Winnebago acquires Newmar

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by joes2901

I think it is pertinent due to our concerns about the continuation of Newmar as a source of quality motorhomes and service. How/why does someone dump the corpse of a profitible, well regarded, company with repeat customers and walk away with cash and become an employee of the company now under the strictures of a large corporation whose culture and exec/mgmt thinking prohibited it from building higher quality motorhomes and service than Newmar.

Posts regarding the tax impact when selling a business was answered with minimal info about insurance and tax planning.

Seems pretty straight forward. Family gets a bucket of cash, Matt and Virgil likely gets the same compensation as before being sold, can make decisions that have little risk so is able to go home at night and sleep.

[twogypsies]

Winnebago is not going to mess with the quality of Newmar. It's not advantageous to them to do that. They'll definitely loose out. For now, Newmar says they'll still be independent and give the same quality and service. For those that say they'll never buy a 'Newinnie' or whatever they will be called..... what WILL you buy in that price range? Let's give the whole thing a chance. It's extremely hard nowadays for family-owned businesses to survive. Personally, I think it's a wise move for everyone involved. There's nothing we can do about it. It's done. Accept it and move on.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Personally, I think it's a wise move for everyone involved. There's nothing we can do about it. It's done. Accept it and move on.

And that about sums it up.

For those that are still concerned, go to the Entegra forum, go back two years to the Thor buyout. Pretty much that same thing said and by some of the same people. Look at the Entegra Forum today, nothing has changed. Still a great coach, still a lot a happy owners.

[NealC]

Will Winnie dealerships be able to sell Newmar? Does this expand the seller market?

I'm not concerned about buying a Newmar, it will always be a Newmar. The most vulnerable period in my opinion is the builds between the day this was announced and 6 months forward. Imagine the sentiment of this thread among the workers who feel abandoned, unknowns, etc. Do they not care as much in the work now?

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by NealC

Will Winnie dealerships be able to sell Newmar? Does this expand the seller market?

I'm not concerned about buying a Newmar, it will always be a Newmar. The most vulnerable period in my opinion is the builds between the day this was announced and 6 months forward. Imagine the sentiment of this thread among the workers who feel abandoned, unknowns, etc. Do they not care as much in the work now?

Having been a part of several M&A deals the thing to watch is the infusion rate of Winnebago middle and senior management into Newmar the first year. If you don't see a lot of activity, it is unlikely there will be any major changes to business as usual for some time. You can't blow up a new acquisition without some troops on the ground.

[Jtrving]

I don't know any more than anyone else here but here are my thoughts...

It will be business as usual for at least the next 1-2 years. Both of these companies are smart enough not to sabotage the brand. Some things will get better (better electronics, components, maybe warranty?) due to the sheer volume purchasing power they now have. Some things will get worse (flexibility of fixing things out of warranty, being able to call your service person on a Sunday afternoon, more complicated dealer network, etc.?). We can only speculate at this point.

The true litmus test will come when (not if) the next economic downturn comes. This is where a corporation will behave differently than a private owner. The corporation has to answer to its Board of Directors and to a lesser extent their shareholders, and will do what's fiscally responsible to accomplish this task - most times this is bad news for the employees and the consumers. The loyalty to workers, community, etc. will not factor into this equation like it did when it was privately owned and the Miller family infused their own cash into the company at the last downturn to keep it afloat.

Like many have said, no need worrying about it. What will be will be.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

This thread is still going? Is there that much "butt-hurt" to get folks to abandon a brand that has been of great value to them?


Like I said a dozen pages ago, send me the title to your Newmar and I'll send the title to my Four Winds (pre-Thor, if that helps!).


I've seen consolidation in other industries - Turbopilot and Jtrving are spot on in their assessments. My prediction is that nothing will change for several months, perhaps for a couple of years. Once Winnebago decides exactly how to fit the Newmar brand into the Winne-sphere we'll see management changes.


I'd expect to see long-time Newmar corporate employees eyeing retirement perhaps sooner than later but overall I think the wailing and gnashing of teeth shown in this thread is inappropriate to the situation. I hope you all enjoy your paranoia and fears... so now it's back to the over-sanitation threads and diesel fuel content worries!


