Coachmen Unveils 2005 RVs; Dealer Orders Total Record $130 Million
July 21 2004 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Coachmen Unveils 2005 RVs; Dealer Orders Total Record $130 Million
Dealers Thrilled With Products, Company Operations, New Encore Rear
Diesel MIDDLEBURY, Ind., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Visitors
to Las Vegas found plenty of glitz and glamour on full display -
not on the city's famed Strip, but instead at the Coachmen
Recreational Vehicle Company Dealer Seminar in June. Coachmen
emerged a winner by taking in a record $130 million in orders, a 30
percent increase over the record sales generated last year. Dealers
responded enthusiastically to the Company's introduction of its
2005 product lineup. Coachmen unveiled a dynamic new rear diesel
motorhome called the Sportscoach(R) Encore(TM), a special
Anniversary Edition travel trailer in recognition of the Company's
40th year of operation and numerous new floor plans and enhanced
product features. Dealers also applauded recent operational changes
made by the Company, such as dedicated manufacturing facilities and
Product Managers to focus on each market segment. "The products are
spectacular," said Tom Dewalt, Vice President of Dewalt's RV in
Easton, Pa., a Coachmen dealer since 1967. "The motorized products
really stand out and the towables are all good. In fact, there is
so much good stuff, it's hard to single one out." Randy Howard
agreed. The owner of Howard RV Supercenter, a full-line Coachmen
dealer in St. Louis, said he's very pleased with the 2005 products.
"The quality, the refinements, the attention to detail - the
products are all outstanding." "With a record number of dealers in
attendance, the reception to what our Company is doing from a
product and business standpoint was enormously positive," said
Michael R. Terlep, President of Coachmen Recreational Vehicle
Company. "They were extremely pleased with our 2005 line of
products and the strategic course of the Company. For the 2005
model year, we undertook a tactical product line consolidation that
will enable our dealers to increase their profitability in each
major market segment through improved turns, market share and
overall sales. "Our dealers also applauded our efforts for timely
availability of these new products," continued Terlep, "as well as
the organizational changes we have executed to improve our product
focus within our market segments. The record number of orders at
our annual Dealer Seminar was a rewarding confirmation of our
direction, and bodes very well for continued sales growth." Terlep
said Coachmen's Class A retail registrations have increased
dramatically over the last year and are up 22 percent year-to-date
through May, the most recent month for which data is available.
Much of the success the Company has enjoyed in motorhome sales has
come in the diesel market segment and has been driven by the
popularity of its Sportscoach models. The new double-slide
Sportscoach Encore(TM), for example, easily created the biggest
stir at the Seminar. A rear diesel aimed at the mid-price market,
it features a raised rail chassis with enormous exterior
pass-through storage bays and a visually stunning array of
full-paint graphics. Its huge 38-inch- deep coach slideroom and
spacious bedroom slideout suite provides as much living space as
many triple-slide models. While every Class A on display received
critical applause, the dazzling Sportscoach rear diesels seemed to
be some of the most popular. "We can't keep the Sportscoach Cross
Country SE model in stock because it's selling so well," noted
Howard. In Class C's, Coachmen's retail registrations are up 12.8
percent through May. That increase is especially notable, as
Coachmen is now the Class C model retail sales leader, according to
the latest report from Statistical Surveys, Inc., an independent
market research firm. Following up on the successful debut of the
Concord(TM) C+ at last year's Seminar, Coachmen introduced a
29-foot double slide Concord that includes a cathedral window. The
new Freelander(TM) 2600 also boasts a cathedral window, plus a
mammoth rear storage bay with three access doors. Another new
Freelander, the 3150 Super Slide, stands tall with a ceiling height
of 6 feet 10 inches to go along with its 96 cu. ft. of exterior
storage. Coachmen's towable models generated considerable praise as
well. An Anniversary Edition travel trailer is available in two
floor plans: a 30-foot rear bath model with one slideroom; and a
35-foot front kitchen model with two sliderooms, including a king
bed in the bedroom. Both models come packaged with special
features, options and graphics. In addition to its many new models
and product enhancements, Coachmen has also streamlined and
consolidated its product lines for 2005, eliminating similar floor
plans that competed with each other and developing feature and
option packages for each model line. Terlep said that by
streamlining the 2005 lineup, each of Coachmen's product lines
attacks a primary dedicated target market. "Streamlining allows for
significant focus on our product lines so we can provide
best-sellers to our dealers to fully maximize profitability. We'll
improve our lead times, production efficiencies, product quality
and our sales focus, and capitalize on our core competencies in
order to continue providing our dealers and our retail customers
with superior, family-friendly RVs built with unparalleled value,"
Terlep stated. Along with the benefits of product streamlining,
Terlep noted Coachmen's strong production position due to having
manufacturing facilities dedicated to rear diesel products, Class
C's, fifth wheels and conventional towable products. "Our
production capacities are up over last year, and we're in a
position to accommodate significant growth during the next year."
Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC markets travel trailers,
fifth wheel trailers, class A and class C motorhomes. A subsidiary
of Elkhart, Indiana-based Coachmen Industries, Inc., Coachmen RV
Company was founded in 1964 in Middlebury, Ind., where its
headquarters and largest manufacturing facility are located. A
manufacturing site is also located in Fitzgerald, Ga. WALT DISNEY
WORLD(R) Resort has designated Coachmen as the official
recreational vehicle of Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and
Campground and Disney's Wide World of Sports(TM) complex in
Florida. Coachmen Industries, Inc., now celebrating its 40th
anniversary, is one of America's leading manufacturers of
recreational vehicles with well-known brand names including
COACHMEN(R), GEORGIE BOY(TM), SPORTSCOACH(R) and VIKING(R). The
Company's subsidiary, ALL AMERICAN HOMES(R), is the nation's
largest producer of systems-built modular homes. Coachmen
Industries is also a major builder of commercial structures with
its ALL AMERICAN BUILDING SYSTEMS(TM) and MILLER BUILDING
SYSTEMS(TM) products. Prodesign, LLC is a subsidiary that produces
custom composite and thermoformed plastic parts for numerous
industries under the PRODESIGN(R) brand. Coachmen Industries, Inc.
is a publicly held company with stock listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker COA. This release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which
are inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ materially from
that projected or suggested due to certain risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, the potential fluctuations in the
Company's operating results, the condition of the
telecommunications industry which purchases modular structures, the
impact of performance on the valuation of intangible assets, the
availability and the price of gasoline, the Company's dependence on
chassis and appliance suppliers, interest rates, the availability
and cost of real estate for residential housing, the ability of the
Housing and Building segment to perform in new market segments
where it has limited experience, adverse weather conditions
affecting home deliveries, competition, government regulations,
legislation governing the relationships of the Company with its
recreational vehicle dealers, the impact of consumer confidence and
economic uncertainty on high-cost discretionary product purchases,
further developments in the war on terrorism and related
international crises, oil supplies, and other risks identified in
the Company's SEC filings. DATASOURCE: Coachmen Industries, Inc.
CONTACT: Rich Allen, Corporate Communications of Coachmen
Industries, Inc., +1-574-262-0123, or Web site:
http://www.coachmen.com/ http://www.coachmenrv.com/
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