RVBusiness, March/April 2019

Thor Industries Rebrands to Expand Reach to Non RVers Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts Considering where we are in the market and this younger generation we really felt that a rebrand tied with a new website and a big new push for social influencers and stories is what the markets looking for said Thor CEO Bob Martin continued on page 16 M A R C H A P R I L 2 0 1 9 RVBusiness 9 Thor Industries Inc shed its traditional corporate web presence in mid March in favor of a fresh consumer friendly approach Its all part of a rebranding befitting its new global status following the February acquisition of Europes Erwin Hymer Group EHG Thor President and CEO Bob Martin considers it a pivotal moment for the nearly 40 year old firm a publicly held company based in Elkhart Ind We had to rebrand about five years ago but it was very slight just changing the logo and a few other things Martin told RVBusiness But this time considering where we are in the market and this younger generation we really felt that a rebrand tied with a new website and a big new push for social influencers and stories is what the markets looking for For the brand to have a theme and a tagline its just something that we have never done before and we felt that it was time added Martin Its something thats been received well so far The main goal for the brands revision according to Thor corporate releases is to maintain the companys global leadership position in the RV industry while contempo TOPNews of the IN BRIEF At least 150 more dealers are being asked to participate in a pilot program being developed in a partnership between the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association RVDA and Statistical Surveys Inc SSI that will allow the industry to reveal preliminary retail sales within the first 10 days or so after month end The initiative is designed to have retail sales figures which have remained relatively robust including an all time high of 489440 units in 2018 disclosed at a similar time frame as if not prior to wholesale shipment numbers which have been declining for the last several months The people who watch the industry are always looking at wholesale numbers which are up and down based on a number of issues The real numbers that we think they should be looking at are the retail numbers said Mike Regan of Crestview RV Center in Buda Texas and RVDA chairman Were trying to get the industry to report retail numbers to take some of the wild swings out of the stock market and get the correct information out there Regan told RVBusiness Last year we caught a lot of bad press we even heard some here this week that shipments are down I think one of the news medias points was its a downward spiral but yet retail sales were up 4 last year Thats the message we need to get out Currently SSI the Grand Rapids Mich continued on page 18 ORourke Named New KOA CEO Kampgrounds of America Inc KOA President Toby ORourke was named the organizations new chief executive officer in a March 6 announcement by Oscar Tang whose family has owned KOA since 1980 ORourke is only the sixth person to lead KOA and the first woman in the top leadership role ORourke takes over the top leadership role at KOA from Pat Hi t tme i e r who announced his ret i rement after 38 years with the company He will continue to serve as a consultant to KOA specifically in the areas of new acquisitions and development of company properties ORourke has served as KOAs president since March 2018 and will retain that title in her new role She first joined the company in 2011 as its director of digital marketing and rose through the ranks to become vice president of marketing and then chief franchise operations officer 2019 Elkhart RV Open House Set for Sept 23 27 The 2019 Elkhart RV Open House the industrys chief trade only venue for new model year RV introductions and an event that typically draws some 4000 dealer personnel from the U S and Canada is set for the week of Sept 23 27 in and around the northern Indiana RV building center of Elkhart Ind The Open House dates are set annually by Forest River CEO Pete Liegl in cooperation with Thor Industries Inc President and CEO Bob Martin whose two companies represent more than 80 of the industrys annual retail sales according to Statistical Surveys Inc Curtin 2019 Shipments Will Dip on 1Q Impact RV shipments will be down slightly in Thor Industries Inc President and CEO Bob Martin with displays highlighting the companys rebranding Dealers Asked to Report Timely Retail Sales for Pilot Program Developed by RVDA and Statistical Surveys continued on page 10 SSI President Scott Stropkai left with RVDA Chairman Mike Regan and President Phil Ingrassia