Luxury Yacht Market and the Anti-cyclical Industry: An empirical comparison among the worldwide leaders in Italian shipyards

The competitive context in which companies in the luxury nautical sector operate (i.e. Mega Yachts) is characterized by profound structural changes and dynamic developments, caused, above all by the current economic-financial crisis. An understanding, of how the Italian shipyards, world leaders in this sector, are facing this global crisis, one which has affected all sectors of the economy, becomes therefore fundamental. Literature claims that the Mega Yacht sector is characterized by a ‘notable anti cyclical nature’, the shipyards producing luxury ships are immune from the negative effects of the global economic and financial crisis. The luxury nautical sector could be considered untouched by the economic recession, given that the potential clients are High Net Worth Individual (with a patrimony exceeding 30 million dollars). In the light of this consideration this paper proposes an in depth study of Italian worldwide leaders producing Mega Yachts in the period 2006-2011. In particular, we wish to study whether the anti-cyclic nature of the luxury nautical sector can be effectively verified in the leading worldwide luxury yacht production in Italian shipyards. Italy ranks number one in the world for the production of Mega Yachts and has held this position for 10 years, indeed.