To appreciate the heritage of Leopard Catamarans is to understand that its success lies in a unique collaborative relationship between customer and producer. The inherent strength of this relationship is borne out by Leopard Catamarans’ global market popularity in both charter and private sales.
Leopard credits Lex Raas with the vision of catamarans in charter and together with John Robertson, Jerry Caine, naval architect Alex Simonis and designer Anthony Key, the Leopard product became synonymous with rugged build quality, performance, ease-of-operation, elegant interiors, space, comfort and innovation-leading design trends, all of which constitute
the modern Leopard DNA.
Initially, private buyers purchased through the The Moorings Private Sales distributor arrangement under Franck Bauguil, at the helm of Yacht Sales. Franck conducted the first private sale to John and Po Martin, diverting a Moorings 4200 to St Lucia and replacing the branding with the model’s new name agreed to by R&C and The Moorings Private Sales: Leopard.
The growth in demand for private sales saw Franck’s commercial focus preparing the segment for growth, providing differentiation in base price, custom logo and marketing material, a comprehensive options list and an owner’s cabin version (with two guest cabins). Organic growth eventually resulted in key boat shows Miami and Annapolis displaying both the Moorings catamarans and Leopard Catamaran.
The innovative synergy between boat builder (Robertson and Caine) and customer-distributor (The Moorings), resulted in a fit-for-purpose product, one both functional and at the same time a redefinition of what was traditionally accepted. This innovative approach pioneered further design trends in the industry.
R&C’s manufacturing capacity continued to grow, with multiple sailing and power catamaran production lines located geographically all over Cape Town. With the ‘family business’ now employing more than 2000 employees, R&C’s facilities were modern and infused with cutting-edge technology, at the same time providing for the continuation of Cape Town’s proud hand-crafted tradition.
John Robertson, at the helm of Robertson and Caine for the past thirty years, has always been people-oriented and he continues to inspire the passion that is evident in the Cape artisans’ craft. John’s motto has always been, “we build people that build award-winning catamarans.”
Franck Bauguil, driving yacht sales since 2001 across The Moorings, Sunsail and Leopard, has nurtured the business to its modern-day global dominance of the US and Caribbean markets.
His commercial and product expertise, developed over two decades, continues expanding to this day with new product development in the pipeline. As Franck states, “our relationship with our builder, Robertson and Caine, is key to our mutual success and is the foundation of our future”.
Together, Robertson and Caine and Leopard Catamaran have launched nearly three thousand catamarans and been awarded seventeen global industry awards.
Evolving from 50 years of customer feedback, Leopard Catamarans has pooled their expertise with builders Robertson and Caine to design today’s Leopard range: spacious, robust, performance-driven blue water cruising catamarans.
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