the future of Ranger?

Out of business in 2-3 years.

I have a hard time believing a brand as iconic as Ranger would
disappear.

Few years back, Sony like Bass Pro announces in above press release also stated its strong support for keeping an independent dealer sales and service network having at the time 200+ certified dealers and many more authorized Mom and Pop service facilities for whom I helped manage....then Sony began building our own more efficient factory owned service facilities and we staffed them with direct manufacturer employed techs as the independent servicing dealers were not renewed one by one....now they are mostly all gone as Sony does most all of its own warranty and remedial service.

CEOs and VPs from the old school with only "independent dealer network era expertise" saw the transition coming and were also quickly terminated.

Bass Pro Shops has hundreds of stores throughout the U.S. with most all having large multi-bay service areas ready to provide direct Ranger boat service. Numerous Gander Mountain locations likely may be added shortly.

I expect a significant announcement before long signaling Bass Pro Shops financially further partnering with one of the major boat motor manufacturers. This will result in Mercury (or one of the other engine manufacturer's) staffing it's own direct employees in every Bass Pro Shop's service bay.

The inefficient independent Ranger dealer sales/service network will be a dinosaur just like the Mom and Pop corner Sony stores/repair shops of the past.

Probably some pay out with the original deal that required them to hang around for that initial year.

And, maybe a "no compete"

Pontiac

I think the boating industry, especially the bass boat industry, may be in for a long rough patch....brought on perhaps by building a quality product that lasts a long time . For example, someone posted a 'new to me' Basscat in this section today that may be a late '90s or early 2000 model. With updated electronics and power poles (maybe), that boat will do anything a $60-$70k new boat will do. The hull designs haven't changed much in 20 years, and most everything that wears out can be replaced...carpet, seats, electronics, etc.... or updated.
Except for a few that gotta have that new boat smell, I just don't see a new bass boat market large enough to support several profitable companies. Just my opinion.

Time will tell, it's not like we have a great dealer network in Texas anyway. In the northern part of the state you have one good dealer, DSM at fork. Other than that it is a disaster.

. So you have been to Texas Boat World? You should give Cliff a call and tell him what he should change. He is always open to customer comments.

The reality of it is no matter what happens it will not affect a single one of us from catching another fish. If for some reason Ranger were to ever go away which I highly doubt then there will still be boats. I would just find the one I liked and keep on trucking.

My only real concern in any of it is the employees. I truly hope they all stay employed and continue to build great boats. Lots of good people there at that plant that understand what good customer service is and they take pride in what they do. Its gotta be scary for them to go through the changes and especially here at Christmas. My thoughts and prayers are with those folks and I have faith things will continue to be good for all involved.

I don't see all the doom and gloom others may see in the changes. To me its business doing what business does. I have had my Ranger over 3 years now and honestly I have been treated exceptionally well the few times I had questions about my boat or when I have needed accessories. They are responsive, personable and have went out their way to make sure I got the part I wanted etc. They have followed up with emails and phone calls and every time I have spoke with them they go out of their way to tell you how much they appreciate your business. Really has made owning it even more enjoyable. When the time comes to replace it I will look at Ranger again for sure.

Bingo we have a winner!

But Mark it's way more fun to come on here without all the facts and proclaim that the sky is falling and it's somehow all Johnny Morris' fault...

I kind of expect this: Nitro will remain the BPS flagship and the reasonably priced Honda Accord of the bass boat world. Ranger and Triton will remain at independent dealerships, with Ranger being the luxury line, and Triton being the speed/performance line, with both brands commanding a higher price and larger profit margins for Tracker..Stratos will be phased out entirely.

Terribly afraid you are spot on. Shame, Stratos made a great rig. I own one, blundered in to it but, for a shorter boat and less than 100HP, works well for me.
Good insight !!
God Bless
Lee

Jonesy have you got that old HH song cued up for next season?

I was at The Classic last year working in the Cabela's booth which was across from the Ranger Booth. I always wondered how people bought these expensive new boats. Ranger was running a Show Special on a boat that listed for $82,000+- a couple. They had a Show Special discount of $7,500 with monthly payments of only $586/month for..................180 months!! That's right after 10 years of payments and a 10 year old boat.....you've only got 60 more monthly payments!!! WOW!!
P.S. Forrest Wood was there every morning early and very friendly to talk with!!

Few years back, Sony like Bass Pro announces in above press release also stated its strong support for keeping an independent dealer sales and service network having at the time 200+ certified dealers and many more authorized Mom and Pop service facilities for whom I helped manage....then Sony began building our own more efficient factory owned service facilities and we staffed them with direct manufacturer employed techs as the independent servicing dealers were not renewed one by one....now they are mostly all gone as Sony does most all of its own warranty and remedial service.

Bass Pro Shops have hundreds of large service bays in their many stores located throughout the U.S. that are ready to provide direct Ranger boat service. Numerous Gander Mountain locations, many with inactive service bays are likely to be Bass Pro owned shortly.

