Ferretti reports strong demand for newly acquired Wally brand

A month after announcing it has acquired the rights to the Wally brand of super-fast sailing and motor yachts, Ferretti Group says it is taking orders for the high-tech craft Luca Bassani founded in 1994.

Ferretti chief commercial officer and Wally MD Stefano de Vivo told IBI at the Miami Yacht Show the first 48ft inboard-engine Wallytender will be launched in July and goes on display at the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival.

“The first outboard version goes on display at the 2019 Fort Lauderdale show,” he said.

De Vivo acknowledged the global market for performance sailing yachts is weak, “but we envisage we’ll be making a total of only 15 Wallys a year,” he said.

Ferretti Group is investing by 2021 up to €84m in the Wally brand of very high-tech yachts. The new Wallys are built at the Ferretti Group shipyards, in particular the superyacht yard in Ancona.

Ferretti plans to make 80ft-plus push-button Wally sailing yachts with flush decks, carbon fibre masts and sails, lifting keels and twin rudders.

By acquiring the Wally brand, Ferretti has burnished its reputation as a maker of sleek, fast motoryachts. “The Wally brand brings new life to Ferretti,” De Vivo told a press conference on the opening day of the 2019 Miami show. “We’re taking a next step here.”