Fun Town RV’s ‘DFW RV Party’ Draws Nearly 50,000 Attendees – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Jarrod McGhee, CEO and owner of Fort Worth, Texas-based Fun Town RV, says things went extremely well for its “DFW RV Party,” an annual retail show that took place this past weekend (April 11-14) at the iconic AT&T Stadium – home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.
McGhee said the DFW show, which he describes as more of a Texas-style party rather than a conventional retail venue with some 300 RVs representing most every significant RV brand set up both inside and outside the stadium, drew more than 49,000 attendees – about a thousand more than last year – for a show that included a popular Texas-style barbecue contest that garnered state-wide attention and enhanced the show’s reputation as “the biggest and best RV show in Texas.”
Adding to the show’s edge, he noted, was the fact that it featured free parking and admission as McGhee over the years has come to the conclusion that it’s “ridiculous” to charge people to come and shop for RV’s – not to mention free concerts and autograph sessions with Dallas Cowboy greats like Randy White, Brandon Aubrey and Michael Irvin (see video below).
“It was great,” McGhee told RVBusiness this morning (April 15). “We had a little uptick in attendance. It was right around what we had last year, but sales were up about 10%. So, we were pleased with that. Last year’s crowd was a little tighter – a little harder to make that sale happen. This year, it was like a more traditional RV crowd and it seemed like there was a lot of pent-up energy with customers who had been waiting for a while to buy.
“And it was good to see people smiling and having fun and looking forward to camping this summer and they were looking to buy – or trade up to – new RVs. So, we were very pleased with it. It was more like a traditional show.”
All things considered, said McGhee, whose dealership currently manages some 24 “rooftops” with the recent addition of a Texarkana, Ark., facility, the AT&T show was almost like business as usual within the RV industry despite recent headwinds in the marketplace.
“Yes, I’ve been working the stores and talking to the customers all year trying to gauge how this year was going to go,” he said, “and it wasn’t like this two months ago. This was a lot different. I don’t know if it’s just that the customers have had enough time to get used to the interest rates or there’s just enough pent-up energy, but this was the best show we’ve had and the best customer experience that I’ve seen them reacting to wanting to get out there and go camping again.”
