Speculation, but

[Dallas Baillio]

Since the Born Free factory closure I've wondered what was the underlying cause. It is oblivious that they did not have the ROI their investors wanted. But what caused that?

I attended a homecoming a few years ago and John Dogen, Sr, when discussing the 2009 plus recession, stated that he lost $2,000,000 during that time. How much financially that hurt him he did not say, but being the sole owner it was his decision. Love of his company was probably an influence. The recession was nothing he could control.

What happened this time? Add your comments. None of us really know, but here is mine.

They priced themselves out of the market. At $150,000 to $200,000 + a Class C buyer can either pay a lot less for a C or a bit more for a Class A. Buyers with money for an A have no incentative to buy a smaller C. Sure the BF is the best built C on the market, but buyers, while willing to pay a premium for quality, do have a price point where they balk.

Personally, I probably would have eventually been in the market for one at $100,000 but I could not afford, nor justify, $150,000 plus.

[Roger H]

Recognizing that this is all speculation...

All of the coaches of this quality are in the same price range. I don't think that was the issue, per se. Like you, I've barely the income to own the '06 coach I have and I'm thrilled to have it.

The story of Bigfoot Industries in Canada is a cautionary tale.

I bought an '06 Bigfoot 25' travel trailer late in '06. Bigfoot in '06 spent huge R&D dollars to develop a four-seasons 28' and 32' line of trailers with slide outs. At the time they were building molded fiberglass trailers, the new sandwich-technology sided large trailers, and Bigfoot mohos. In '08 they designed a new 25' molded front bedroom two-door trailer. By '09 the recession was going into full swing, and their major bank financier panicked and pulled all of their funding. The truth was that they'd just over-extended in their product development and couldn't keep up with their costs. They got too far away from their core business of 17', 21', and 25' molded fiberglass trailers.

I have to wonder if the Born Free development of the moho on the over-saturated Sprinter chassis market didn't have something to do with the cash flow. I'm pretty sure that they continued selling all of the standard-van based motorhomes they built, but I think that the cost of developing the Sprinter was high... and as I said... an over-saturated and tough market to break into. The Reign is a gorgeous coach... but merely another gorgeous Sprinter-based coach in a sea of Sprinter-based coaches. The 'regular' line of coaches had a much greater brand recognition and market following for the size of the company. By coming out with the Reign, they were taking on Winnebago, Forest River, Thor, and all of the other mass-marketers that are building them.

I might be wrong, and there sales may have been stronger that I think.. but I have to guess that the cost of development of the Reign combined with lackluster sales was hard on their bottom line.

[John S.]

I came down from a class A as did a number of other Foretravel owners have done. I think the sprinter chassis is over saturated and too small and there is nothing to distinguish it from something else. Our looking showed us that many are choosing the unity or serenity. They are in the same ballpark as the reign. I know Motorhomes of Texas took on the look ne and sold a number of royal splendors but had two reigns that they had to drastically discount.

[thestoloffs]

Regarding the Reign & Sprinters, BF was facing the imminent disappearance of the Econoline chassis (E-350, E-450, etc.). So, they had to begin R&D on a new chassis design.

The options then were:

• Ford Transit (not yet available in US)
• Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (first available thru Daimler-Benz)
• Dodge Ram Van (only available thru FCA, once Daimler-Benz left Chrysler)

So, given the lead time to develop a new product, I personally would have gone with the Sprinter decision at that time.

[shilohdad]

Actually, Ford is still making the E series vans, but only in cutaway version. Since the cutaway chassis is what Born Free uses, they were not in danger of losing that chassis on which to build.

[Brent]

Interesting thread and one we've all probably speculated about.

My thoughts are - BF got away from their niche. For quite a while there were specific models and features one could count on - then there seemed to be years of searching - maybe looking for new trends - whatever. This can be costly to production, support, and confusing to the core buying market.

An interesting comparison is Lazy Daze
I had gone to CA to the factory before I bought my BF - but I haven't followed them in a long time. Are they still functioning well? I had the impression that LD may be more cost efficient than the BF operation. But I don't know.

In any case it's a loss to the industry - fine product.

Brent

[Roger H]

Actually, Ford is still making the E series vans, but only in cutaway version. Since the cutaway chassis is what Born Free uses, they were not in danger of losing that chassis on which to build.

