FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Over its brief history expanding its distribution business into the RV industry, Meyer Distributing has made a bit of a splash.
So, although the company purposely kept its first physical RV show relatively small after four years of conducting online shows, it came as no surprise when dealers were treated to a pretty big splash of cash during the closing dinner and reception.
Sponsors led by Roadmaster and B&W Trailer Hitches kicked in prizes as well as cash totaling more than $15,000. Each was given away in drawings with the culmination being five dealers being chosen to pick a letter spelling M-E-Y-E-R. Inside each letter was an amount of cash ranging from $500 to $5,000.
The top prize went to Big Sky RV, with the other amounts going to Dave’s RV, Elkhart Hitch, John’s RV and New World RV.
Jason Lents, category sales manager for RV/Towing for Meyer, said about 95 vendors were on-hand for the show. He said Meyer intentionally limited the number so that dealers would not feel rushed and so that the vendors could spend more time with each dealer.
Likewise, only about 145 dealerships were invited.
“I talked to every vendor and pretty much every dealer,” Lents said. “It was 100 percent a resounding ‘excellent’. One of our newer vendors told me this was the third show they had done since this fall and this was the most successful they had.”
Special deals ran throughout the two-day show. Lents said large quantities of the special deals were made.
“Something I was really excited to see was we had some very large orders from brand-new customers,” he said. “They’re entrusting some of their first orders of the season with us, and it’s a large order. We worked extremely hard to make sure we gave the dealers a reason to come with the deals, but we also made sure the vendors were happy too, with the prices.”
Tim Pahlow, parts manager for Coachlight RV Sales & Service in Carthage, Mo., said the Meyer show was the only one on his schedule for this season, and the selection and pricing didn’t disappoint.
“They treat their dealers like family and I’m proud to have been a part of their inaugural show,” he said. “It was a good selection of vendors and the pricing was very competitive.”
As the distributor continues to grow in the RV segment, Meyer has plans to add 150,000 square feet to its Arlington, Texas, facility and 250,000 square feet in the Southwest and an additional 150,000 in the Northwest to keep up with the growing demand.
“A lot of this is from feedback from our reps, saying, ‘Kick these investments into higher gear,’” said Meyer CEO Jeff Braun. “We’re going into the fourth year for the RV push for us, and I’ve been very happy with the success we’ve had. We’re going to turn it back around and support our dealers with faster turns on inventory.”
