Courtesy Matt O’Hara
Freedom Boat Club has signed an alliance agreement with Jeanneau, a French boatmaking group, to cooperatively develop Freedom Boat Club franchises among its European dealer network.
According to Freedom Boat Club President and CEO John Giglio, the FBC franchise model is now being offered to Jeanneau retailers in Europe who have the opportunity to develop FBC locations in their local market using Jeanneau outboard-powered boats.
Local Freedom Boat Club Lake George members will now have the opportunity to enjoy boating on multiple continents, something club owners Matt and Rebecca O’Hara are excited to offer area residents.
“Our Freedom Boat Club Lake George members can now travel to over 150 domestic locations and with the international locations on the horizon, we expect demand for our club to increase,” said Rebecca. “For less than the cost of a seasonal dock space members can boat from New York, to California, to now France. It is an incredible model and we can’t wait to hear stories from our member’s travels.”
“Our Jeanneau European alliance grew out of a strong relationship with the Groupe Beneteau brands here in the U.S., as a growing number of our franchisees have placed Jeanneau, Four Winns and Glastron outboard boats in their fleets,” said Giglio.
Based on current interest and development activity, Giglio expects to announce multiple Freedom Boat Clubs operations in France this spring, with additional expansion elsewhere throughout Europe to follow.
“The boat clubs are a real trend that our dealers are keen to develop,” said Jean-Paul Chapeleau, Jeanneau CEO. “For Jeanneau dealers, it’s a unique opportunity to bene fit from an experienced partner while launching this new service to our customers.”