People check out RVs on display during the Elkhart RV Dealer Open House on Tuesday. Thousands of the latest models are on display for dealers across the country. Staff photo by Robert Franklin
Thousands of RVs are on display during the Elkhart RV Dealer Open House, which continued through Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Staff photo by Robert Franklin
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ELKHART -- Time will tell whether the extravagance on display at the RV Dealer Open House going on this week pays off with business for manufacturers and suppliers.
A successful show will be measured in billions of dollars in orders from the 3,000-plus dealers in attendance at the annual event, which now stretches nearly 7 miles from the RV/ MH Hall of Fame to the Elkhart County Airport.
It’s a show designed to bedazzle dealers from around the country who are being treated to top-shelf foods, beverages, lots of expensive giveaways as the big manufacturers vie for their business.
Big-time entertainment is also part of the game.
Keith Urban was set to perform Tuesday night on a massive stage built in the 36-acre site where Thor Industries is displaying some 550 RV units. The second largest RV maker, Forest River, will entertain its dealers on Wednesday night at its massive site with Styx as well as Big and Rich.
But despite the over-the-top hospitality, the fact remains that RV shipments have been sliding for more than a year, though industry insiders argue that the downturn is more the result of an inventory glut of about 75,000 RVs that flooded the market in 2018 and still could take a few months to work out of the system.
“I’ve talked to seven or eight RV executives, and everyone is saying it’s the result of an inventory adjustment,” said Kevin Broom, director of media relations for the RV Industry Association.
Even somewhat higher costs caused by tariffs haven’t dramatically affected the industry, as some of the price increases have been absorbed through efficiency gains in other areas, said Christy Spencer, director of marketing and communications at Keystone RV.
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