August-September 2014 | BusinessWorld | 69
during which the momentum the company
gathered between the mid-1990s and early
2000 s wa s s t a l l e d . S e v en o f i t s
manufacturing partners either declared
bankruptcy or went entirely out of business
in a three-year stretch from 2007 to 2010,
which created a significant ripple effect on
the business, Stoltzfus said.
“It was a very tough time,” he said. “But we
never had a bottom-line annual loss. I
projected the size company we were likely
to be in 2009 and looked at the financial
statement about eight years before that, and
cut expenses to that level. We made money
that year.”
Double-digit annual growth returned by
2010 as the company augmented its
product line with additions of Tiffin,
Winnebago, Sunseekerand Primetime by
Forest River, ACE by Thor Motor Coach,
Aliner, Brandywine, Redwood and Grand
Design as replacements for some of the
discontinued RV offerings. The dealership
also representsBayliner Boats, a top-selling
product in themarine industry.
Business was up by more than 20 percent by
2013, Stoltzfus said, and 2014 is already
forecast to be the best sales year in company
history, exceeding the previous high
watermark established in2006.
But it's not just the typical
customers who've returned to
the marketplace with pent-up
demand.
“A big part of our business is
baby boomers, however, our
average customer is younger
than 10 years ago,” he said.
“Our customer base is very diversified
