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Strong sales a bright spot for RVs
Buoyed by strong retail sales in 2002,
recreation vehicle manufacturers report
they are boosting production to keep pace
with growing consumer demand for their
products. Additionally, the industry’s
strong overall business performance is
seen as a bright spot and a leading
indicator in the nation’s overall eco
nomic outlook, analysts say.
Sales are up by double digits both
wholesale and retail, according to market
data compiled by Recreation Vehicle
Industry Association and Statistical
Surveys Inc.
July posted the seventh straight month
of gains in total RV wholesale shipments
jumping 30.7 percent compared with
the same month a year earlier.
Figures for the first half of 2002 show
RV wholesale shipments up 16.1 percent
and retail sales ahead 12.4 percent com
pared with the same period in 2001.
Helping drive RV sales are low inter
est rates, the vast baby boomer market
and more vacationers opting for domestic
road trips in the post-9/11 travel climate,
industry officials report. Many vacation
ers are avoiding the hassles of airports
and air travel, lured instead to the greater
flexibility, control and comfort offered by
RV travel.
RV wholesale shipments are now pro
jected to rise to 294,400 units in 2002
more than an estimated $lO billion in
sales —a 14.6 percent increase from last
year, according to independent market
analyst DeWolf Associates in Reston, Va.
Survey: Holiday sales expected to show decline
According to the annual
Holiday Spending Survey by
Myvesta, Americans plan to
spend slightly less on holiday
purchases this year. The aver
age holiday shopper will
spend $722 this year, down
from $773 in 2001. Forty-two
percent of shoppers plan on
spending less than SSOO.
“With people still uncer
tain about the economy and
job security, their mindset is to
hold onto more of their hard
earned cash,” said Steve
Rhode, president and co
founder of Myvesta, a finan
cial health center. “Even
though our economy has
shown some slight growth in
the third quarter, it’s not mak
ing a difference to your aver
age consumer.”
Although many people are
planning to cut back on their
spending or spend about the
same on gifts as last year,
Rhode says that some people
will inevitably spend more
than they had originally
planned.
“As much as people say
gains from 9A
same period in fiscal year 2001.
~ Actual earnings for the nine months ended
Sept. 30 were $1.6 million or 5 cents per share,
compared to $6.7 million or 26 cents per share
compared to the year-earlier period.
I In a release to the media Nov. 8, First
Hprizon Chairman/President/CEO Mahendra
G; Shah, Ph.D, stated: “During the quarter we
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This is better than previously forecast due
to low dealer inventories and continued
market growth.
Business performance date collected
from RVIA member companies reveal
significant increases in production capac
ity for 2002 and 2003. Rising orders have
prompted RV manufactures to hire addi
tional workers, open new assembly lines,
expand existing plants and construct new
facilities.
“Sales are brisk, with many new buyer
prospects not previously considering an
RV purchase,” said Norm Jacobson,
director of sales and marketing, lance
Camper Manufacturing Corp. Lancaster,
Calif. “Units are disappearing from dealer
inventory quickly, causing dealers to sub
mit orders as fast as they can be built.
Truck manufacturer incentives are proba
bly helping, as we see many buyers with
new trucks.”
“Dealer inventories are currently at
their lowest levels in several years,”
remarked Sid Johnson, director of mar
keting, Jayco Inc., Middlebury, Ind.
“This, coupled with strong retail sales
trends, bodes well for the balance of
2002. Expect the first half of next year to
be a continuation of the current strong
trend.”
Don Emahiser, vice president of sales
and marketing, Starcraft RV, Topeka, Ind.,
foresees the manufacturing climate as
“operating at peak capacity throughout
the winter [and] looking at expansion
ideas to help meet sales demands this
they are going to cut back on
their spending, what they say
and what they do can often be
two very different things,”
Rhode said. “Even though
most people have an idea of
how much they are planning
to spend many of them never
develop a plan about what
kinds of gifts they are going to
buy. After wandering around
the mall picking up things
here and there, they often get
home to a much larger bill
than they had originally antici
pated.”
Although the average pro
jection of spending by con
sumers was $722 this year,
almost 20 percent of those sur
veyed said they didn’t have
any idea of how much they
were going to spend.
“Those who don’t have a
dollar figure in their mind for
their holiday purchases are
going to be the most surprised
when they end up tallying the
total for their gifts,” Rhode
said. “Having a plan and stick
ing with it can save hundreds
of dollars, giving you a more
made substantial progress on the execution of
key strategic marketing and sales plans, sales
force training and educational outreach pro
grams.
“We have prioritized our line extension and
development programs and continue to expand
and strengthen our intellectual property posi
tion.”
enjoyable and less stressful
holiday season.”
Some holiday shopping
tips from Myvesta include:
• Carry only two cards
when shopping. Use one with
a zero balance for purchases
you will pay off in full. Use
the other, low-interest-rate
card for purchases you will
pay off over three to six
months.
• Record all of your pur
chases in your checkbook reg
ister. Even if you don’t write a
check, subtract the amount of
the purchase. That way, when
the bill arrives, the money will
be in your checking account to
pay the bill in full.
• Avoid “buy now and pay
later” offers, which encourage
you to spend money you don’t
have.
• Use a low-rate, major
credit card instead of high-rate
department store cards.
• Don’t apply for depart
ment store cards just to get a
one-time discount.
The annual Myvesta
Holiday Survey was conduct-
coming spring.”
