The
announcement last month that the Affinity Group was
acquiring Camping World has the potential to forever
change the RV industry and, in our opinion, not
necessarily in a positive way. However, the only
industry segment that seems to be paying much
attention are dealers. The announcement brought out
several issues that have been brewing under the
surface for several years. Many dealers are upset
with Affinity because they believe Affinity has
become their competitor — and not just because
they bought Camping World. Through their subsidiary,
the Good Sam Club, Affinity has been systematically
luring business away from dealers, specifically
selling Finance & Insurance (F&I) and
extended warranty programs.
And now with
the acquisition of Camping World, Affinity has become
a direct competitor for the dealers’ service and
aftermarket business.
Several
dealers spoke candidly in last month’s RV News
expressing their reservations about Affinity
acquiring Camping World and what it potentially could
mean to their businesses. Many are angry. The problem
isn’t so much that Camping World has a new
infusion of capital and could become an even more
fierce competitor and expand into more regions,
it’s more that Affinity controls the gateway to
the RV consumer, and the acquisition of Camping
World’s database of customers further tightens
their grip on the industry’s throat. On one hand
they are saying let us take your advertising message
to our readers, buy into our traffic builders
programs, become a commercial member of the Good Sam
Club and we’ll let you give our members a 10
percent discount. All the time they’re smiling
at the dealer but in the meantime they are picking
his pockets.
Friends, do
not be mislead — Affinity owns access to the RV
consumer. Affinity, which already owned Trailer Life,
Coast To Coast, Highways and Motorhome magazines, has
acquired virtually every important RV consumer
publication available; they own the Good Sam Club;
Woodalls, and now they own Camping World which some
believe has the best consumer database available. If
you do not realize that the Affinity Group has a
stranglehold on this industry then you’re not
paying attention.
And yes,
Affinity is assuring the industry that the companies
will be run independently so there’s nothing to
fear. In our opinion, Trailer Life or the Good Sam
Club will not have to do anything overtly to
influence readers and members to patronize Camping
World instead of their RV dealer. Simply, the
announcement that it’s now a sister company will
in itself drive business to Camping World, a fact
that I’m sure Affinity didn’t overlook when
considering the acquisition.
Let’s
face it. Trailer Life has a lot of good will going
for it, good will that was earned, but not earned by
the current ownership.
And
that’s an important distinction. This is no
longer the model industry citizen that the Trailer
Life family of companies used to be when it was owned
by the Art and Rick Rouse families. Steve Adams, the
sole shareholder in the Affinity Group, Inc., is a
high stakes financial wheeler-dealer. He buys and
sells companies like your children buy and sell
baseball cards. And he bought Trailer Life’s
good will.
Affinity has
already affirmed that it is their intention to use
the Camping World database to promote their other
programs, and it stands to reason that they would use
their existing database to promote Camping World
programs, right?
So
what’s all this mean? It means that the dealer
stands to lose more business, business that is
important to his bottom line. He’s going to lose
more F&I, he’s going to lose more
aftermarket sales and he’s going to lose service
work to Camping World.
In the short
term consumers might be winners, but in the long run
they could be the biggest losers. Why? Because the
health of the overall industry depends to a large
degree on a healthy dealer body. And every time a
consumer goes to Camping World, there is one less
opportunity for dealer contact, less opportunity to
be exposed to new RVs, less opportunity to create a
relationship with the dealer. Every time a consumer
buys his financing or insurance through the Good Sam
Club, the profit goes into Affinity’s bank
account rather than the dealers’. Dealers depend
on their aftermarket stores and service shops to
contribute to their profit pictures, but more
importantly these services bring traffic to their
businesses, and the subsequent sale of an RV creates
a chain reaction throughout the rest of the industry
— we all benefit.
It’s a
little troubling to us when the most important media
reaching RV consumers becomes so deeply involved in
programs that directly threaten the foundations of
our industry. And to do so does not display the best
industry citizenship.
Obviously,
Affinity is going to put the brightest face on this
deal as possible and attempt to lull the industry
into believing that everything’s okay, not to
worry. But the fact of the matter is that Affinity
has shown little conscience so far when it comes to
competing with dealers. So what’s next, rolling
stock being sold at Camping World stores?
Yes, I read
it too. Affinity is assuring dealers that they have
no intention of selling new RVs through Camping
World. Well, la-de-da. That’s as if they are
saying, yes, we picked your left pocket, but
don’t worry, we don’t pick right pockets.
Folks, wake up. Their track record speaks more loudly
than their reassuring words. Their motivation is
obviously money. Period.
And you can
bet if Steve Adams wakes up in the morning and says,
‘wouldn’t it be nice if we sold RVs at
Camping World stores’ that by tomorrow
afternoon, Affinity’s executives would be on the
phone to every RV manufacturer telling them the good
news. You’re naive if you believe they
wouldn’t.
Obviously, RV
News does not believe that this latest move by
Affinity is in the best interest of the industry.
Good for Affinity? Yes. Good for Camping World? Yes.
Good for the rest of the industry? We don’t
think so.
