What led to you joining Yihong, your father’s company, almost 15 years ago?
My father started his career in real estate. Later, he was an investor in a shipyard and I joined the sea trial of a boat before it was shipped to France. My first impression was how comfortable a yacht could be as a second home. I also think the experience planted a seed in both my father’s mind and my mind.
In 2005, he founded the Yihong shipyard and we had a serious discussion about whether I would join the company in the future. Based on my interests, he was starting to build a business I could help develop. I then chose to major in business and finance at Funan University before doing a master’s degree in hospitality at Cornell University.
After returning to China in 2009, I joined the Shanghai branch of Yihong. I started in sales then was involved in service, design, product development and supply-chain management. In 2016, I was promoted to Chairwoman of Yihong Yachts. At that time, we mainly built the Sea Stella trawler series (40ft and 53ft) and hard top series (46ft).
What changes did you make at Yihong Yachts?
Since I studied hospitality, I realised the client experience and lifestyle is extremely important in the yacht industry, so I launched the Sea Stella Yacht Club and an aftersales centre in Shanghai. We invested in several boats to be used for charter and sea trials for potential customers, and cooperated with various brands and high-net-worth-client groups. We soon became the market leader in Shanghai and still are.
Can you describe the Yihong shipyard in Zhangzhou?
It’s one of China’s biggest yacht and RV manufacturing plants, with 1.4km of coastline and about 200 employees. The boat business includes Aquitalia luxury yachts and Sea Stella, which are mostly commercial boats and include new energy options.
We can build catamarans, lake boats, shuttle boats, floating homes and steel-hull yachts up to 60m. We also operate as an OEM for different brands including start-ups, either from product development or just production. We also provide refit services for luxury superyachts and recently began work on a 112ft superyacht from a renowned Italian brand.
Our shipyard features a lot of modern construction techniques and technology including modular assembly since last year. Usually, modular production technology applies to mass production. Although we produce semi-custom Aquitalia yachts above 60ft, we believe the modular production enhances the quality of the boat, especially the woodwork, and improves the efficiency.
We’ve adopted digital management software for production, supply chains, sales and operations. We’re also creating a digital aftersales application to make the guidelines easily accessible through an open platform.
We’ve also been working on technology for electric boats since 2020 and have built an electric Aquitalia 68 and engaged in electric tourism boat projects for state-owned companies, such as the design and construction of a 41m steel-hull electric tourism boat for Shanghai. In 2022, our R&D team helped build a 53ft boat using autopilot technology in cooperation with a university.
What’s the background of the Aquitalia series?
Initially, Yihong was the OEM for Aquitalia, which we acquired in 2010. Meaning the god of the water, Aquitalia was originally a brand founded in Florence by a team of designers. The logo tells a brand story, that the pen of an angel dipped into the water creates a masterpiece. In China, the brand’s name is Shui Shen, which translates as the god of water.
Aquitalia believes we will capture the best inspiration from ‘the one’, who can be an owner or a designer, then turn it into reality by building a masterpiece. The inspiration is from the water and the masterpiece will return to the water. Inspired by water, we use a lot of flow in the exterior shape of the boats, while the yachts are usually wider than their competitors, which gives more space inside.
What has been your most popular Aquitalia model?
The Aquitalia 68, which we launched in 2016. We’ve built 36 hulls and still have six hulls to be built this year. The other models we’ve built or are still building are the Aquitalia 64, the new 78, the 85 and our flagship 95, as well as the 72 catamaran.
We have a team of designers from Europe and China, so we’re able to customise the interiors of our boats, something most European brands only offer on larger yachts or superyachts. The 78 Sport and 108 are among upcoming designs we haven’t built yet.
Which have been your key markets and where do you think Aquitalia can grow in the coming years?
So far, we’ve been focusing on the China market and are the market leader. We’ve also sold some boats to the UAE and other places in Asia such as Japan and South Korea.
Last year, we appointed LKW Pavic in Germany as the exclusive distributor for Aquitalia Yachts in Europe and we exhibited the Aquitalia 78 at the Cannes Yachting Festival. We also appointed DuBose Industries as our master dealer for North America and hosted a booth at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, where we plan to display two boats this year.
We also attended the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show and this year’s Dubai International Boat Show. In late April, we make our Southeast Asia debut at the Singapore Yachting Festival, where we’re displaying an Aquitalia 68 with our new dealer Raffles Yacht.
An increasing number of high-net-worth Chinese clients are emigrating to and investing in Singapore and the Middle East, so we think we’ll benefit from being in these markets as our brand is popular with Chinese clients. We’re also confident about the US market.
Why did you appoint Raffles Yacht as Aquitalia’s agent in Southeast Asia?
Raffles Yacht is an experienced, well connected company that has a long history in the Singapore yacht industry. The experience of Julian (Chang) and Diederik (Brinkman) will not only help us to develop the market but also help us to enhance our production.
We believe the future growth of Aquitalia in the global market will be an exciting journey, so we’re happy to have the support of Raffles Yacht.
What should we know about the Aquitalia 68 that will show at the Singapore Yachting Festival?
The Aquitalia 68 we will present in Singapore is an upgraded version and features the new design by Pulina Exclusive Interiors that nicely incorporates the brand story with the product. Pulina (founded in Italy and with an office in Shanghai) offers three themes in their interior design, covering modern leisure style, the classic and Mediterranean style, and the high-tech style.
A lot of natural elements are infused into the interior and there’s a lot of thought behind the design. For example, the main-deck ceiling will feature patterns depicting how sea influences the evolution of landscapes. The furniture and woodwork feature a lot of curves and arcs, which require complicated craftsmanship, while textured glass is used for decoration.
As we launch the Aquitalia brand in Southeast Asia along with the new 68 design, we’ll invite people to visit and experience the boat. Pulina has also worked on interior designs for other Aquitalia yachts and we’ll also cooperate with them on Aquitalia Home, offering our interior design service to homes for high-end clients.
What was the reaction from visitors and media when you showed the Aquitalia 78 at the Cannes Yachting Festival last year?
Many of the European visitors like our design language. Even though many brands have started to design boat with more edges, there are still many people who like the classic, streamline Italian yacht style with a lot of flow. People gave good feedback on our spaciousness, especially in the saloon and the engine room.
Image courtesy of Yihong Yachts
www.yihongyachts.com
www.aquitaliayachts.com
This article was first seen on YachtStyle.co.
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