Also anticipating continued market
growth, Bruce Hertke, chairman, CEO
and president of Winnebago Industries
Inc., Forest City, lowa, commented, “The
RV industry will remain strong, perhaps
increasing another 8-10 percent in the
first half of 2003.”
Long-term trends point to substantial
RV market growth because of favorable
demographic trends. As aging baby
boomers enter their prime RV-buying
years over the next decade, the number of
RV-owning households is projected to
rise 15 percent by 2010, outpacing overall
U.S. household growth of 10 percent,
according to a 2001 University of
Michigan study.
Over the past four years, the study
found the number of RVs owned by those
35 to 54 grew faster than all other age
groups, underscoring the success of a S4O
million industry advertising campaign
(Go RVing) aimed at the baby boomer.
Economists have traditionally viewed
the RV industry as a leading economic
indicator.
“The RV industry is among the first to
recover from economic downturn,”
explained RVIA President David J.
Humphreys, “indicating an upswing may
be ahead for the nation’s economy.”
RVIA is the national association rep
resenting nearly 500 manufacturers and
component suppliers producing approxi
mately 98 percent of all RVs made in the
United States.
ed Oct. 25-27, 2002. some
other survey results include:
• Those aged 35-44 plan to
spend $977 on holiday gifts,
the most of any age group.
• Men plan to spend almost
22 percent more on holiday
gifts than women. Men will
spend $795 and women will
spend $653.
• Those who are married
plan tq spend 52 percent more
than single people. Married
individuals will spend $839
and singles will spend $551.
• People in the West will
spend the most on holiday
purchases this year, averaging
S7BO per person. Those in the
Midwest will spend the least
with an average of $648.
People in the Northeast will
spend $743 and those in the
South plan to spend $721.
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A | Ito Alpharetta, GA 30005 JL T
BB LANMCATU
Exit 12 McFarland Rd B 5610 McGinnis Ferry Road, Bldg 1 HubbmwHSwn'Rd Crossroads Rd
# 770-740-2820
- / Cumming, GA 30040 <9 ,
'[ V j 5765 Hubbard Town Road
ALPHARETTA CUMMING
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, Novsmber 17,2002 I
Business notes
Eckerd Drug Stores Inc.,
... a subsidiary of the
JCPenney Co., has reported
that third quarter 2002 operat
ing profits more than doubled
to $79 million compared with
the S3O million in profits
reported in third quarter 2001.
In addition, operating profit
increased by 130 basis points
to 2.2 percent of sales.
Company officials said the
Improvement in Eckerd’s
operating profit resulted from
a combination of increased
gross margin and leveraging of
expenses.
Comparable store sales
increased by 4.9 percent dur
ing the quarter, with pharmacy
sales increasing 7.3 percent
while nonpharmacy, or front
end, sales were flat. Pharmacy
sales were negatively impacted
by higher generic substitution
rates.
The strongest front-end
categories for the quarter were
household products, bever
ages, baby and hygiene prod
ucts, and cosmetics and fra
grances.
The Johns Creek
... Business Association
will meet and elect new offi
cers for the coming year on
Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
at EBC Office Centers, 6465
E. Jones Crossing. The host is
Kathy Bracewell of EBC.
Slated to take office are
Robin Grier, Edward Jones
Investments, president; Greg
Martin, ERA Sunrise Realty,
vice president; Bracewell, sec
retary; and Degan Sharp,
Wachovia Bank, treasurer.
For more information, call
(678) 474-9110.
Financial workshops
... will be sponsored by the
Cumming Recreation & Parks
Department featuring local
investment advisor Rex
Abbott. •
The next seminars is
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 9-11 a.m.
Women and Investing.
Topics will include wills, liv
ing trusts, the important of
making smart investments and
estate planning.
• Tuesday, Dec. 3, 6:30-
8:30 p.m. Tax-Free
Investing. Topics will include
the different types of tax-free
investment opportunities, the
benefits of such options and
developing strategies designed
to protect income.
For information and to reg
ister, call the city at 770-781-
2030 or 770-781-2010.
Disaster assistance
... for local small business
es is available through the U.S.
Small Business Administration
if damage occurred during
recent heavy rains and flood
ing.
Applications are available
from the SBA office/Area 2,1
Baltimore Place, Suite 300,
Atlanta, GA 30308.
The deadlines for filing are
Dec. 2 and July 3, 2003.
Tugaloo Home
... Health Agency on
Wednesday celebrated the
grand opening of its new home
care office at 416 Pirkle Ferry
Drive, Suite H-200.
Owner Linda Frakes
... has opened the Curves
for Women facility in the new
Cruse Marketplace shopping
center on Hwy. 20 at Samples
Road. The 30-minute fitness
and weight loss center pro
vides a successful blend of
exercise and diet.
For information, call
Frakes at (678) 513-0670.
Income tax training
... programs will be offered
at the Georgia Mountains
Center in Gainesville Dec. 5-
6, sponsored by the University
of Georgia Center for
Continuing Education and the
UGA Small Business
Development Center. ’
The tax programs will
include a one-day 1040 work
shop and a one-day income tax
legislative update presented by
a host of tax experts.
The programs are designed
to enable participants to advise
clients on tax law changes,
work with the changes, plan
ning and compliance and tax
return preparation.
To register or for more
information, call Holly
Preston at (800) 884-1381.
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