RVBusiness, March/April 2020

Overlanding as an Adjacent Market Seen as New Business Opportunity M A R C H A P R I L 2 0 2 0 RVBusiness 63 were seeing here is a lot of positive attitudes and a lot of positive outlooks for next year so were very excited about it he said Adjacent Markets During his keynote presentation to dealers Rogers said one of the companys key initiatives for 2020 is to help dealerships develop new business opportunities by expanding into adjacent markets And among those new markets he said were truck accessories marine heavy duty truck maintenance cargo management specialty lighting and overlanding see sidebar These markets are largely an untapped area for RV dealers but it is extremely logical The majority of consumers that come to your dealerships are driving tow vehicles and are going down the street to get what they need for those vehicles The products and services they are getting elsewhere they could be getting from you Rogers told dealers Other 2020 company initiatives he discussed were the continued refinement of its current staple of marketing services such as its SMART Team Strategic Merchandising and Retail Technology charged with assisting dealers parts operations as well as its technology based programs including MagniFinder PARTease VIA Online PartsVIA and Topline POS DMS In general we have a lot of technology enhancements that weve made many of which are on the B2B side to help the dealer find things quicker and to make it easier to do business with NTP STAG systems summed up Larry Montante vice president of Category Management for Keystone NTP STAG who added that among the technology enhancements is a vehicle specific filtering tool You plug in the year make and model for the tow vehicle and because its vehicle specific it gives the dealer the ability to put in the vehicle theyre looking for and find the match to the vehicle part If the RV industry ever gets into more of a vehicle specific type of situation well be obviously set up to handle that too Warranty Fulfillment A cornerstone of the vision presented by Rogers and a popular discussion topic throughout the show was the agreements NTP STAG has established with a number of RV builders and suppliers to provide warranty fulfillment services These agreements address the important issue of shortening Repair Event Cycle Time RECT with expediting parts delivery resulting in faster response times and improved customer experiences In fact Winnebago Industries Inc announced during The Expo that it had partnered with NTP STAG to enhance its FastTrack Parts Program for the manufacturers motorhome lines This new partnership is designed to help dealers receive the right parts at the right time and ultimately reduce repair event cycle times for the end consumer said Dean Casad director customer support for Winnebago The implementation will be seamless for our dealers who will continue to order genuine Winnebago motorhome parts as normal Internally Overland Vehicle Systems CEO President Sean Angues said the camping segment in general and the overlanding movement specifically are a growing category At The Expo the January trade show hosted by NTPSTAG the RV industrys largest distributor of parts and accessories an enticing new business opportunity was presented to attending dealers in the form of expansion into adjacent markets While some of those markets are familiar enough marine and truck accessories among them one in particular was something NTP STAG officials seemed especially eager to get on dealers radar That market is called Overlanding and its sometimes called car camping on steroids Overlanding is a fusion of camping and off roading featuring highly capable all terrain vehicles such as Jeeps and Land Rovers outfitted to handle nearly any off road condition But outdoor adventure lovers also outfit their vehicles with rooftop tents powered coolers outdoor showers and other camping related accessories and amenities NTP STAG officials not only believe RV dealers may want to explore overlanding in more depth as an adjacent business opportunity but also as a means to capture future RV buyers at the top of the sales funnel Overlanding is all about outdoor activity and camping but its a trendy new thing that has taken off in the outdoor space and it fits squarely in the RV wheelhouse said NTP STAG President and General Manager Bill Rogers The RV dealer should be the go to place for all things camping all things camping vehicle related and thats what overlanding is Rogers noted that overlanding utilizes many of the same products and suppliers with whom RV dealers are currently partnered Overlanders need all the stuff that RV dealers sell So its such a natural but I dont know that RV dealers are naturally in it he said To help convince dealers as to the possibilities of this new market NTP STAG allocated considerable space on the Expo show floor in an area designated Overland Bound Exhibitors here included some recognizable RV names like Dometic which prominently featured portable powered coolers and kitchen centers But other suppliers in the Overland Bound space were probably less familiar to RV dealers These included Mamba roof tents Freespirit Recreation Disc O Bed Pittman Outdoors Warn Wintch AirBedz and several more such as anchor supplier Overland Vehicle Systems OVS of Santa Fe Springs Calif Speaking with RVBusiness ahead of the Expos official opening OVS CEO President Sean Angues said the camping segment in general and the overlanding movement specifically are a growing category More campers are entering the market now than in a long time I think there are 30 million people a year who tent camp They want convenience they want ease and they want to get up off the ground Here is where OVS and our line of products fit in Angues noted who had been president of a large hardcore off road and overlanding equipment manufacturer before starting OVS about a year ago I did some data analysis on who was getting into the Overland space he continued and what I saw was Baby Boomers trying not to break the bank on an RV and Millennials that wanted to get away and stay plugged in RVB Dometics CFX line of powered coolers is one example with crossover appeal in the RV and overlanding markets