RV industry in a slump, or just Thor?

[Community Alumni]

Thor shares tumble as RV maker's sales fall

[Blazing_Zippers]

A comment from my chair;
#1, Certain brands have become very expensive and might have priced themselves out of the general market.
#2, The quality of a couple Thor brands has gotten terrible, and the word is out.
#3, A fairly large segment of the market is becoming more gray haired and may have slowed their buying.
#4, A large number of citizens are becoming dis interested in travel due to the fact that travel actually requires effort.
#5, However---finding a site to park/camp your RV has become more difficult due to more of us out there.
We've owned two major brand Thor products, one being a good trailer, the other an absolute piece of junk. The company wouldn't stand behind the problems of the second unit, (costing us many $$$) and we will never say anything positive about the brand.
That's my own opinion and yours might vary. That is why this is a great country.

[Ralph_Cramden]

BB_TX wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I would not call it a slump, unless sales stay low for another 6 months or so. Slow down to a more "normal" pace would be more correct,

The financial rags create stories where there are none. Helps sell their pubs. Much like the investment “pros” who have been predicting a market crash for the last 6-8 years. Some day they will actually be right and they will scream “I told you so!”

And the manufacturers along with the RV Industry association (RVIA) also create stories where there are none.

In the 4 years leading up to the recession, 2004 to 2007 the RV Industry shipped 1,464,000 RVs. In the 4 years, 2014 through 2018 which is claimed to be a sales boom by the RVIA and the RV Industry in general, they shipped 1,700,000.

Personally I don't see where an increase over a given 4 year period, ten years later, of about 236,000 can be called a sales boom. And that's not even accounting for a population increase from 2008 to 2018 of about 22 million. Factor that in and the sales boom looks more like finally getting back to where you were a decade ago and even that is pushing it. A lot of BS about nothing.

They have a long way to go before they can claim a sales boom. 2007 to 2010 they only shipped 997000.

But they have to make it look good for the investors and all the hype tends to attract naive buyers

[BB_TX]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I would not call it a slump, unless sales stay low for another 6 months or so. Slow down to a more "normal" pace would be more correct,

The financial rags create stories where there are none. Helps sell their pubs. Much like the investment “pros” who have been predicting a market crash for the last 6-8 years. Some day they will actually be right and they will scream “I told you so!”

[theoldwizard1]

I would not call it a slump, unless sales stay low for another 6 months or so. Slow down to a more "normal" pace would be more correct,

[DutchmenSport]

Concerns were raised on these forums over a month ago. Trend continuing? Click here. The beginning of the end? Naw, Sales may slump, stocks may wane back and forth, but RVing will be forever!

[3_dog_nights]

According the the report I listened to one Bloomberg, one of the reasons Thor sited for earnings being down, was dealers cancelling orders and higher than normal warranty issues.

[DownTheAvenue]

Jim@HiTek wrote:
They have gotten tons of bad social media coverage by outraged consumers lately and over at least a year that I remember due to their shoddy workmanship.

Not surprised they are having sales problems.

Well said by someone who obviously does not understand business or the stock market. The whole RV industry, including Thor who is the biggest player, has been on a tear for the past several years. The industry cranked up production to meet demand, and now the demand may have retracted slightly leaving too much unsold inventory. The biggest demand in towables was entry level mostly bought by first time buyers. These products and buyers generate the most warranty claims which eat into profits. Couple that with dealers, who because of demand have resorted to hiring inept technicians, and unexpected tariffs on raw materials, and the result is what you see today in Elkhart.

[MDKMDK]

Not unusual for stock share price to take a temporary hit on word of "yet another" acquisition, aka spending a fortune on EHG. Didn't they just acquire Jayco 2 years ago?

[BB_TX]

Not defending Thor, but one quarter doesn’t mean much in the big picture. Especially when part of a record sales year. But shareholders are always quick to panic on the slightest change.

[Lwiddis]

Yes, Forest River quality is much better...lol.

[Jim]

They have gotten tons of bad social media coverage by outraged consumers lately and over at least a year that I remember due to their shoddy workmanship.

Not surprised they are having sales problems.

[MDKMDK]

They just spent $2.45B buying Erwin Hymer Group.
Maybe that's got something to do with it?