By Greg Gerber on 6/25/2008 4:26 PM

A few weeks ago, Freedom Roads/Camping World was caught red-handed using a competitor's name in their own Google ads. Today, the firm was caught soliciting employees to work for them by e-mailing their competitors en masse.

 The whole incident begs the question, when it comes to recruiting staff, exactly how low can you go?

Meeting with a competitor's exceptional workers one-on-one and attempting to persuade them to come work for a different company is a business practice that has brought tears or shouts of joy to business owners for generations. Headhunters pick up the phone and make similar inquiries every day.

But, e-mailing competitors directly, through generic addresses? I think someone needs a spanking.

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By Greg Gerber on 6/25/2008 3:34 PM

Ever since Winnebago Industries released its quarterly financial report last Friday, there has been a drumbeat of criticism of the company by the news media and financial analysts. In fact, that unfounded criticism actually started a week before the financials were released. It was is if analysts and business reporters were almost gleeful in anticipation that Winnebago might post a loss.

When I started in the industry in 2000 (also an election year), Winnebago stock was trading at $11 that fall. Based on what I knew about the company and its reputation, I thought that was unrealistically low. So I ponied up and bought some. By November of 2003, the stock was trading at $50 per share and I was in heaven. 

Would I buy Winnebago shares today? Absolutely. That's a no-brainer. Which is why only a brain-dead stock analyst would even think to make a statement like, "Buy Winnebago? Are you kidding?"

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By Greg Gerber on 6/25/2008 11:03 AM

We published a story last week in which an investment group was suggesting that RV parks and campgrounds would make a great opportunity for foreign investors. The author was noting that there has been considerable interest in investing in RV communities of late. However, there were a few things that I found disturbing.

I have a real issue with outsiders suggesting that RV parks and campgrounds are like warehouse properties because of the low maintenance -- meaning hands-off management -- needed to generate a profit.

The last thing our industry needs is institutional investors or foreign owners sucking campgrounds dry of cash while failing to invest in better services and infrastructure because they consider a campground to be like a warehouse property.

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By Greg Gerber on 6/20/2008 6:48 AM

 Every few days I read a story from some newspaper suggesting that snowbirds are rethinking whether they will be able to drive to Texas, Florida, Arizona or wherever this winter. Each story usually includes an obligatory quote from a snowbird promising to keep his RV parked in the garage this year because it will "cost too much" to drive it to the person's normal winter haven.

As a nearly lifelong resident of Wisconsin, I have only one answer -- "Yeah, right!"

The unique thing about snowbirds is that they can't stand cold weather. When the temperature drops below 50 degrees, the whimps grab their parkas and mittens.

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By Chuck Marzahn on 6/18/2008 1:20 PM

What's the problem?  Can't get the work through the shop?  Delivery Scheduling always a hassle?  Backlogged work in the shop?

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By Greg Gerber on 6/16/2008 9:58 AM

A news article appearing in the Tennessean this weekend took Cracker Barrel to task for developing an advertising campaign where the grand prize was a "gas guzzling RV at a time of soaring gas prices."

The writer, Wendy Lee, noted that "Cracker Barrel has unveiled a matching game that gives the grand-prize winner the choice of driving home in a huge Monaco recreational vehicle that gets 10 miles per gallon at best."

Lee also wrote, "In Cracker Barrel's defense, whoever wins the grand prize can take home $250,000 in cash and pass on the RV."

Excuse me, but why does this woman think Cracker Barrel needs to defend a marketing campaign that encourages people to travel the United States? And why should a Vanderbuilt professor make it his business to judge as being "odd" an advertising campaign encouraging family road trips?

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By Greg Gerber on 6/10/2008 11:28 AM

Last week, I spoke at length with Chuck Marzahn, the sage of the RV industry who works with dealers around the country to help them become more profitable. He has talked with many dealers who are having a good year -- and he has talked to several who possess defeatist attitudes. But, he noted a trend.

Dealers who ignore the news on TV and focus their attention on selling RVs and servicing customers are finding lots of opportunity this summer. Dealers who start their day reading the morning paper, then spend time discussing the bad news with their staff and suggesting to them that it's going to be a tough year are finding that, yes indeed, it is a tough year.

So, starting today, we are going to draw attention to the good news.

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By Greg Gerber on 6/6/2008 12:09 PM

Earlier this week, General Motors announced it would be shutting down four manufacturing facilities and scaling back production of light trucks and SUVs in the months ahead. There was a broad range of reaction to the news at the Coachmen RV dealer conference in Reno, Nev.

On the first pass, people were quick to point fingers – and there was lots of blame to go around.  But, what many people might not realize is that GM’s announcement may be the saving grace for motorhomes. If there are fewer large tow vehicles on the market, then it may be just as expensive to buy a new motorhome then it would be to pay $80,000 to $100,000 for a tow vehicle and fifth wheel.

There is a big psychological difference between someone enjoying the fruits of his life’s work behind the wheel of a motorhome compared to tooling around in 20-foot travel trailer. GM’s woes may be a blessing in disguise for the RV industry.

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By Greg Gerber on 6/5/2008 9:09 AM

Anyone who has written off Coachmen Industries as a serious competitor in the RV industry might want to rethink that position.

After spending three days with the Coachmen crew in Reno, Nev., for the company's annual dealer conference, it is clear the Coachmen of 2008 is as different as the Coachmen of 2005 as night is from day.

The company has received a lot of negative attention lately due to their cost-cutting measures and some other innovative steps they have taken to improve their cash position, such as borrowing money from life insurance cash values. But that criticism appears to be unwarranted and self-serving by its critics.

Coachmen CEO Richard Lavers and RV Group President Michael Terlep dropped daisy cutters on the naysayers this week by pointing out a few critical facts. You can hear his entire speech to dealers by clicking here.

Basically, Lavers and Terlep noted that in the past 18 months Coachmen has:

Cut the company's workforce by 50 percent which cut...

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By Greg Gerber on 6/5/2008 8:34 AM

The Camping World of Bath, in Binghampton, N.Y., had launched a Google Adwords campaign recently that was structured so that if anyone searched for Wilkins RV, Camping World's ad came up. Now, that's not necessarily illegal. But, what made this initiative questionable was the fact Camping World was using the words "Wilkins RV" in their own ad.

In it, Camping World of Bath claims to offer "New York's Top Selection Wilkins rvs & more." Anyone searching for Wilkins RV who saw the ad and clicked on it would be redirected to the Camping World website. It's a hijacking of Wilkins' brand and intellectual property.

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