Solid Attendance, Sales Seen During Hershey RV Show – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
For an industry looking for any sort of sign that the market might be poised for a return, the good showing of America’s Largest RV Show in Hershey, Pa., is welcome news indeed.
While the final attendance of 47,879 didn’t set any records, it was about 2,300 more people than last year and, just as importantly, participating manufacturers, dealers and suppliers all had plenty of positive things to say about the caliber of show-goers who made their way to the Giant Center this year for a show that was hosted by the Pennsylvania RV and Campground Association (PRVCA).
“The majority of manufacturers and dealers I talked to said that they had a really good show, and that it was better than what they expected,” said PRVCA Executive Director Heather Leach. “There was a handful that were saying you still have to really work to sell and that it’s maybe not as easy as it was a few years ago. But the general consensus that I’ve gotten from people was that they were very, very pleased and the traffic flow was good. And, honestly, there was very little complaints to me – and that’s a good sign.
“I mean, the weather definitely helped,” she continued. “We will take a rain-free week and it was beautiful all week, so that definitely works in our favor. But I was very happy to see the optimism that was out there. I think that’s kind of what our industry needs right now. So, I was glad to see that out here at the show, and hopefully that continues into the coming year.”
Leach also wished to publicly thank her “remarkable team” for successfully pulling off yet another event.
“We have a staff of seven, however, we have all of our part-time people, our operations team, our ticketing people, our golf cart taxis – and none of this would be possible without them being here,” Leach said. “They make my job very easy. That’s how I know they’re a good team: When I know I can delegate whatever it is and it will be done. It certainly would not be possible without them. So, it goes far beyond our office staff and they’re a great group of people for sure.”
Others with whom RVBusiness spoke agreed with Leach’s show assessment:
• Ashley Bontrager Lehman, Founder/President/CEO of Ember Recreational Vehicles
“Despite the market conditions that we’ve all been experiencing throughout the year, we felt positive about the show,” she said. “Sales were solid and reception was good, not only to our product, but I felt like the enthusiasm for RVing was back in a really good place. I probably went into the show with more of a, I don’t want to say negative, but I wasn’t expecting a whole lot just with the way the market has been. But I was pleasantly pleased with how the show went.
• Doug Miller, brand manager, REV Recreation Group
“We are always super excited to participate in the Hershey show,” Miller said. “Obviously, it’s been a staple in the industry as far as retail events have gone for years and years and years, and this year’s show didn’t disappoint from an attendance standpoint. However, just on a side note, we were kind of tucked back away in a corner, and being that we’re one of the premier Class A, Class C, and Class B motorized manufacturer, we kind of felt like we got a little bit of a short stick there. But we made the best of it. We had a great looking display. I think our numbers relative to the amount of people that found us were good and we thought our product stood tall and our salespeople worked hard.”
• Weston Dunker, director of sales/marketing, for REV Recreation Group
“Overall it was a good show for us. We were more cautiously optimistic going into it with it being the barometer for the direction the market’s headed. So, we started off the first couple of days and we exceeded our prior year sales, so that was really encouraging as we headed into the weekend. Although traffic seemed to pick up, our sales did not, but we were still overall fairly pleased with the show,” Dunker said.
“The thing that was most interesting to me – for us at least, I don’t know if the other OEMs and dealers experienced this on the motorized side – probably 70% of our deals were diesels versus gas. And I think that’s probably the inverse of what this show is historically about. Maybe it’s been 50-50 in the past, but the first day 75% of our deals were diesels and we’re like, ‘This is kind of weird. Maybe we’ll sell some more gas tomorrow.’ And then the next day it was the same thing,” he added.
• Jon Ferrando, President and CEO, Blue Compass RV
Ferrando attended the Hershey Show and considered it a very positive retail experience for his 102-store dealer group based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. “It was fantastic,” said Ferrando. “The weather was great all week. Solid crowds. As far as the overall show, the attendance was down from 2017 to 2021, but up over 2023. Blue Compass had an exceptional week. Our teams were well prepared. We brought our best sales talent and in terms of sales in our exhibits, we smashed last year’s results. We were up 30 percent, and we set an all-time record for Entegra motorhome sales with almost 100.”
All in all, he added, it was a well timed experience, given recent RV industry sales trends, and he thinks it’s a good signal for the upcoming Elkhart RV Open House.
“It’s a good sign. Now the attendance is still probably one of the two lowest of the last ten years, but the crowds were solid and there were serious buyers out there and we had great show.”
• Claude Donati, managing member NeXus RV
“We sold two more units than we did a year ago. We expected to do a little more than that although the crowd was high quality. We thought the customers were not complaining about the economy,” Donati said.
“The affluent, older customer was out there and vibrant. We worked with General RV and they had about five or six of the bigger displays and most of the numbers I saw coming through were from that time period and that demographic.”
On the weekend, NeXus expected a little more business, but that wasn’t the case.
“Saturday was a little softer than we thought it was and we didn’t do much on Sunday,” Donati explained. “I thought were were headed for a record show and then over the weekend it kind of dissipated. I think the blue-collar, working man and woman probably don’t have the wherewithal to pull the trigger like they have in years past.”
Even so, Donati said overall volume was up two units over last year – from 20 to 22 – with a good mix of product being sold.
• Ben Hirsch, chief operating officer at Campers Inn RV
“Hershey show was great for us this year,” Hirsch said. “We actually saw – when we look at most of our booths year-over-year – improved performance, so we though that was really good and we’re pretty happy with the overall turnout of the show. We’re leaving that show pretty optimistic from what we’re seeing.”
Campers Inn only brought motorized units to the show, Hirsch said, adding that he wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from consumers, but, “It was a good show for us, so I’m not complaining.”
