Second one in a week

[Buckman]

Another big dealership is closing its doors. Lady bailey dealership have decided to close up shop. The other one is Ennis caravans.

Great shame and at Christmas. Seems this is just the tip of a the gigantic iceberg that is going to hit HMS Britannia!

 

[RogerL]

Another big dealership is closing its doors. Lady bailey dealership have decided to close up shop. Great shame and at Christmas. Seems this is just the tip of a the gigantic iceberg that is going to hit HMS Britannia!

Given that Lady Bailey tried to sell the business for 2 years without success and the comments about the industry by the investment analyst in the link, it seems that selling caravans isn't profitable - I can suggest two reasons, the high cost of warranty claims and the over-priced nature of caravans themselves. It needs action from the manufacturers to rectify both.

 

[otherclive]

That’s sad, as they are a long established dealership. We used to visit them from time to time when we were “window shopping”. For some while it was becoming obvious that tge post Covid bubble was deflating, compounded by silly prices for leisure vehicles and Roger’s valid comments, increasing car prices don’t help either.

 

[Buckman]

The other one is Ennis caravans in Llanelli? The big issue is the quality and standards in caravan manufacturer and dealers are spending more time repairing warranty issues than doing money turn over repair work and can only service what they sell. Lower prices by AWS does not help either.

 

[Beachball]

Very sad new for Lady Bailey dealership and Ennis Caravans like what someone said there might more to come .

 

[Dustydog]

Yet again a closure just before Christmas 🥲

In the good days a firm of Lady Bailey’s calibre would have been snapped up , even by a Staff type MBO. Same goes for Broadlanes earlier in the year.
As said by our learned colleagues earlier it is the caravan manufacturers poor quality, both in design and construction and their inability to support their Dealer network on Warranty Claims.
My local well known Dealer has to employ a full time Customer Warranty Claims Manager to deal with the failures,s as ll st their own expense!
They are reimbursed at less than cost price for the work they do on behalf of Manufacturers.

As said on a very expensive item failure is guaranteed.

There is some mileage in considering a change to CRA 2015 in caravanning matters which places the manufacturer in the direct firing line. At the moment they timorously hide behind the Dealers skirts coining in the profit😡

We may well be seeing the beginning of the end of the caravanning industry as we know it 😢😢

 

[borderbilly]

Another big dealership is closing its doors. Lady bailey dealership have decided to close up shop. The other one is Ennis caravans.

Great shame and at Christmas. Seems this is just the tip of a the gigantic iceberg that is going to hit HMS Britannia!

Too late HMS Britannia is already sinking.

 

[Gafferbill]

......my observations point to an upsurge in campervans at the detriment of caravans, especially on the larger more expensive campsites.
For example Brighton CAMC site in November was 80% campervans.
Many were newish and expensive!
I think people want a more straightforward leisure lifestyle with less work as they see it.

 

[JTQ]

We may well be seeing the beginning of the end of the caravanning industry as we know it 😢😢

Don't be wholly negative as from our point of view the appalling "caravan industry" as we know has no option but change, and only a change for the better can save it.
Just, I suspect they culturally can't adopt a practice that serves those actually buying their products.
IMO we as buyers also need to wake up and accept that the product we presently use is in itself, for the mass market, going to have to change, not least in the viable towcar is doomed. Probably not in the next few years but certainly into decades.
The builders of what replaces our caravans will need to be technically initiative, not something that the present builders here exhibit an abundance of. Their skill base IMO seems more routed in profiteering, than in the product itself.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Lady Bailey closing is very bad news for me. I have my caravans 6th annual service on 8th January. So the important one as that's the last of body checks before the bodywork integrety runs out !
Have just tried ringing them and no reply!

 

[Buckman]

The builders of what replaces our caravans will need to be technically initiative, not something that the present builders here exhibit an abundance of. Their skill base IMO seems more routed in profiteering, than in the product itself.

I think CRA2015 has also hammered dealers hard as more and more people reject units within the first 30 days due to inferior build on caravans costing a lot of money. over the past 6 years we have hopefully ironed out all the issues, but panels cracking is still a concern for us.

 

[otherclive]

Too late HMS Britannia is already sinking.

Make a mess of Leith port docks then 🚢

 

[otherclive]

Yet again a closure just before Christmas 🥲

In the good days a firm of Lady Bailey’s calibre would have been snapped up , even by a Staff type MBO. Same goes for Broadlanes earlier in the year.
As said by our learned colleagues earlier it is the caravan manufacturers poor quality, both in design and construction and their inability to support their Dealer network on Warranty Claims.
My local well known Dealer has to employ a full time Customer Warranty Claims Manager to deal with the failures,s as ll st their own expense!
They are reimbursed at less than cost price for the work they do on behalf of Manufacturers.

