Winnebago purchases Newmar

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Well, the sad part is that was one of the few manufactures left that was still family owned and operated. Nothing against Winnebago though, I have owned 2 Winnebago's and they are good well built coaches.  But Winnebago also owns Country Coach and Air Stream, so they are really expanding their portfolio. 
 
Winnebago owns Grand Design trailers so that sort of compensates for not owning Airstream.  Plus they purchased Sunnybrook a few years back.
 
Just read nine pages of doom and gloom on another forum. Caught everyone by surprise.
 
I think this explains why Winnebago dropped a number of their Class A models recently. I don?t see doom and gloom in this. Winnebago makes nice coaches, maybe not as nice as most Newmars, but I bet they want to play in the top rungs.
 
UTTransplant said:
I think this explains why Winnebago dropped a number of their Class A models recently. I don?t see doom and gloom in this. Winnebago makes nice coaches, maybe not as nice as most Newmars, but I bet they want to play in the top rungs.
Click to expand...
Yea, I'm in this camp also. Both groups have their reasons.
 
UTTransplant said:
I think this explains why Winnebago dropped a number of their Class A models recently. I don?t see doom and gloom in this. Winnebago makes nice coaches, maybe not as nice as most Newmars, but I bet they want to play in the top rungs.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping for the best, but I've seen too many corporate "mergers"/"buyouts" where the bought out brand soon went downhill, or even disappeared, so I tend to be rather skeptical. Marantz audio products is one of many examples.
 
UTTransplant said:
I think this explains why Winnebago dropped a number of their Class A models recently. I don?t see doom and gloom in this. Winnebago makes nice coaches, maybe not as nice as most Newmars, but I bet they want to play in the top rungs.
Click to expand...

Hard to say.  Thought they bought Country Coach a few years ago?  That was a great buy if they were looking to move into the high end market.  My guess is there are other reasons for acquiring Newmar.  Facilities, processes, skilled workers.  Then again, maybe the acquisition was simply based on another long term goal.  The industry is consolidating.  They are two eventual outcomes.  Either they will acquire or they will be acquired. 
 
Larry N. said:
I'm hoping for the best, but I've seen too many corporate "mergers"/"buyouts" where the bought out brand soon went downhill, or even disappeared, so I tend to be rather skeptical. Marantz audio products is one of many examples.
Click to expand...

Marantz hasn't been top shelf since vacuum tube days.
 
garyb1st said:
Hard to say.  Thought they bought Country Coach a few years ago?  That was a great buy if they were looking to move into the high end market.  My guess is there are other reasons for acquiring Newmar.  Facilities, processes, skilled workers.  Then again, maybe the acquisition was simply based on another long term goal.  The industry is consolidating.  They are two eventual outcomes.  Either they will acquire or they will be acquired.
Click to expand...
I think Winnebago really did hope the Country Coach acquisition would bring them into the higher end market. The problem I heard about was supply chain related. It is just too far from the Midwest-oriented volume parts suppliers, one of the reasons Country Coach had problems before. Iowa and Indiana aren?t too far apart, and it will be easier to get cost improvements through shared suppliers.
 
I?ve owned 2 Winnebagos and one Newmar...the quality on my Winnebago?s were far superior to the Newmar.  And I?m talking Winnebago class C to the top of the line gas Newmar.

While anything can happen after a merger I?d let the chips fall before I predicted Armageddon for Newmar quality.

One thing that they might bring to Newmar is better documentation...Newmar?s was almost non existent.

That said, I?m stilled stunned with the announcement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 686 (members: 7, guests: 679)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,929
Posts
1,387,651
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom