Editorial

Making Our Industry Better

      Don Magary, Editor

I've spent a lot of time this month on the phone to dealers, manufacturers and suppliers. And you know what? It's starting off like a great year. A dealer in New Jersey, Hitcharama RV, told us that February was the best month they ever had, not just the best February, but the best month period. Remarkable, for a company in what is considered the northern tier of states when winter usually shuts the business valves off in late October and not turned on again until late April.

Obviously, El Nino can take a lot of credit by producing a relatively mild winter. But it could also mean that 1998 could be the break-through year we have all been looking for.

Mike Woods, national sales manger for National RV, thinks this may very well be the case. He told us that he believes this could be the year. He reports that sales at National have started at a record pace. And that's remarkable too since National just came off the best year in its history. And his prediction is even more remarkable considering that the chassis shortage is having a dramatic impact on the production of diesel motorhomes. He said that National is only getting about a third of the chassis it needs and there's no real relief in sight. The reason for the shortage of course is the lack of Allison World transmissions which is effecting every manufacturer of diesel units. Woods told us that the latest word they have now is that this shortage is expected to continue to the spring of 1999. But in spite of this, National is doing great.

We also talked with Lynne Muzic at Sunbeam Trailer Products, manufacturer of Sun Ray fluorescent lighting fixtures ­ same story. Best February in history. That's saying a lot considering the company has been in business since 1939. According to Lynne, the biggest problem they have right now is filling the orders that continue to flow in.

The only segment of the RV industry that doesn't seem to be benefitting from the explosion in the demand of RVs is park model manufacturers. Park model sales have been stagnant and haven't kept pace with the growth in other RV segments.

If the swing in the stock prices of public RV manufacturing companies reflect the entire picture of RV manufacturers, this segment of the business is benefitting in a big way from the popularity of RV ownership. When looking at the 52-week range of the prices of stock we see that in a lot of cases the stock has more than doubled in value. The real star in stock market performance has been National RV. That stock has virtually quadrupled in the past year, going from 11-1/2 to 44-1/2.

Other outstanding performers include Monaco that has more than doubled (16 - 40 3/4) and Thor that has also more than doubled (20 3/8 - 44-1/2). Interestingly, both Monaco and Thor are going through 3 for 2 stock splits.

Every publicly owned RV manufacturer has posted substantial increases in the value of their stock during the past year.

Things are good and all indications are they are just going to get better. As we went to press with this issue, all the indicators that point to prosperous times for our industry were favorable. Interest rates are low, gasoline prices are at a 30 year low (adjusted for inflation), and consumer confidence is riding the crest of a supercharged economy.

It's an enviable position to be in when our biggest problem today is producing enough product to meet the demands of those wanting to buy our products and services. It's certainly a good time to be in the RV industry.

Not to throw cold water on such an excellent outlook, but there are still areas where we need to focus in order to grow in relationship to the potential that's out there. It seems to me there are several things we need to focus on. First, we need to continually build products that meet or exceed the expectations of those who buy the product. We probably will never reach perfection, but we can surely do better than we are doing now. Quality is the issue and remains the issue until we reach perfection. Too often consumers are picking up their new RVs only to find a long list of problems, problems that should never have gotten past the manufacturer, but certainly not past the dealer on his PDI. If you think this is not a problem, take a look on the Internet (http://www.rvamerica.com/evaluations/) and see what consumers think about the products our industry delivers.

Until we reach perfection, the second most important issue we need to address is professional service. In a lot of cases, we can salvage a disgruntled customer by taking care of his or her problem. I believe you can tell more about a company by the way they address problems than you can by the products they sell. Yes, we need well trained and qualified technicians in the service area, the shop needs to be staffed so work flows through on a timely manner, and the service personnel who come in contact with the customer need to be friendly and accommodating. But there's more. The top management of the service shop and in the case of an RV dealership the owner needs to pay close attention to what's happening in that area.

In this issue of RV News we have a story on Paul Skogebo, president and CEO of Robert Crist and Company, a large RV dealership in Mesa, AZ. We especially like what Paul had to say about customer service. Every week at the manager's meeting, they go over any problems and address those problems at that level. And if the problem is not solved by the next meeting, it is reviewed again, until it is solved. That's what we mean by the top management paying attention to the service area.

The third issue is winning the hearts of those who might buy into the RV lifestyle, but haven't. The industry has done a lot of research into who our customer is, but it may be time to do another survey to find out what that customer really wants. What's the hot button? What will turn them into a buyers?

If we go through the next 15 years when there is an explosion of "baby boomers" coming into the age group that is ideal for our demographics and only manage to maintain the same percentage of business we have in the past then we have missed a great opportunity. And no matter how much money we stuff in the bank during this period, we will be leaving a lot on the table if we don't substantially increase that percentage.

Hopefully, our industry supported market expansion program will have a significant impact on that percentage, but I don't think we can afford to sit back and assume that just because we have the program that we have done everything we can. There's still more to do.

I find it hard to believe that every good idea for expanding the market is already on the table. We have too many bright people in this industry for that to be the case.

I'd like to challenge everyone to come up with a new idea this month. Everybody -- owners, salesmen, suppliers, distributors and technicians. Then pass those ideas along. If you want to share them with us, we would be happy to hear from you. But more importantly, the ideas should go to the associations such as RVDA and RVIA. (RVDA fax no. 703-591-0734; RVIA fax no. 703-620-5071).

Yes, times are good, but let's work together to make sure they get even better.

  RVN