Profiles: RVBusiness’ Top 50 Blue Ribbon-Winning Dealers – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hosted by RVBusiness magazine and BJ Thompson Associates (BJTA), the 2023 RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards included five Blue Ribbon dealers, who judges deemed were the “best of the best” for the 12-year-old program.

Hosted by RVBusiness magazine and BJ Thompson Associates (BJTA), the awards reception will be 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Paris Las Vegas during the 2023 RV Dealers International Convention/Expo.

Bent’s RV

Based in Boutte, La., Bent’s RV found themselves in a pickle when lagging inventory orders finally caught up but arrived alongside Hurricane Ida, leaving them with an excess of 2022 models and a drought of shopping customers in the wake of destroyed homes.

While they were left with no choice but to slash prices (and profit margins) on new RVs, the company pivoted with plans to siphon off inventory and restore lot traffic in a hurry. “Taking time to sell 2022s would only increase floor plan interest expense, increase curtailment payments and incur depreciation,” said Briant Bent, president. Bent’s RV doubled down on advertising and kicked off an aggressive “Our Biggest Sale Ever” campaign, flooding all platforms and conducting weekly meetings with their marketing agency to analyze, tweak and prepare for next stages.

They also went against the grain by buying more units from government auctions and flipping newer, lightly-used RVs used for COVID and natural disaster relief. “Most of these campers were in good condition, only requiring marginal repairs,” Bent said. The increased profit margins on flipped units helped offset hits taken on new inventory. Bent cleverly called multi-location dealer friends across the U.S. to alert them of the auctions, providing those dealers with low-cost used inventory while alleviating local government financial burdens and preventing saturation of Bent RV’s market.

Campers Inn RV

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Campers Inn RV, the nation’s largest family-operated RV dealer, utilizes resources among its 38 locations in 18 states (and growing) to provide assistance for several charities, a main one being the outdoor-centric Care Camps benefitting children with cancer and their families all across the United States and Canada.

After previous sponsorship of a golf tournament through the RV/MH Hall of Fame & Museum, Campers Inn RV decided to expand its impact, matching contributions for every dollar donated via payroll deductions. To gain buy-in throughout the entire staff, a team of family members and executives hosted numerous virtual and in-person meetings across the company.

Last year, Campers Inn held its inaugural Glitter and Gold Gala aimed at supporting Care Camps, featuring inspirational speakers sharing their stories to connect with attendees and inspire them to make a difference. The event’s proceeds, including a live auction, silent auction and raffle, raised over half a million dollars .

The organization’s mission of giving cancer-affected families “the magic of summer camps, providing them with hope and happiness in their time of need,” resonates with the company, according to COO Ben Hirsch. In total, Campers Inn RV was able to donate an astounding $700,000 to Care Camps over the last two years.

Greeneway RV Sales & Service

When Greeneway RV Sales & Service in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc., received an influx of inquiries regarding alternative power sources such as lithium batteries, solar panels and inverters, the Ferkey-family ownership invested “a staggering amount of energy” in researching systems outside the norm, according to Matt Ferkey, operations manager. The ultimate result was the design and installation of dozens of custom solutions, ranging from small to the outrageous for customers across the country.

All componentry is meant to be incredibly intuitive to the end user and to “just work,” Ferkey said. Each customer is provided with a personalized schematic of their custom installation, which is usually placed in unused interior space. “Imagine adding eight batteries, two inverters, three solar charge controllers, a battery monitoring system and a whole system touch screen interface that can be monitored from anywhere in the world … and gaining storage space!”

Unusual upfits include off-road cube trucks and converted school buses. “We share a passion with DIYers. One customer was off-grid for over a month and was able to use both air conditioners and microwave, as well as all other appliances, without any constraint or concern for battery power,” he said. “It has been an exciting journey to meet and help so many people achieve their dreams of downsizing and living the RV lifestyle.”

PleasureLand RV Center

Based in St. Cloud, Minn., PleasureLand RV Center impressed the 2023 panel of judges with a laundry list of reasons why they should be a Top 50 dealer, among them its 52-year tenure as a family-owned RV dealership and the longevity of its 276 team members, who offer a combined 2,280 years of RV-industry experience.

Innovative business choices among its 10 locations across Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin include budget lots, a parts surplus store catering to the DIY segment, a partnerhip with Winnebago to stock accessibility-enhanced motorhomes, and an in-center NAPA Auto Parts store that garners an average of 50 extra visitors exposed to RVs per day.

Quite notable is PleasureLand RV’s practice of “expansion through acquisition of well-respected, family-owned dealerships,” most recently in March of 2023 with Brambilla’s RV in Shakopee, Minn. “PleasureLand has offered to retain each and every one of our wonderful employees who wishes to stay, and we know they will treat our customers and suppliers with the respect and dignity they deserve,” said Michelle Brambilla.

“We are proud to acquire these stores and keep their traditions alive, keeping their signage displayed and retaining all of their staff,” said Brad Bacon, CFO. “We welcome the staff members with the same years of service they had prior and grant the same or more PTO time with us.

“We firmly believe in doing business the right way, 100% of the time, without exception.”

Voyager RV Centre

Voyager RV Centre, a single-store dealership in Winfield, B.C., turns to employees to select charitable ventures that hit closest to home through its Voyager Cares initiative kicked off in 2019 by Jason Friesen, vice president and son of owner/founder Rod Friesen.

VRV’s entire staff votes on its top seven locally-based charitable organizations, then assigning a month wherein each is featured on the Voyager RV website, in the store and on social media. At the end of those time frames, each department group also donates $35 to that charity for every RV sold.

The charitable organizations themselves are then invited to come speak to Voyager staff to expound upon their cause and what those donations provided for them, speaking of the impact made on lives right in their community. “We can hear and feel how much it meant and the good we were doing, and it’s always very inspiring and uplifting for all,” related Zach Diebert, marketing manager.

In its last 30 months, Voyager RV staff and the Friesen family donations included $150,000 to Okanagan College toward the construction of a new education facility to help alleviate the skills shortage in the health care industry, as well as matching all donations up to $500,000 to assist Kelowna General Hospital in expanding advanced care for stroke victims.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/profiles-rvbusiness-top-50-blue-ribbon-winning-dealers/