The first ever London Yacht, Jet & Prestige Car Show (LYJAPCS) concludes today to a mixed bag of reviews.
Exhibitors from around Europe came to a showcase luxury yachting and the lifestyle associated with private jets and luxury motor cars all eager to take the superyacht industry directly to the clients, whose homes and offices are in Mayfair, Belgravia, Chelsea, Knightsbridge the City
The United Kingdom and specifically London is a major player in the wider landscape of global superyacht geography, and as such surely deserves a show such as this.
But has it worked?
The organisers clearly think so: “London is already a major player in the Superyacht market,” explains event organiser Peter Bryant. “All of the major super yacht brokers have offices here, as do several shipyards. What I want this event to do, is showcase London as the place to do business, where clients can be met and projects discussed.”
The exhibitors most we spoke to, do not agree suggesting that they would not pay for stands at future events unless the quality of visitor footfall was increased.
That there were visitors, there can be no denying. Day 2 was buzzing after a rather dismal first day but the visitors we spoke to were all from the industry eager to use the occasion as the perfect opportunity to engage in networking and talking to them we found them all to be hugely supportive of the show.
The venue and staging of the show fell very far short of the luxury billing a poorly organised reception asked visitors is they were of VIP status those that said yes were let in through a front entrance those that looked flustered by the question were sent around to the back of the building a far prettier riverside entrance.
At the reception desk tattooed youths clearly had no clue what a superyacht was let alone recognise the name of a shipyard or a supplier and questioned each visitor to see if they qualified for free entry or not. Those who did not were charged £60 and then had to queue at a cafeteria style table to leave bags or coats in a cloakroom that charged £1 per item for taking them in.
The exhibition hall had been decked out well to disguise its somewhat utilitarian interior and seemed to work well even if trip hazards were overly abundant.
Perhaps after all it was fortunate that there were not many owners and owners wives tottering around in Jimmy Choo’s.
That said the first outing of the show was a brave effort and one that could succeed if more effort was put into it.
Somehow the former Billingsgate Fish Market does not have the social cache as Monaco