Navnit to up marine ops; to align with Swedish yacht firm

Gray Design yachts can cost upto $165 mn

Navnit Group, the Rs 1,000 crore company best known as the major distributor of Rolls-Royce cars, is expanding its marine business by bringing in yachts from Gray Design, a Swedish firm which specialises in designing luxury yachts and cars.

Navnit Group has been in the marine business for over a decade and has sold over 100 yachts and boats of three global companies to HNI customers in India.

Jayendra Kachalia, Director of Navnit Marine, told Business Standard that they entered into a pact with Gray Design last month and hoped that the situation in India becomes more conducive for increased sale of yachts.  According to Kachalia, Gray Design focuses heavily on designs and their yachts, which take 12 to 36 months to make, start at $900,000 and can cost $165 million for a 300-foot super-luxurious vessel.

Michael Raanan, principal with Gray Design in a statement added that they have been actively researching India as a new market for the past year citing the country’s growing high-income population.  

“How best this can be achieved would rest on how well a yacht brand can understand the Indian market. But it has been a laborious process due to India’s strict regulations for foreign businesses and the lack of infrastructure. This includes lack of marinas to cater to the types of yachts that we provide as well as repair and maintenance facilities,” said Shiv Fernando, Principal for Gray Design in Asia.  

“Setting up marinas can help generate additional revenue for port trusts, create jobs and save on costs for owners of luxury boats. It can also offer allied activities such as spare parts, accessories, house-keeping and fuelling, with options for recreational activities and restaurants thrown in, thus creating a whole new market and a whole new lifestyle domain for a great nation such as India,” he further added.

In spite of the strict regulatory and infrastructure drawbacks, the company is optimistic about paving the path on laying the foundation to integrate its operations with India’s business community and enter in to the market right away.