RVBusiness, May/June 2017

TOPof theNews In Brief from page 11 president and CFO focusing on the areas of finance and treasury and assisting in the advancement of the next generation of technology to be implemented at the company RV Trader Parent is Acquired by Goldman Sachs Dominion Web Solutions announced May 11 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by West Street Capital Partners VII a fund managed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division GS MBD and Eurazeo a global investment company listed in Paris According to the company the Dominion Web Solutions brand portfolio includes the business toconsumer websites Cycle Trader RV Trader ATV Trader PWC Trader Snowmobile Trader and Aero Trader as well as the business to business brands Commercial Truck Trader Commercial Web Services Equipment Trader and RV Web Services RV Care Hosts 2nd Dealer Meeting in Toronto About 120 dealer and supplier personnel attended Canadabased RV Care Networks 2nd Annual Dealer Meeting in April in Toronto RV Care is one of North Americas three independent RV dealer groups outside of the trade associations Attendance at the annual meeting included representatives from 48 dealerships and 14 suppliers The main topic of discussion was the future direction with our programs and initiatives said Earl Manning vice president and CEO of the 53 dealer organization We want to strengthen our dealers operations and competitive positions in the local markets and build our RV Care and RV Travelers Choice parts and accessory brands LKQ Corp Reports Record 1Q Revenue LKQ Corp parent company of Keystone Automotive and its NTPSTAG RV distribution division reported April 27 record revenue for the first quarter of 2017 of 234 billion an increase of 219 as compared to 192 billion in the first quarter of 2016 Income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2017 was 1408 million an increase of 255 as compared to 1122 million for the same period of 2016 Apollo Acquiring CanaDream Apollo Tourism and Leisure will buy recreational vehicle businesses in Canada and Australia in a 436 million deal that underscores growing demand for road holidays The Brisbane Australia based company said it will acquire CanaDream Corp one continued on page 14 12 RVBusiness M A Y J U N E 2 0 1 7 Buoyed by Grand Design Winnebago Posts Solid 2Q Gains Debuts Partnership with Chicaco Cubs Maddon Boosted by the acquisition of towable builder Grand Design RV Co completed in November Winnebago Industries Inc on March 22 reported revenue of 3705 million an increase of 642 compared to 2257 million for the fiscal 2016 period and net income of 153 million an increase of 633 compared to 94 million in the same period last year for its fiscal second quarter ended Feb 25 Revenues for the motorized segment were 1989 million for the quarter down 3 from the previous year Revenues for the towable segment were 1716 million for the quarter up 151 million over the prior year driven by the addition of 1436 million in revenue from the Grand Design acquisition and continued strong organic growth from Winnebago branded towable products in excess of 36 Saying these are dynamic and exciting times for Winnebago President and CEO Michael Happe said the company now has a much more balanced RV portfolio thanks in large part to the 500 million acquisition of Middlebury Ind based Grand Design The second quarter marked the first full period with Grand Design RV as part of the Winnebago family he told investors during a conference call Our overall towables segment in the second quarter accounted for 46 of our roughly 370 million in overall revenue That compares he said to 90 of revenue in the same quarter of 2016 coming from motorized RVs Happe also noted that the Michael Happe company also reduced its debt by 13 million in the quarter In other news Winnebago also announced an exclusive multi year partnership with Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon and his wife Jaye Both are noted RV enthusiasts spending baseballs offseason and spring training periods living in their motorhome As part of the new partnership the Maddons took delivery during spring training in Mesa Ariz of a new 2017 Winnebago Grand Tour Winnebago will also be rolling out additional extensions of the Meet the Maddons campaign throughout the season including a forthcoming Korked Baseball Respect 90 Tshirt collaboration media campaign and social media extensions RVB March Shipments Set Record for Highest Monthly Total The industrys March wholesale shipments were said to be the highest monthly total ever for shipments on comparable record The March survey of manufacturers conducted by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association RVIA found RV wholesale shipments reached 47579 units an increase of 207 over the February monthly total and 168 over the March 2016 tally of 40740 units Year to date RV wholesale shipments reached 120866 units up 117 over the 108195 units shipped in the same three month period last year Of the 47579 figure towable RVs led by conventional travel trailers accounted for 41766 units for the month up 168 over the 35763 units shipped in March 2016 Motorhome shipments are also up 168 for the month at 5813 units compared to 4977 units last March Similarly according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc SSI yearover year towable retail registrations grew 5 in March and 12 for the first three months while overall motorhome sales posted a 94 gain for the month and a 10 increase year to date Thor Industries Inc was the sales leader through March in both towables 482 share of the market and motorized 434 Forest River Inc was second in both categories 361 towables and 238 motorized Winnebago Industries Inc was third in motorized 124 while its Grand Design subsidiary ranked third in towables 45 market share By segment SSI reported travel trailer sales climbed 141 year to date while fifth wheel registrations edged up 74 for the three months Park model RV sales dropped 159 for the quarter Class A motorhome registrations dipped 21 for the three months Class B motorhome sales registrations showed a 341 gain for the first quarter and Class Cs were up 225 through March RVB