As said on a very expensive item failure is guaranteed.

There is some mileage in considering a change to CRA 2015 in caravanning matters which places the manufacturer in the direct firing line. At the moment they timorously hide behind the Dealers skirts coining in the profit😡

We may well be seeing the beginning of the end of the caravanning industry as we know it 😢😢

It’s due a change, hopefully with better quality affordable products. But haven’t we been living with change for years. Just look back at the number of makes that there used to be and how makers have been rationalised. In the mid 1960s/early 1970s who would have imagined the caravans as now on offer. Although I must say neither of my grown up grandkids hanker after a caravan, more preferring AirBNB. Breaks away and overseas often at short notice. But there again they aren’t flush with spare cash given the financial burden of a new house for the older one. And he’s in a very well paid position too.

 

[Dustydog]

A Coachman Lusso II £50,840.00🙀

 

[RogerL]

A Coachman Lusso II £50,840.00🙀

No room for two people to lie flat out in the lounge - and a pokey little wardrobe

 

[Dustydog]

As an aside our new kitchen had a small failure of the Bosch ovens and AEG hob.

Both manufacturers sent their own engineers to sort the problem. NOT the dealer from whom we made the original purchase.

My CRA rights remain intact. Clearly cheaper and more efficient for the manufacturer to resolve any breakdown issues.

Why don’t the caravan manufacturers do the same ?

 

[RogerL]

As an aside our new kitchen had a small failure of the Bosch ovens and AEG hob.

Both manufacturers sent their own engineers to sort the problem. NOT the dealer from whom we made the original purchase.

My CRA rights remain intact. Clearly cheaper and more efficient for the manufacturer to resolve any breakdown issues.

Why don’t the caravan manufacturers do the same ?

When I bought our Lunar and complained about the Alde being ineffective the dealer arranged for an Alde engineer to attend at the same time as me to discuss modifications to the installation - the modifications certainly improved things but it was/is never as good as the blown Truma on the previous caravan.

In answer to your question, do caravan manufacturers actually employ engineers?

 

[Dustydog]

In answer to your question, do caravan manufacturers actually employ engineers?

There really is no hope for the punter😢😢

 

[JTQ]

There really is no hope for the punter😢😢

Again we need not be so negative, if there is a market for what those that camp need, there are many companies looking to exploit it.

Sadly, that no longer seems a British strength as it once very much had been.

 

[Dustydog]

Again we need not be so negative, if there is a market for what those that camp need, there are many companies looking to exploit it.

Sadly, that no longer seems a British strength as it once very much had been.

Hard to believe Lady Bailey couldn’t attract a buyer for the business over the last three years.
I wish there had been a positive outcome especially for the employees

 

[otherclive]

Wonder how the caravans from the Middle Kingdom would fare. Shipping costs would add something to a U.K. price.
Chinese caravan

 

[JTQ]

Hard to believe Lady Bailey couldn’t attract a buyer for the business over the last three years.
I wish there had been a positive outcome especially for the employees

That they could not find a buyer comes as no surprise to me, a declining market, held to ransom by the builders and coping with a substandard product with the growing client awareness of powers of the CRA.
All that in what are challenging times for the younger buyer with not a lot of recreational cash reserves. Would anyone realistically buy a share holding in the industry?

However, like you I really wish for those that will be hurt by this there had been a positive outcome.

( a home building developer will really do well out of it)

 

[JTQ]

Wonder how the caravans from the Middle Kingdom would fare. Shipping costs would add something to a U.K. price.
Chinese caravan

They are getting their EVs here in useful for them numbers, so developing on that to shift camping units will not IMO be beyond their ingenuity.
If it proves to UK clients liking, that opening opportunity will not go un noticed by them.

 

[RogerL]

Wonder how the caravans from the Middle Kingdom would fare. Shipping costs would add something to a U.K. price.
Chinese caravan

They're quoting a price of £7,133 including import tax so presumably including shipping - I like the choice of external colours and interior "wood" finishes.

 

[Challenger]

Hard to believe Lady Bailey couldn’t attract a buyer for the business over the last three years.
I wish there had been a positive outcome especially for the employees

Same for Greentree in Dereham . They were on the market for the best part of two years without a buyer before closing at the end of October.