RVBusiness, May/June 2017

Were the industry getting to the point where were really maximizing things and that concerns me a little bit the stats last year indicated that the retail business was going up faster than the wholesale business was going up and if that continues are we going to lose some market share because we werent in a position every respect asserted Dixies Greg Lala Consumers are willing to spend he maintained and theyve got the money to make those purchases Lenders are still offering great rates although he noted experts predict that theres a good chance those interest rates will bump up to an extent though not substantially yet this year Given this strong market scenario Lala expressed some concerns about the ability of manufacturers to keep up I believe that the manufacturers right now are overworked said Lala whose 300 employee Louisiana dealership just added a fourth outlet near Birmingham Ala Theres so many orders that their qualitys suffering just a little bit and I believe that the suppliers to them are going through the same thing But I believe the years going to be good It has been good I dont think that the presidential change is going to do anything but possibly help us in a lot of ways I think that right now consumer confidence where its at speaks volumes So hopefully this years going to be a bit better than last year Holding a similar view is Andy Heck a former RVDA chairman whose five stores sell everything from RVs to boats and snowmobiles The optimism is so high among everybody you talk to right now said Heck Dealers are stocking more inventory in anticipation of not missing out on sales I think that everybody that I talk to is hiring additional sales staff because on the busy days dealers are getting overrun by customers which is a good thing And I think also that dealers are reinvesting in their dealerships adding service bays hiring more technicians investing in technician training Those are all signs that everybodys very optimistic about where were at and where were headed I think a lot of people dealers feel that they maybe missed 54 RVBusiness M A Y J U N E 2 0 1 7 some opportunities in the last year as weve been running up Coming off a strong year across the board Wilkins who now has four stores shares Lala and Hecks upbeat view of the overall market And he too harbors concerns about the ability of manufacturers suppliers and transport companies to keep up Were the industry getting to the point where were really maximizing things said Wilkins and that concerns me a little bit because if theres more upside to this ongoing growth I dont know if were in a position to take advantage of it So that could be a little concerning The stats last year in fact indicated that the retail business was going up faster than the wholesale business was going up and if that continues are we going to lose some market share because we werent in a Dealers are reinvesting in their dealerships more technicians investing in technician position to build the product Steve Richardson who recently added a new service center in a former Fleetwood Enterprises Inc plant in Riverside amid a resurgent Golden State market concurs I see the same especially in California one of the hardest hit states during the downturn and right now its probably the strongest market Ive ever seen stated Richardson In California right now were just clicking on all cylinders Our housing markets back The interest rates are still low and my concern is not being able to get enough units to keep up with demand right now I do see prices shooting up sky high on our units though right now on the shipping side and on the manufacturing side So that could possibly slow it down But were just going full speed right now Affordability Remains a Watchword of the North American RV Marketplace Affordability in a variety of price categories appears to be a prevailing trend for much of the RV industry Prioritys retailers told RVBusiness To me fifth wheels arent moving as fast as travel trailers said Regan a veteran of the competitive Texas market If theres softness anywhere I would say the gas and diesel Class A market is still not at capacity Were sitting here talking about 450000 units in record times and building new plants in Elkhart But that doesnt cross over to the Class A category Now the Class B business is very strong but the Class A business is not what it could be in this market where everythings so hot And the used market is very good he added Used inventorys harder to come by right now than its ever been We dont have any and thats a problem The numbers that Ive looked at for used sales are down as a group and I believe thats a direct correlation with the fact that used RVs right now are a little bit harder to find In fact used demand is so strong adding service bays hiring training Those are all signs posited Regan that a lot of consumers apparently arent trading in their old units but are instead selling them on their own By the same token Bretz feels the demand for pre owned units is probably enhanced by the fact that theres actually fewer of them available on the market right now given the fact that the average used unit is probably five to 10 years old a time period that includes the relatively low production years of the to build the product Brian Wilkins president and CEO of Wilkins RV that everybodys very optimistic about where were at and where were headed Andy Heck president of Alpin Haus RV