Rose Damen, the third-generation scion overseeing Damen Shipyards’ superyacht arm, is looking to secure more orders from Asia. She especially sees opportunities in Singapore, home to about 1,650 single family offices.
One thing Rose Damen learned while working in high finance before joining her family’s superyacht builder is that if one wants high returns, then shipbuilding is probably not the best investment. Shipbuilders typically have high inventory levels, which lower their profit margins to single digits, unlike the double-digit profit margins seen in some luxury goods makers, according to Damen, managing director of Netherlands-based Damen Yachting.
“If you want to reach the Forbes list soon, then don’t start a shipyard,” Damen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Forbes Global CEO Conference last month in Bangkok.
Despite the challenges, the Damens have managed to amass a massive fortune running one of Europe’s largest family-owned shipbuilders, Damen Shipyards Group. Rose’s father, Kommer, is among the few billionaires in the field, thanks to his idea of introducing standardization and modular manufacturing from the car industry to building workboats, which shorten delivery times and reduce production costs.
As the third-generation scion overseeing Damen Shipyards’ superyacht arm, Rose has continued her father’s standardized shipbuilding principle, which allows some customization while ensuring what she claims is the industry’s fastest delivery (as soon as six months, compared to the average of three years). With that edge, Rose is now looking to secure more orders from Asia and ride the wave of the region’s growing wealthy population. Her aim is to have Asia account for 25% of the company’s over €1 billion (about $1 billion) order book over the next three to five years, up from roughly 20% before the pandemic.
“Damen Yachting’s portfolio is so well suited to the Asia market, due to the size and layout of our yachts,” she said. “We deliver one half of the experience by building an excellent yacht, and the other half by having excellent service and being able to attract a great crew.”
Damen Yachting specializes in 60- to 80-meter luxury yachts under the Amels brand, which allows interior customization. The company also manufactures expedition yachts designed for long-range cruising, as well as yacht-supporting vessels designed for carrying additional supplies. Damen Yachting contributed more than 15% of Damen Shipyards’ €3.1 billion revenue in 2023, noted Rose.
Among the Asian markets, Rose sees Singapore as having the most number of potential customers for Damen Yachting’s yachts, with prices starting from about €75 million. The Asian financial hub has in recent years been attracting the superrich with tax incentives and a business-friendly regulatory environment. The number of single family offices in Singapore has grown more than four times to 1,650 over the past four years as of August, managing some $4 trillion in assets, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Among the billionaires who have set up a family office in the city-state include Google cofounder Sergey Brin and Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani.
The fact that Damen Yachting is a family business helps give a sense of trust to Asian customers, many of whom are also family business owners, said Rose.
“Ultra-high-net-worth individuals are probably one of the most difficult audiences to target…it’s not like other consumer goods which you go on Instagram,” she said. “Word of mouth and long-term relationships are even more important than your branding.”
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