BruderX

[CrazyOldMan]

I know a couple of you have Bruders. How do you (esp the Aussies) view the acquisition of Bruder? I can’t really understand the point from the press releases - kind of just jargon. Is it just a cash-out from the founders? If so, good for them - no issues with that - but couldn’t see anything special that was planned. Do you think the company is stable for the long run?

 

[ADVAW8S]

Sounds kike they are going towards the rv market. Interesting with the fall out of ZoneRV.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Sounds kike they are going towards the rv market. Interesting with the fall out of ZoneRV.

They had already launched the ADX as a more traditional RV option (and the Grenadier was featured in that marketing) - so I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that based on that press release, I wouldn’t touch it for now until there’s more clarity for the future. Interested to see what our Aussie friends think about it. Wish we had more Australian options here in the US.

 

[Shopkeep]

No inside knowledge here but this article may give some more insight:

Queensland's Bruder X gets new lease on life - caravancampingsales.com.au

Former New Age Caravans boss takes the reins at Brisbane expedition trailer specialist

www.caravancampingsales.com.au

The new owners are very experienced in the field, the Bosschieter brothers have stayed on and Melbourne is the centre of Australia's caravan production industry and supply chain (90% of volume and 120+ brands) so seems a good story. I would have thought the expanding Patriot ST range will be putting pressure on the Bruder EXP product so the move into a slightly more main stream offering like the ADX will help keep the company viable?

 

[LabRat]

Patriot is definitely going after the Bruder market. While slightly different class, I am "patiently" waiting for a Lifestyle Campers Fusionn that I ordered last October. Even they have been moving towards more offerings with full sidewalls and introduced a tandem axle version of their Iconn line. Scuttlebutt in the Lifestyle groups on FB is they have stopped/paused taking orders for their Reconn line.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

No inside knowledge here but this article may give some more insight:

Queensland's Bruder X gets new lease on life - caravancampingsales.com.au

Former New Age Caravans boss takes the reins at Brisbane expedition trailer specialist

www.caravancampingsales.com.au

The new owners are very experienced in the field, the Bosschieter brothers have stayed on and Melbourne is the centre of Australia's caravan production industry and supply chain (90% of volume and 120+ brands) so seems a good story. I would have thought the expanding Patriot ST range will be putting pressure on the Bruder EXP product so the move into a slightly more main stream offering like the ADX will help keep the company viable?

We’ll have to see how they fare - they whiffed that press release badly enough where I would choose to wait - I had already called their US sales office in Texas several months ago, but this makes me want to wait. Didn’t need to hear all about the philanthropic ventures or that the new owner admired them from afar. Really, really cool caravans - but a lot of money to drop when they don’t have a robust NAM support structure and are going through ownership changes. Glad to hear you guys are feeling positive about it, though!

 

[Shopkeep]

We’ll have to see how they fare - they whiffed that press release badly enough where I would choose to wait - I had already called their US sales office in Texas several months ago, but this makes me want to wait. Didn’t need to hear all about the philanthropic ventures or that the new owner admired them from afar. Really, really cool caravans - but a lot of money to drop when they don’t have a robust NAM support structure and are going through ownership changes. Glad to hear you guys are feeling positive about it, though!

Ironically the biggest risk to these guys and the entire Australian caravan industry is the US operation in Iran. If fuel prices stay elevated the grey nomads will reconsider their plans, deposits will dry up at the same time as input costs start to rise. Fewer progress payments flowing in over the next six to twelve months will result in many operations considering their future.

If I was going to shell out $200K for a pop top camper I would be looking at the second hand market, are there enough of these in the US allowing for choice in the used market?

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Ironically the biggest risk to these guys and the entire Australian caravan industry is the US operation in Iran. If fuel prices stay elevated the grey nomads will reconsider their plans, deposits will dry up at the same time as input costs start to rise. Fewer progress payments flowing in over the next six to twelve months will result in many operations considering their future.

If I was going to shell out $200K for a pop top camper I would be looking at the second hand market, are there enough of these in the US allowing for choice in the used market?

You guys just have better options - Bruder, Lotus, Patriot - some of them we can get, but service and parts can be sketchy, especially if the company is in trouble. The US market was geared more towards highway cruisers parking in RV lots with water and shore power. I’m just going to wait for now - maybe a few years down the line. Let’s see if Bruder (or I) am still around ;o)

 

[Znarfgh]

You guys just have better options - Bruder, Lotus, Patriot - some of them we can get, but service and parts can be sketchy, especially if the company is in trouble. The US market was geared more towards highway cruisers parking in RV lots with water and shore power. I’m just going to wait for now - maybe a few years down the line. Let’s see if Bruder (or I) am still around ;o)

We have even more options like Vista RV and a few other locally made brands.

Offroad Crossover XLI Campers | Bayswater, VIC | Vista RV

Explore the Vista RV Crossover XLI in Bayswater, VIC. Tough, spacious, and feature-packed camper trailer. Call our friendly team on 03 9729 1234 for details.

www.vistarv.com.au

 

[TheDocAUS]

View: https://youtu.be/DwMUGOb3BDQ

The new Bruder RV CEO interviewed.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

View: https://youtu.be/DwMUGOb3BDQ

The new Bruder RV CEO interviewed.

I thought the whole thing about assuming contracts and “building the van at a loss” was bizarre. I do a lot of M&A work - when you buy a company, you price in the whole balance sheet. She made it sound like she was doing something extraordinary- but that’s how acquisitions work. It’s how it always works - you are assuming the liabilities of the acquired entity, and that is reflected in the purchase price. Or she could refund the deposits and progress payments and start from scratch. Really the only exception to this is if you buy a company that has declared bankruptcy, liquidated its assets, courts have resolved what assets or refunds depositors get, and you are just buying IP or brand name or something. Just a very weird statement to make - as if in her mind, there is a “BruderX” ledger and a “her” ledger and she is compensating the other at her expense. That’s not an Australian thing or a US thing - that’s just business.

It also sounds like they were in dire straits- to say they “turned the EXP supply chain back on” and were ABOUT to start the ADX line - it sounds like they were being shut off from suppliers and creditors, TBH. And if they really took 10% deposits on 126 ADX units (I think that was the # mentioned), and hadn’t started building any??? That’s a major liquidation scenario, if not possibly more serious consequences. Those comments would definitely raise eyebrows in an investor meeting. Hope they get things back on solid footing - super cool products.

 

[Tenac]

I thought the whole thing about assuming contracts and “building the van at a loss” was bizarre. I do a lot of M&A work - when you buy a company, you price in the whole balance sheet. She made it sound like she was doing something extraordinary- but that’s how acquisitions work. It’s how it always works - you are assuming the liabilities of the acquired entity, and that is reflected in the purchase price. Or she could refund the deposits and progress payments and start from scratch. Really the only exception to this is if you buy a company that has declared bankruptcy, liquidated its assets, courts have resolved what assets or refunds depositors get, and you are just buying IP or brand name or something. Just a very weird statement to make - as if in her mind, there is a “BruderX” ledger and a “her” ledger and she is compensating the other at her expense. That’s not an Australian thing or a US thing - that’s just business.

It also sounds like they were in dire straits- to say they “turned the EXP supply chain back on” and were ABOUT to start the ADX line - it sounds like they were being shut off from suppliers and creditors, TBH. And if they really took 10% deposits on 126 ADX units (I think that was the # mentioned), and hadn’t started building any??? That’s a major liquidation scenario, if not possibly more serious consequences. Those comments would definitely raise eyebrows in an investor meeting. Hope they get things back on solid footing - super cool products.

That might explain why my order was delayed so much and then I finally backed out.