Riviera Australia continues to create and innovate motor yachts of distinction. Yachts that are acclaimed internationally for their sea keeping qualities and high calibre of construction as much as they are for their fine and luxurious finishes.
At the company’s annual end of year celebrations, Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst addressed the 600-strong team and paid tribute to both the craftsmen and women who create Australia’s most popular motor yachts and the almost 5,600 loyal yacht owners that make up the global ‘Riviera family’.
“Why are Riviera yachts in such demand?” said Mr. Longhurst. “Why do boaters often comment that Riviera is among the finest motor yachts in the world?
View the Riviera Year in Review Video – 3:34 min duration
“We have a special culture here that all of you have created, together. All of you work as a united team. You have a real commitment to excellence and you work with us to nurture future champions in our team and to create the finest motor yachts we can.
“This culture is what makes Riviera, Australia’s world-class motor yacht builder and allows our owners to have the time of their lives aboard our yachts. That’s a great reward for us all and in recognition of this, I thank each and every one of you here today for your part in our success as much as I thank our owners publicly for their trust in us all,” added Mr Longhurst.
Long-time staff members and long-term dealerships have been key to Riviera’s continued success in 2019. At the same time, Riviera continues to be humbled by the fierce loyalty shown by Riviera yacht owners from around the world, a great many of whom are repeat customers. These experienced boat owners have shown great confidence in their commitment to Riviera.
Rodney Longhurst showed both loyalty and trust by purchasing Riviera in 2012 and infusing its leadership with strength and long-term commitment. Seven years on, the company continues to grow and expand. Riviera is a truly global brand focused firmly on its people and impressive yacht range.
Having owned a number of Riviera motor yachts prior to purchasing the company Rodney Longhurst brought a unique insight to the company, from a boat owner’s perspective.
What he’s championed is a relentless pursuit of build quality and excellence, which is articulated from the senior levels of management right down to the factory floor.
Riviera is always striving to deliver the best possible boating experience. To create this opportunity, the skilled in-house design and new yacht development team in collaboration with international specialists, has been expanded in 2019 to over 50 people. At the same time, The company’s design engineers are always working with the world’s leading brands, to allow Riviera to often set trends where others tend to follow. Their mission is to remain nimble and respond to customer needs with fresh eyes and fresh approaches.
With the 68 and 72 Sports Motor Yacht, for example, Riviera saw an opportunity to create a new and unique class of yacht. They perceived a similar opportunity with the SUV range developing a niche slightly away from the mainstream.
These two series now bring to five the number of distinct model collections offered by Riviera in 2019 – Sport Yacht, SUV, Flybridge, Sports Motor Yacht and Belize – featuring 20 models in total, ranging from 39 to 72 feet with more exceptional models currently under development for release in 2020 and 2021.
This diversity of model design and size is a key point of difference for Riviera owners and dealers alike. It’s a formidable range, one that is continually evolving, all backed with substance and vision.
Riviera Sport Yacht Platinum Edition – World Premiere 2019
2019’s boat show season witnessed the unveiling of Riviera’s outstanding Platinum Edition Sport Yachts in May – the 4800 Series II, 5400 and 6000. The deluxe Platinum hue is synonymous with prestige, and each model is a shining example of world-class style, sophistication and elegance.
Externally, there’s the unmistakable addition of hardtops and targa arches accented in Platinum, along with a gracious sunbed on the foredeck. Electronic arrays, air vents and boot tops are rendered in stylish, two-pack black finish.
Beauty runs deep with a raft of new, premium, state-of-the-art features such as Sunbrella fabrics, warm high-gloss walnut timber cabinetry and trim, pure wool carpet underfoot in the staterooms and new modular lounges upholstered in soft-touch fabrics, are all standard.
Riviera 54 Enclosed Flybridge – World Premiere 2019
The Riviera 54 Enclosed Flybridge, also made its international premiere in May 2019. This new release reflected the aspirations of Riviera owners seeking to take their cruising even further afield in complete comfort and safety.
“Enclosed” means just that, the 54 being topped by a solid, three-sided haven that shields occupants from the elements whilst at the same time can be opened-up entirely with a large sunroof and side sliding windows. Taking centre stage below is a presidential-style, full-beam master suite with an enormous amount of space and storage, king-sized bed, large hanging wardrobe and generous en-suite bathroom forward on the port side.
