The big news is the new Executive Leadership Team (ELT), all headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. On the product side of the house the Grand Tour (I think it's 45' long and with a side radiator) is now the big dog or queen of the fleet. Build quality looks quite good, great layout, etc. but the MSRP is about half a mil, I suspect the street price will be somewhere in the low 400s.
Six of us had a private lunch with Ashis Bhattacharya, Vice President-Strategic Planning & Development and we met Chris West,
Vice President-Operations and Bryan L. Hughes, Treasurer & Chief Financial & Accounting Officer.
Ashis wanted to hear from experienced Winnebago owners what we thought about the product, particular problem areas and what we would like incorporated in future products. He has some ideas that he bounced off us but I won't discuss those details. One major issue we all mentioned was the problem getting quality service. He got an earful from us and is well aware of the issues (I suspect more aware now
.)
Chris West spent two
weeks working on the assembly line and he certainly has an appreciation for the challenges and the work intensity of the guys and gals on the lines. A major kudo to Chris.
All of the ELT spent the rally week in various Winnebago Class As on rally grounds - this is the first time senior management has ever done this.
I managed to have a long chat with Winnebago employee #1 (the most senior employee) - he noticed my Vietnam Vet hat when I was walking and stopped his Gator. We started discussing our experiences in a war zone and then spent quite a bit of time talking about all of the recent changes at Winnebago.
The towable side of the business is performing quite well and I think the motorized side will do okay. After parsing everything I've heard and seen during GNR I think Winnebago has a very bright future. The stock is generally classified as undervalued and a "buy."