K E V L A R
I S S U E
•
n°
31
•
2 0 2 2
[ FIVE QUESTIONS TO... ]
FILIPPO ROSSI CCO OF FLOATING LIFE by Désirée Sormani
What is your view of the market as it is right now? The market is definitely very active and over the last two years, it has really bounced back on every level. Both in terms of charters and demand for new builds: the entire nautical market is involved. That demands huge effort from the yards as they have to meet delivery deadlines. It is absolutely a very positive time in general for the yacht industry, for working and for investing.
20
Life will be developing a network of new clients.
Have you had new charter and new boat purchase clients coming to you since pre-pandemic times? Where are they coming from? The pandemic really powered people’s thirst for enjoying life to and time with their family and friends to the fullest, or simply treating themselves. Obviously, yachting comes into all that as boats are one of the ultimate expressions of desire. The situation has been further boosted by the internet and social media, which means that images circulate all over the world very quickly. Clients are coming from are traditional areas - the US, the Middle East, Europe – but also some of the more remote corners of the globe.
Are you also planning to expand the Fractional Ownership system (whereby owners can own a yacht for a certain amount of time each year or simply a portion of the yacht)? Floating Life has been the expert in that regard with Ocean Pearl for quite some time now. Are you thinking it is the right time to push the new 42m project? We are hearing more and more about sharing of different instant gratification items from cars to homes, and yachting is ready to embrace that phenomenon now too. Floating Life is the only company in the world with 16 years’ experience in yacht fractional ownership. We are convinced, in part because of the requests we are getting, that this is the right time to launch a new project. In fact, we put the process in action last winter and we announced the signing of an agreement with CNN, a Baglietto Group brand, for the building of Dream 42. Currently, three owners have signed up for the Fractional Ownership programme but contracts are under negotiation also with further clients. There will be a maximum of seven owners of this yacht.
You recently joined the Floating Life team… what do you see as your mission? I absolutely relished joining Floating Life and putting my 20 years’ experience in the nautical sector to good use, having seen yachts from various different angles over the years. I have held very diverse positions: I’ve been a designer, head of a yard, a sales broker and managed a management company. I have seen boats from very different perspectives. That means I can really understand clients and what they need so I can offer closer, more tailored support. But my biggest contribution to Floating
Floating Life is celebrating two decades of success in yacht management this year. What was the choice you made that sets you apart from your competitors? The difference between Floating Life and other agencies is that management is the focus of our service. We concentrate on this aspect and so the service we offer really is different. FL began life as a yacht management company and then developed to follow and meet the requests of the clients who put their trust in us. This is definitely the secret of our success. It is also a relationship based on carefully listening to the needs of each owner.