CEOs and VPs from the old school with only "independent Sony dealer network era expertise" saw the transition to Direct Manufacturer service coming and were also quickly terminated.

I expect a significant announcement before long signaling Bass Pro Shops financially further partnering with one of the major boat motor manufacturers. This will result in Mercury (or one of the other engine manufacturer's) staffing it's own direct employees in every Bass Pro Shop's service bay.

The inefficient independent Ranger dealer sales/service network will be a dinosaur just like the Mom and Pop corner Sony stores/repair shops of the past.

Pontiac

I think the boating industry, especially the bass boat industry, may be in for a long rough patch....brought on perhaps by building a quality product that lasts a long time . For example, someone posted a 'new to me' Basscat in this section today that may be a late '90s or early 2000 model. With updated electronics and power poles (maybe), that boat will do anything a $60-$70k new boat will do. The hull designs haven't changed much in 20 years, and most everything that wears out can be replaced...carpet, seats, electronics, etc.... or updated.
Except for a few that gotta have that new boat smell, I just don't see a new bass boat market large enough to support several profitable companies. Just my opinion.

Keep in mind also that years ago when Yamaha bought Skeeter, the sky was falling as well. The brand would die. It was the end of Skeeter as we knew it. I believe Skeeter is still around wouldn't you say? And that is a boat brand with only ONE motor choice!!! Back in the day, Mercury was the preferred motor on Skeeters.

All this internet chatter is just that. Chatter!! Johnny Morris paid a premium for Ranger/Triton/Stratos!!! Do you really think he paid that much just to eliminate his competition? Give me a break. Ranger and Triton will be fine and will remain premium brands for years to come. Stratos will probably be gone however.

With the 3 leaving and with the jobs each held at Ranger, I would not be surprised to see them all working for another independent or even a start up in the future.

Lots of experience in the boat building business between them.

Here is the future of Ranger according to the folks that actually own it and run it. I am sure some will find fault, drama or conspiracy with it if they try hard enough. Letter is pretty clear the Ranger will maintain its own design team, they are increasing capacity for building Ranger as well as the fact that they will NOT be sold in BPS stores. All of that is pretty clear.

http://www.boatingbusiness.ca/news/article/004388/Bass-Pro-Shops-Updates-Dealers-on-Management-Issue

They will be no more at some point just like the rest.

We shall see

The reality here is that we are all lacking the inside details/facts related to this acquisition and simply speculating at this point with regards to the future. The other piece of reality here is that Ranger was broke and nabbed by an MA firm to clean up and make ready for sale. Along comes Johnny Morris, who isn't broke, to purchase them and somehow now he's the bad guy?

I appreciate the brand loyalty from the Ranger fans but guess what? The business was failing to be profitable and that's been the case for quite some time. If JM can make it profitable and sustain the brand then you all should be supporters in my eyes instead of armchair quarterbacks and critics.

If JM can make it profitable and sustain the brand then you all should be supporters in my eyes instead of armchair quarterbacks and critics.

Maybe I just missed something but I never knew Ranger was broke or not profitable. To my knowledge,

Ranger never filed bankruptcy. Their parent company (Genmar) did and sold Ranger to Platinum Equities who then sold Ranger to Bass Pro.

Ranger did file bankruptcy!
Ranger was bought out of bankruptcy from Genmar.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genmar_Holdings

Wikipedia is not the most reliable source of information

Maybe I just missed something but I never knew Ranger was broke or not profitable. To my knowledge, Ranger never filed bankruptcy. Their parent company (Genmar) did and sold Ranger to Platinum Equities who then sold Ranger to Bass Pro.

I wonder how involved Johnny Morris is with calling the shots on this change over?

Here is the future of Ranger according to the folks that actually own it and run it. I am sure some will find fault, drama or conspiracy with it if they try hard enough. Letter is pretty clear the Ranger will maintain its own design team, they are increasing capacity for building Ranger as well as the fact that they will NOT be sold in BPS stores. All of that is pretty clear.

http://www.boatingbusiness.ca/news/article/004388/Bass-Pro-Shops-Updates-Dealers-on-Management-Issue

I hope everyone that reads these posts ,that seem to show up quite often,take them with a grain of salt. There are people with different agendas that post on these topics.

He is sleeping at the factory to make sure it stays ship shape

Quibbling over semantics are we? Ok then, if the term broke was too abrasive then let me kindly rephrase. Yes it's true that as the parent it was Genmar's filing but you can't argue the fact that Ranger was impacted by all of the same issues at that time, layoffs, cuts, lack of sales, etc. You don't end up purchased out of BK and in the hands of PE if all is well.

If you want to stand on principle and argue that Ranger was the best looking turd of the others in the toilet bowl I'll concede that...

Well played sir, well played.