Forum Discussion
- I think this guy really understands the business better than most of us. Most of us don't no what we are buying, usually buy with borrowed money, and not understanding the product and afraid of downstream problems buy extended warranties. By selling parts he just tacks on a profit margin and there is no warranty risks like a new MH. We all needs parts that fail. Most are growing older or lack the technical abilities,agility or will to do our own work and need someone else to install these parts and make repairs. It is not hard to see the money to be made in the aftermarket segment including extended warranties, financing, parts and labor. I think the days of the Henry Ford business model is long gone.
- Other stuff with CW aside, there is one reason why I will go out of my way to patronize them and GS -- they pay for these forums. On other forums, if they have a life membership or subscription, I'll pay for it. I hate ads, so I rather just support the sites I like directly.
camp-n-family wrote:
The company makes more money selling warranties, insurance, roadside assistance, service and parts....
...and they don't even do this well. They could make so much more money and have less debt if they just improved their customer service and reputation in these areas.
I think Marcus and CW would be better off if the vast majority of the money they make was in products and services that could be controlled end-to-end by CW. There appears to be a awful lot of the CW brand that is in the hands of others who don't have a critical stake in the business. Business plans made up primarily of low hanging fruit are pretty short sighted in my opinion.
:):)camp-n-family wrote:
The company makes more money selling warranties, insurance, roadside assistance, service and parts....
...and they don't even do this well. They could make so much more money and have less debt if they just improved their customer service and reputation in these areas.
I think hawking untested male enhancement products on late night TV would be far more profitable.- I thought years ago when CW got into the RV sales end of it that it was a bad move. CW had a fairly good reputation with selling parts, supplies and service. In the years since, that reputation has been sullied with the many reports that come from typical RV sales tactics. It didn't help that CW sells many of the lower end brands whose reliability is not so great to begin with. Additionally, all of these sales have over run the service end of the business which has led to long waits for repairs and substandard fixes. The result being CW's reputation is pretty much in the toilet.
- Yup, but the comment he made about not liking RVs was misrepresented in the headline.
The headline suggests he does not like RVers (he does, after all it is our names and addresses....).. He does not like selling RV's because they do not move fast enough, He is content to let others sell the RV, he just sells supplies for it and of course collects names and addresses. Which he can then sell for even more profit.
Truth be told, there is more profit "After market" than In market when it comes to motor homes and Trailers. Cloud Dancer wrote:
So what if Marcus runs his business HIS way?
Well partly because a LOT of people depend on him for jobs.
If the underlying plan is shaky, so are their jobs.....and the overall economy if too many big companies are equally unsound.
This "service" economy that we seem to have now is constantly just hanging by a thread. It ALL depends on "consumer confidence".
In 2008 we got a taste of what happens when that confidence goes south.....but collectively we learned very little from that and now are charging ahead right back on the same road.
One of these days the string will break.Fizz wrote:
Who cares if somebody is not happy with the service, that's not where he makes his money.
Some of us saw it.
Some knew it already.
Others seem to be purposely ignoring it.
I knew that "marketing" was evil about 40 years ago but at least then there usually was a tangible product being hawked.
I would like to see how much of our GDP these days is marketing/advertising dollars and the trickle down stuff below that.
I think it is a HUGE part.
And it scares the devil out of me because, just like what was called the Internet "bubble" that broke, could happen again on a much larger scale and within a matter of days or weeks.- It's not as if we were looking for a person to fall in love with. And, it's not as if we have the power to change the way that some people find the path to financial success. Life's too short. I kinda aimed low, as I always made sure I worked at something that I liked. I miss my job. I think it's a great thing that I can afford the essentials, plus a few things that give me pleasure. Sure, I complained about some deficiencies in design and workmanship on my big diesel pusher. Yes, I was angry when the 3 year bumper-to-bumper warranty didn't cover the roof. Yes, I was disappointed when my lawyer friend told me to forget about it. But, I was happy I knew how to fix it myself. So what if Marcus runs his business HIS way? I was happy both times that I overnighted at a couple of his stores. I never looked at his stock of RVs, but I've bought many things in his stores. Now, if only he offered a good photo hosting service.....:B
- Did everybody miss the most important comment he made...
Perhaps the most revealing statement he uttered described how he really sees Camping World customers — as names and addresses.
“When I say I hate revenue, what I am essentially saying is that we don’t do deals, we don’t open stores, we don’t buy businesses for revenue. We buy them for accretive earnings and to grow the database.”
A database of active names & addresses is the currency of the internet.
It can be sold, traded, borrowed.
Who cares if somebody is not happy with the service, that's not where he makes his money.