Riviera 545 SUV – World Premiere 2019
Utilising the 54’s soft-riding and proven blue water hull, the 545 SUV was launched in July 2019 as a single-level adventure, water sports and entertainer with the ocean cruising pedigree of a flybridge. A versatile yacht in every sense, she also boasts a full-beam master suite among her many luxuries and refinements.
Belize 66 Daybridge – World Premiere 2019
The Belize craftsmen have done a masterful job in bringing this graceful and sophisticated design to life when in November, the bespoke 66 Daybridge had her world premiere. This 66-footer is now acclaimed for her interior volume and craftsmanship, along with effortless performance, setting this model and the Belize line apart on the world stage.
2019 – A year of confidence
Riviera delivered over 100 new yachts in 2019 with more than half of these exported. Affirming Riviera as Australia’s premium luxury boat builder, a position that the company has been rewarded with for four decades.
At the 2019 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Riviera showcased its largest-ever display in the Americas with a grand total of 12-motor yachts – the company’s most outstanding international boat show in more than a decade.
In all, Riviera exhibited at over 35 boat shows around the globe in 2019 including the premier international shows – Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach and Cannes plus a myriad of other shows from Thailand to San Diego, Vancouver to New England, Japan to Auckland and Annapolis to Barcelona.
New representatives were appointed during 2019 in New York, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This adds to the recent addition of representatives in Turkey, Spain, Hong Kong, Macau and further appointments in the Americas. Asia also showed growth in 2019 for Riviera with new yachts being delivered to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Meanwhile closer to home, Riviera remains the luxury motor yacht market leader in the Oceania region.
This continued growth and global expansion is good news for both Riviera’s 600-strong workforce and Australia’s marine industry as a whole, with more than 70 apprentices currently engaged in learning and plying their craft within the company’s award-winning training program. In 2020, the number of Riviera apprentices will increase by over 10%.
Riviera Festival of Boating 2019
The exclusive Riviera Festival continues to evolve and attract Riviera owners from around the world to Australia to learn more about their motor yachts and enhance their boating knowledge and skills.
Rodney Longhurst is buoyed by the response to these workshops and seminars: “Just as our owners have the best motor yachts on the water, our education programs provide them with the best opportunity to expand their boating knowledge, skills and confidence,” he says.
Always the headline social event of the Festival of Boating, more than 700 Riviera owners attended the gala Riviera marina party held over two evenings during Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.
The Festival is just one of more than 100 owner celebrations on the annual global Riviera calendar. There is a multitude of other Riviera Family events conducted each year from cruises in company from the San Juan Islands in western North America, to the Chesapeake on the eastern mid-Atlantic coast of North America to the Whitsundays in north Queensland Australia and the Caribbean.
2020 will be another year of growth and expansion for Riviera.
Riviera 505 SUV – World Premiere 2020
The new 505 SUV will make her international debut in February 2020 at the Miami Yacht Show. This multi-functional, ingenious cruising yacht integrates a number of the distinctive Riviera “big-boat” attributes while staying faithful to the SUV pedigree.
One of these is the 505’s raised and covered mezzanine seating and alfresco dining area, which gains extra privacy and protection from the elements, along with the comfort of built-in furniture and storage.
Riviera 64 Sports Motor Yacht – World Premiere 2020
An all-new 64-footer will join the Sports Motor Yacht fleet in May, bringing equally high levels of offshore capability, opulence and innovation as her sister ships.
The Sports Motor Yacht concept has been widely embraced, with over 20 yachts purchased by owners in Europe, the Americas, New Zealand and Australia over the past 18 months. The 64 will follow this level of popularity with multiple agreements signed ahead of its release at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May.
The development and refinement process of the new 64 extended to building a full-scale mock-up of the yacht with owners consulting deeply with the experienced Riviera team. This was an important consideration as Sports Motor Yacht owners tend to cruise for longer distances and durations.
“The Riviera family of yacht owners remains supported, connected and empowered by our global representative network,” Rodney Longhurst concludes.
“I am very much looking forward to 2020. Boat owners the world over have enthusiastically welcomed our new models, which further inspires us to continue to innovate and create new yachts of true distinction.
“In 2020, Riviera will celebrate 40 years of motor yacht-building and the launching of over 5,600 yachts in that period – a significant achievement that is testament to the excellence in everything we do, from the concept and design of a new motor yacht to the delivery and owner support offered with all our new yachts.”
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