One of Australia’s biggest Sea-Doo stores – Cronulla Sea-Doo & CanAm – will close next month and merge with its sister store Beaches Sea-Doo in Brookvale amid a prolonged downturn in Jet Ski sales across Australia, and the appointment of a rival Sea-Doo showroom nearby last year.
Cronulla Sea-Doo opened its doors in April 2019 and will shut after more than six years of operation on 6 June 2025.
Beaches Sea-Doo opened its Balgowlah store in July 2017 and moved to the larger Brookvale location – a former high-end car yard and showroom – in July 2020.
Since early 2024, Beaches Sea-Doo has also sold Chery motor vehicles from China alongside Sea-Doo & CanAm models, to make the business more viable by avoiding the summer peaks and winter lows of the personal watercraft market.
Beaches Sea-Doo took over the day-to-day operations of the jointly-owned Cronulla Sea-Doo store three months ago, after former owner Peter Middleton stepped down.
However, since then, the company has made the difficult decision to shut the doors at the Cronulla store amid a sustained slowdown in sales across the personal watercraft market in Australia – and record high licence and registration fees in NSW, which are now the most expensive in the world.
The Cronulla closure means Sea-Doo customers south of Sydney will need to travel to the Northern Beaches for sales and service, or visit one of the other Sea-Doo dealers in the Sydney metropolitan area.
However, Beaches Sea-Doo is offering Cronulla Sea-Doo customers free pick-up and drop-off for service appointments during the transition.
Simon Kendrick – part owner of both Beaches Sea-Doo and Cronulla Sea-Doo stores – told Watercraft Zone he has offered Cronulla staff continued employment at the Brookvale store.
A statement from Beaches Sea-Doo about the shutdown of Cronulla Sea-Doo said:
“This difficult decision follows prolonged economic pressures including the rising cost of living and the broader financial climate impacting small and medium-sized businesses throughout the region.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly, but we believe it’s the best path to ensure the long-term sustainability of our overall business and to continue supporting our valued customers.
“To maintain continuity of service, all Cronulla staff will transition to the company’s sister location, Beaches Sea-Doo & Can-Am, located in Brookvale.
“As part of its commitment to continued customer care, the company will offer complimentary pick up and delivery for Jet Ski servicing to all customers residing in the Sutherland Shire.”
Although JSW Powersports on the Gold Coast is the biggest-selling Sea-Doo dealer in the southern hemisphere – and one of the biggest in the world – the combined sales of the jointly-owned Beaches and Cronulla stores previously put the pair in the Top Five nationally.
However, industry data shows sales of personal watercraft have fallen by more than 35 per cent over the past two years and deliveries are now at their lowest level in almost a decade.
The news of Cronulla Sea-Doo’s shutdown comes as Peter Stevens Motorcycles – which owns three Sea-Doo stores in Melbourne and one in Adelaide – announced earlier this week it was going into voluntary administration.
Established in 1970, Peter Stevens was one of the biggest motorcycle retailers in Australia, with 15 dealerships across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, according to the company’s website.
In addition to representing eight of the top 12 motorcycle brands in Australia, Peter Stevens Motorcycles also operated four Sea-Doo stores.
The company says it will continue operations until a new owner can be found.
MORE: Here’s proof NSW now has the most expensive Jet Ski licence fees in the world
MORE: Our open letter to the NSW Government: please reconsider Jet Ski licence fees
MORE: NSW Maritime already has more Jet Skis, boats and safety officers than QLD, so why are our fees going up?
MORE: Renewed calls for urgent review into NSW Jet Ski licence fee increases
MORE: How to have your say and contact your local government representative
MORE: Jet Skis by the numbers: NSW, QLD and VIC data compared
MORE: Jet Ski injury statistics at odds with logic behind fee increases
MORE: Boating sector ‘blindsided’ by licence fee increases
MORE: NSW proposes world’s highest Jet Ski licence fees
MORE: All our Sea-Doo coverage in one click
MORE: All our Yamaha WaveRunner coverage in one click
MORE: All our Kawasaki Jet Ski coverage in one click
MORE: All our news coverage in one click
MORE: Follow us on Facebook
MORE: Follow us on YouTube