Have fun, safe travels, and don't worry about stuff you can't change.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by Solo_RV_Guy

This thread is still going? Is there that much "butt-hurt" to get folks to abandon a brand that has been of great value to them?


Like I said a dozen pages ago, send me the title to your Newmar and I'll send the title to my Four Winds (pre-Thor, if that helps!).


I've seen consolidation in other industries - Turbopilot and Jtrving are spot on in their assessments. My prediction is that nothing will change for several months, perhaps for a couple of years. Once Winnebago decides exactly how to fit the Newmar brand into the Winne-sphere we'll see management changes.


I'd expect to see long-time Newmar corporate employees eyeing retirement perhaps sooner than later but overall I think the wailing and gnashing of teeth shown in this thread is inappropriate to the situation. I hope you all enjoy your paranoia and fears... so now it's back to the over-sanitation threads and diesel fuel content worries!


Have fun, safe travels, and don't worry about stuff you can't change.

Yes, and you just made the 443 post.........check back in 1 year

[RKins]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

Having been a part of several M&A deals the thing to watch is the infusion rate of Winnebago middle and senior management into Newmar the first year. If you don't see a lot of activity, it is unlikely there will be any major changes to business as usual for some time. You can't blow up a new acquisition without some troops on the ground.

Yes, exactly what I saw when GE bought our company. We were a Life Safety (Fire and Security) company and the "middle ware" that GE moved into our company was phenomenal and where they came from - GE capital, GE Appliances, GE Aviation, everywhere except any place that knew a thing about Life Safety. Even brought in a new CEO that had zero experience in Life Safety (he didn't last too long). They were only numbers focused - "How do I triple the business in 3 years".

GE bought up a lot of companies and tried to merge them together to make a "Honeywell" or "Siemens" type company that was a one-stop shop for a building owners.

They ended up destroying all of the companies that they purchased in this endeavor (hollowing out and taking IP/cash) except they couldn't destroy us. We were a $400M company and they paid $1.6B for us plus all the other companies they purchased to make this "new company". Finally they had enough and put "the new company" on the sales block and ended up selling everything for $1.2B. UTC bought the new company. We were still a $400M company when they sold. They did however cause untold damage to our distribution channels. I moved to a different company the day UTC took over.
So YES, if they start moving a lot of mid and upper management over, that is a bad sign. At least with WGO, they are in the same industry channel so the people they move over will understand the RV lingo.

[Wild Card]

So...is my 09 Horizon going up in value as well? Figure I can turn a profit off it in a couple years and pick up a Dutchstar or Mountain Air for pennies on the dollar.

Sounds like a win win for me

[gtsum2]

This was inevitable imo. Hopefully they let the miller’s run Newmar as is

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by NealC

Will Winnie dealerships be able to sell Newmar? Does this expand the seller market?

Likely, no. Even with Winnebago, there aren't "Winnebago dealers" but instead dealers that can sell certain lines/sub brands. Such as there were limited dealers that were selling Cambria's. I believe they have different dealers for the views vs. Navions (even though they are the same coaches, just different branding).

Thor does the same thing. They have identical products across different brands, and so one dealer might sell the Axis and then a mile away, a dealer is selling the Vegas (same coach, different paint).

So, first you have this, where even with virtually identical coaches, they split them up based on dealers, but then when you take things like Thor's entegra, not every Thor dealer is an Entegra dealer.

So, while I wouldn't be surprised if they expanded the Newmar dealer network (and in some areas, they really need to), I'll be very surprised if it's a wholesale expansion where any Winne dealer can now sell Newmars.

[Unicorn Driver]

I was on the phone with Winneago Tech support earlier this week (who are always great to deal with). When done I asked about the acquisition and the Tech reckoned it was Winnebago buying up the compettion.

[Jabber Jaw]

Like in the automobile industry.....any Dealer must execute a Dealer Franchise Agreement with each Manufacturer for which he sells a product!

An opinion...since the acquisition....Newmar may expand the Dealer network, but only by a few Dealers in selective market areas!

Better yet....wouldn't it fantastic if Winnebago Industries expanded into a "Technician Education Degree" College, and could produce actual school trained technicians for all Winnebago & Newmar Dealers across the country!
Now that would be a "WIN-WIN" for everyone in the RV Industry, Dealers & Owners too!
Opps....just woke up....but it was a nice dream!