And most of the models were also available on either the Ford F550 or Dodge 5500 chassis too, so cutaway chassis availability just isn't a problem.

[Roger H]

Interesting thread and one we've all probably speculated about.

My thoughts are - BF got away from their niche. For quite a while there were specific models and features one could count on - then there seemed to be years of searching - maybe looking for new trends - whatever. This can be costly to production, support, and confusing to the core buying market.

Brent

I suspect that observed sales trends were linked to "keeping up with the Joneses" in features and amenities. I'm not sure how you'd ever quantify this, but it's my perception that people buy a quality niche product because there's nobody else doing what they do the best. The Dodgen family never lost sight of that. WE all know why we've bought Born Free, and they had a pretty solid customer base of return buyers who were looking for exactly what Born Free offered. I think that perhaps in the two years following the buyout, that focus may have been lost in looking for market penetration expansion.

[Dallas Baillio]

Can we say they lost sight of their core market and neglected the base with the Reign and way too many bells and whistles on their basic product?w

[Roger H]

Can we say they lost sight of their core market and neglected the base with the Reign and way too many bells and whistles on their basic product?w

I'm not sure we can say anything definitive, Dallas. Those are my 'larger picture' suspicions, but you have to remember that a) I don't buy new coaches because they're WAAAAY out of the market I can afford, and b) even when I DO buy a coach, I'm a believer in the KISS system. I want the coach to be functional and comfortable, but I'm not impressed by flashy. I look down my nose at Prevost and their outrageously large and expensive brethren because they look to me like rolling French whorehouses, and there's just too much unnecessary nonsense to maintain on them.

And yet, they sell as many of them as they can roll out the doors, so MY tastes are obviously NOT the tastes of those with the money to buy them.


I neither build nor sell upscale motorhomes as my occupation. Nor do I do financial market analysis. I, like most of us, am an armchair second-guesser here. All that said, the financial collapse of Born Free could have been a result of any of a host of issues that had nothing to do with my speculations at all. I still hope that they can find the capital to get back to what they do best... building quality motorhomes for our market segment.

[John S.]

They entered into a market niche with the reign that is super crowded and there is no pricing power. They do not produce enough to get volume pricing either. I was talking to the Foretravel president one day and he said we can buy our tires cheaper thru FMCA then he can buy them. I am a financial analyst and was worried when an investment company bought them. They really had no stake in it and if they had a large gain somewhere then BF was the offsetting loss and they keep more money by shutting it down. I don't know the specifics, but as one who ordered a coach and they never got my chassis in, that was my first clue things were not going welll. Ed leaving was another clue and being told the guy who ordered chassis was not there so they did not know the status rubbed wrong too. I like the brand enough to buy one anyways and got a 2015 and saved 60k.

[bigdipper]

I have had a sense that sales volume was just too low to cover fixed costs. The proliferation of models might have been an attempt to increase volume which backfired. Back on 2007, John commented that he really needed to double sales volume and I expect it went the other way. In 2011 I may have been one of less than 30 customers.
But what do I know?
Ralph

[AndyB]

"An interesting comparison is Lazy Daze... Are they still functioning well?"

Yes, they're still building a hundred or more coaches a year, and have a long (six to twelve month) waiting list. The company is still family-owned, and still at the same location (since 1956) in southern California. They still don't accept credit cards, still sell only from the factory (no dealers)... I could add a lot more "stills," but you get the idea.

As a member of the Lazy Daze Owners' Forum, I can tell you that the news of Born Free's closing was received with dismay (http://www.lazydazeowners.com/index.php ... #msg173294). There are very few really well built class C motorhomes on the market now, and the loss of one of the best is a blow.

Andy Baird
Former 27' Lazy Daze owner, now towing a 27' Airstream with an F-150

[jeffcarp]

I feel that the problem was simply the private equity ownership that was caused by the unfortunate passing of the first two generations of family. Born Free was a great family business. I'm guessing it generated enough money for the Dodgen family to have a comfortable upscale life. That isn't enough for private equity firms. They can put their money numerous places and they need a return to be interested. I'm guessing Born Free didn't generate the return they needed so they went even more upscale to pad the cost to obtain the profit margin and that was the beginning of the end.