Gold Coast show just the ticket

COMMENT

The crowd was thin on the opening Friday, but whether it was the Premier’s plea to residents to stay off Queensland roads in the aftermath of the State’s severe flooding, the COVID-19 vaccination entry requirement or just the lack of much new to see amongst the 100-odd exhibitors, is up for debate.

For while the sun and puffy clouds traded places on this balmy high-20s day, many of the major industry players were AWOL, replaced by Victorian-built caravans bearing unfamiliar names, while the well-known industry brand names were often on 2020 models being quoted at 2022 prices for 2023 delivery, thanks to COVID supply shortages.

Some, like Sunshine Coast’s established off-road custom builder Bushtracker, were there to fly the flag rather than get ink on contracts. After all, with a 275 per cent increase in the number of new recreational vehicles (caravans, campervans, camper trailers and motorhomes) registered in Queensland in September 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, the industry has experienced unprecedented growth and everyone wanted a bit of it.

“It’s important to remind people of your heritage and your experience in an area which has so many new players,” explained part owner, Matthew Kurvink, who presided over Bushtracker’s prominent three-van display at the Gold Coast Caravan & Outdoor Expo at Metricon Stadium from March 4-6.

As if to make the point, two of the smooth composite-walled Bushtrackers were those we saw at the most recent Brisbane Caravan Show, while the third was a new 18ft show-van featuring the traditional stucco-finished ribbed aluminium exterior cladding favoured by the Kunda Park stalwart, whose roots date back to 1995.

“No two vans we build are ever the same,” said Kurvink, ”and we rarely introduce new models, just evolutions. We just want to show people the options.”

While some of the big national brands like Jayco, Concept, New Age, Australian Off Road, Kedron and Rhinomax didn’t display, perhaps keeping their cashflow and gunpowder dry until Brisbane’s forthcoming Queensland Caravan & Camping Supershow from June 8-13, senior execs from other major national brands on display were also noticeably absent from the Gold Coast’s Metricon stadium at Carrara.

Other exhibitors simply failed to turn up, with Sydney's Marlin Campers posting on social media that the cut-price camper trailer manufacturer had been booked "for site 402 but with the M1 closed from floods we had to turn back and cancel our stand. We will be back in June for the Brisbane show".

Caravan park envy

However, those brands displaying on the whole reported healthy business despite the relatively small crowds, with one Sunshine Coast retailer reporting the sale of a ‘fully loaded’ van retailing in the high $200,000 bracket, on the proviso that the buyer wouldn’t be upstaged by a more expensive 'van of the same brand pulling in next to him in a caravan park!

With cancelled overseas holidays, there's plenty of money out there for high-ticket leisure items it seems.

With extended delivery times for major brands, a number of Queensland dealers have turned to online accessory stores for cashflow, with Australian Off Road, Zone RV and Sunseeker all offering a wide range of caravan lifestyle items from annexes and rooftop tents to generators and electric bikes and scooters (and their associated carrying racks) via their websites.

Another item discussed over after-hours beers was that of filling the time-lapse to new van deliveries by refurbishing older models and selling them like a second franchise, with an attractive factory-backed warranty.

A number of manufacturers have already cottoned on to this additional income stream, capitalising on the high prices commanded by used vans and the expected price increases of new stock when it eventually arrives. It pays the rent and keeps skilled staff employed.

It’s far from a new idea. ‘Warranted Used’ is a familiar concept in the car game, allowing retailers to retain brand-loyal customers rather than releasing them to other dealers.

Move manufacturing north

Another bigger idea being bandied about in these COVID times is the concept of a Queensland caravan-building ‘hub’ that would custom-build and distribute items from full chassis, to composite wall panels and cabinetry for local Queensland retailers, by-passing their current reliance on Victoria’s Campbellfield cottage industry, while saving on interstate freight costs.

Let’s face it, there's not a great deal between caravans, with their major differences being their workmanship and the built-in experience and hence, re-sale.

So why did so many Queensland dealers support the Gold Coast Show?

It was easy and their combined brands attracted more potential customers than their dealerships alone.

Many even occupied the same site as they had before. “It was a no-brainer,” one said. “I put the same vans in the same places and I knew the layout would work, adding that he had already signed up three buyers by lunchtime on the opening day."

Even if you weren’t in the buying mood, there were other things to keep you occupied, such as the free educational seminars on caravan weights and towing, while a free train ferried visitors around the displays spread around the perimeter of the Gold Coast stadium.

For Queenslanders at least, it's all set to happen again at Brisbane's RNA Showgrounds in June...