Comments on: Bad blood at National R.V.

By: Larry Gaugenmaier

Larry Gaugenmaier — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:10:46 +0000

I am very happy to see Bob Lee get his company(Country Coach) back. I’ve known him for over 40 years and have much respect for him and his business choices. When NVH rejected his bid for CC, I sold all my stock and was very happy for that choice.
I can not beleive that the Board of Directors can’t see the big picture and get rid of this C E O. How much more MUD does this poor company have to be dragged through before he resigns.
Selling Country Coach is only a “BAND AID” for National’s red ink situation, and the only asset they have left is their property, and they are having a hard time selling that.
I can not think of any company who would want to take over that situation with the “CANCER” that it presently has.

By: Suzanna West

Suzanna West — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:47:03 +0000

I met Bob at RVIA/Louisville. He seems like a cool guy. When National RV was looking for a new marketing director, they contacted me.

It was interesting that their recruiter asked me to take a look at their financials on the Internet before continuing the interviewing process. After I did some research, I had to decline. Why would I risk my career future for an uncertainty - particularly in light of the fact that they’ve been performing so abismally?

Right on, Greg! The execs at National need to put down that double-cream brie and those Bremner’s wafers!

By: Bob Bishop

Bob Bishop — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:51:45 +0000

NRV just never really got the fact that they were the tail that was trying to wag the dog. What a great opportunity they wasted by not listening to and learning from Bob Lee.

By: Steve Burgess

Steve Burgess — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:08:13 +0000

Another great story Greg! I spend 20-25 days per month calling on RV dealers across the country and I think you have really captured the essence of what everyone is thinking about National and CC.

Steve.

By: Gene Seider

Gene Seider — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:30:03 +0000

Greetings fellow bloggers….

A few thoughts from the Rocket City desk. First, thanks Greg for bringing this sad tale to the forefront. Just finished reading the collective comments re: Bob Lee and the National RV disaster. Judging from all of the inuendo abounding in this instance, it causes me to recall the many business cases over the past twenty years where “beancounters” have overshadowed, dominated, and stunted the work of talented Sales, Marketing, and Engineeering folks. One does not need to have a Harvard MBA degree to see read the hand-writing on the wall.

In my view, Bob Lee was a visionary (in a time when visionaries abounded) in his day. He had the guts to try new ideas and the fortitude to see them brought to the marketplace. But that was 20+ years ago. Since that time, the business operation model has changed (and maybe not for the better) as stock holders have found the power to manipulate a Company’s management to meet their own objectives. Does anyone beside me smell a little “greed” here?

I would also suggest that a there is a lesson that may be hiding at the crux of this case. That lesson is one that all RV Companies need to take to heart. It is “Our Customers really run our Company.” Without a firm and well established customer base, the most successful and innovative company will soon find themselves in the place where National RV is today….

By: Carl Rader

Carl Rader — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:34:52 +0000

Unless some fresh dynamic leadership appears soon at National RV, Bob Lee may get his chance to acquire the company for much less than $6.25 per share. Losing money for four of five years brings to mind an old parable: If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.

By: Lee Christensen

Lee Christensen — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:18:52 +0000

NVH 4.23 -0.23
The real Q is ‘What will happen to NVH?’
Will Thor buy Country Coach from NVH to give themselves a ‘real’ high end product, or will Thor buy all of NVH, or will NVH go the way of Chinook???

By: scott jones

scott jones — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:16:26 +0000

I have sold National RV coaches since 1993. Through so many years you could see the innovation and creativity in the product lines. Then, somewhere around the merger with Country Coach you could see that spark of creativity and ability to read the consumers feedback started to fade. There were many trial balloon products that failed to work in the consumer’s eyes. I find it sad to see products with such greatly admired and recognized names be managed right into the ground. The consumer today is well educated and is cautious to buy a product with such a well publicized red ink trail.

By: Barry Blakely

Barry Blakely — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:01:13 +0000

I wonder if any of the board members or stockholders have thought about the impact the events at National RV are having on the confidence of their dealer network?

By: Bob Zagami

Bob Zagami — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:46:25 +0000

Greg,

This is an outstanding summary of a tragic business story, if ever there was one. This was tainted from the very first announcement of National RV purchasing Country Coach … when the entire RV industry just shook their collective heads and asked; “shouldn’t this be the other way around?” Country Coach has always been one of the premier manufacturers in our industry and there was just nothing (money, brains or resources) that National RV could have brought to the table that would make anybody feel good about this transaction.

Try as he might, Bob Lee could not get the Board of Directors to understand his frustrations and apparently had no intention of listening to his concerns or acting on them.

Once again we are observing a classic business situation where the Board of Directors appears to have failed in their obligations to all stockholders in carrying out their fidiciary responsibilities to assure an effective management team, invest the company’s money wisely, and take the appropriate action to assure a profitable business operation.

I’m sure Bob Lee wasn’t the only frustrated stockholder at National RV Holdings. The real question is: where are all the others and what are they doing about the situation?