RVBusiness, July/August 2020

TOPNews of the IN BRIEF FRVTAs Lance Wilson Announces Retirement Despite Headwinds COVID Campers Boost Thor Industries Bottom Line Its been a roller coaster of a couple of months for the RV industry in general and Thor Industries Inc in particular Like much of the industry Thor resumed North American production on May 4 while its European based Erwin Hymer Group division returned to work the week prior under a host of coronavirus Bob Martin THOR Industries Inc president and CEO Lance Wilson safety measures that remain in effect And like much of the industry Thor the worlds largest RV manufacturer quickly increased production as American consumers flooded the nations dealerships and drove retail demand beyond everyones expectations Seeing RVing as a way to recreate while socially distancing these consumers whom some have dubbed COVID Campers have shown since mid June no signs of letting up In fact the results of the 2020 Thor North American RV Consumer Survey Report which polled some 20000 randomly selected RV owners and prospective owners supports the emerging notion that the RV surge is sustainable for the foreseeable future Several key findings from the report Lance Wilson executive director of the Florida RV Trade Association FRVTA will retire this August from the position hes held since 1993 A 2019 inductee into the RV MH Hall of Fame Wilson is the man behind the extremely popular FRVTA Florida RV Super Show one of the most successful trade shows in the RV industry Wilsons career in the RV industry started in 1971 working parttime doing sales service and anything else when his father in law bought Foss RV Sales in Florida In 1974 he moved to full time and became general manager in 1976 and president in 1982 By 1993 he had become the full time director of FRVTA Wilson is a member and past president of the RV Executives Council and has served on the Go RVing committee since its inception Davis Retires Emahiser Group Buys Regency RV Wayne Davis retired as owner and CEO of Regency RV effective June 1 while a new ownership group led by industry veteran and trusted associate Don Emahiser has purchased the majority of the company Davis founded Fort Worth Texasbased Regency RV in 2014 after a prolific career at the helm of Regency and Tuscany Conversions as well as Wayne Davis Restorations Ive carried the Regency banner since 1995 Its family to me said Davis I am excited for this team to carry the flag now And maybe a little excited for some vacation too We look forward to building on the tradition of outstanding quality and customer service this company has built in just a few years said Emahiser Regencys new president and CEO The Regency name has stood for innovation and integrity since 1983 Our team leaders and employees are very eager to continue that tradition RVB RVIA Offers Model Year Guidance Requires Length Labels on Jan 1 6 RVBusiness J U L Y A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 continued on page 18 Better Than Expected Quarterly Report as Retail Demand Surge Bolsters Expectations A voluntary best practice providing guidance regarding RV model year changeover and an overall length labeling requirement have been approved by the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association RVIA board of directors The board members agreed a best practice regarding model year changeover would be for RV manufacturers to make their annual model year and major product design changes between July 1 to Aug 31 each year According to RVIA this would improve the RV buying experience by alleviating a common source of confusion that consumers currently experience when purchasing RVs In another announcement effective Jan 1 2021 and as a condition of RVIA membership all newly manufactured RVs will be required to have a label stating the overall length of the unit According to the RVIA board the inclusion of a clearly labeled length measurement on every unit will better improve a consumers ability to quickly determine the RVs size during the purchase process and alleviate a potential source of consumer confusion Both provisions were approved in mid June during the RVIA Board of Directors meeting Regarding model year changeover the board stated RV model year changes currently take place throughout the calendar year varying from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from model to model by the same manufacturer making it difficult for consumers to make clear apples to apples product comparisons when shopping Adoption of the recommended model year changeover period will assist consumers in distinguishing between model years and help in determining the value of used RVs when consumers want to trade in a currently owned RV for a new unit The board stressed the adoption of this best practice is voluntary The new length labeling policy states that overall length of RVs must be printed in English with a minimum font size of 3 32 inches high and be printed in black print on a contrasting background and must be placed immediately adjacent to the Occupant or Cargo Carry Capacity labels on the RV The label must read continued on page 14