Gidget shuts up shop

A Queensland manufacturer of some of the world’s most expensive teardrop campers has shut its gates after five years of operation.

Brisbane-based Gidget Campers recently entered voluntary administration due to insolvency, with customers alerted that manufacturing had ceased at the company’s Brendale factory.

The announcement leaves dozens of customers who paid substantial deposits for undelivered Gidget campers in limbo, with 80 customers in Australia and the US reportedly owed $1.5 million in unreturned deposits.

A first meeting of creditors is set for January 23 at the Brisbane offices of Worrells Solvency & Forensic Accountants, the appointed administrators.

Roller coaster ride

Husband and wife team Glenn Wills and Christine Bree originally imported Asian-built bodies for final fitment in Australia but quality issues meant they turned to full local production of the Gidget’s lightweight marine ply framed bodies with their fibreglass skins.

In 2015 the company told Caravancampingsales that it employed around 14 production staff, many of them skilled tradespeople tasked with producing around 70 campers annually.

Launching two years earlier, Gidget quickly caught the attention of enthusiasts globally after posting a series of videos on social media of its innovative teardrop camper,  which featured a patented slide-out that converted the compact interior into a king-size bedroom.

A big hit at caravan shows, the Gidget featured plenty of other eye candy not normally seen on entry-level teardrop campers, like a toughened glass cooktop and polished timber cabinetry, not to mention ‘big caravan’ features like a waste tank, solar panels and alarm system.

While basic models were available from around $20,000, Gidget spruiked a headline-grabbing, feature-packed off-road model in early-2017 that cost as much as $67,000.

The fledgling company also had ambitions to set up an overseas manufacturing facility after establishing an outlet in the USA.

Disgruntled customers

However, in more recent times a backlog of orders and delivery delays resulted in some disgruntled customers venting their frustration on social media, with some claiming to have threatened legal action in order to cancel orders and recoup deposits.

Tracy Leigh from the ‘Lemon Caravans and RVs in Aus’ Facebook support group said that many customers that had paid in full or substantial deposits stand to lose all their money.

"Some customers have been waiting over two years for their camper trailer to be built, with promise after promise broken," she claimed in a press release.