser on-site that retails for about $185,000. It has a color TV and DVD player plus all the other expected amenities.