What the RV Industry needs and how it works.
I haven't posted for a while. Mostly happy trouble free camping has kept me a lurker. Trouble free however must have context, i'm a handy guy. A small insurance claim and having a kid has me assessing...
Forum Discussion
This argument can be an endless circle. But let's use Airstream, Camplite, and Funfunder ( cruiser ) as an example. They are all "different". They compete in different parts of the market. I would call that competition. All are owned by Thor.
Thor is able to leverage economies of scale in their purchasing of material and parts. This can, and often does result in a large corporation actually lowering their retail price point, while at the same time increasing profitability.
I don't tend to see large corporate takeovers as the big bad wolf. But then I am retired from 40 years working for a multi billion dollar corporation. We took over a fair number of smaller companies in that time. In most cases we improved their operation, gave more benefits to the employees that came with them, improved quality and expanded their marketing. We got a few dogs in that time also, but quickly sold them off.
My personal take is the RV industry does not need an overhaul. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. What it does need is more attention to detail and QC. The question is, what will it cost, and is the consumer willing to pay for that added time ? Me ? No. I like my cheap and cheerful little trailer, but then I have a full shop and a love of tinkering and modding this sort of thing. As long as the basics are good, I can fix the details. As I always say, "some assembly required".
Thor is able to leverage economies of scale in their purchasing of material and parts. This can, and often does result in a large corporation actually lowering their retail price point, while at the same time increasing profitability.
I don't tend to see large corporate takeovers as the big bad wolf. But then I am retired from 40 years working for a multi billion dollar corporation. We took over a fair number of smaller companies in that time. In most cases we improved their operation, gave more benefits to the employees that came with them, improved quality and expanded their marketing. We got a few dogs in that time also, but quickly sold them off.
My personal take is the RV industry does not need an overhaul. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. What it does need is more attention to detail and QC. The question is, what will it cost, and is the consumer willing to pay for that added time ? Me ? No. I like my cheap and cheerful little trailer, but then I have a full shop and a love of tinkering and modding this sort of thing. As long as the basics are good, I can fix the details. As I always say, "some assembly required".
