RIV and Blue Bird "Brand"

[Henry Jay Hannigan]

--- My 2 cents worth about Bluebird........I love my 90SP36..no tag
etc. BB got it right when they made the M380..almost same as my
90SP36 (check the specs) I think they would have sold a TON of the
M380"s IF the ENGINEERS would have got it right!!!
Regretably the ENGINEERS for whatever reason..bad grades in
engineering school, cost cutting measures, WHATEVER, DID NOT get it
right.
The M380 could have revolutionized BB, instead, the M380 hurt BB.
I still love my 90SP36 and have encouraged the BB President ceo etc.
to make a 2007 version of my beautiful 90SP36.....make it 38 feet
long, NO tag, MID door...AND get some excellent ENGINEERS to design
it and sell it for $595,000...TO me, this action would put BB back
on top!!
That's my 2 cents worth......What do others think??
sincerely,
Hank Hannigan
Beautiful 90SP36
Still in Hawaii(two more weeks)





In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mbulriss" <mbulriss@y...>
wrote:
>
> Tom,
>
> I believe that you raise some excellent points. My personal
opinion
> is that with the rounds of ownership changes in the past years, BB
has
> lost whatever semblance of lifestyle marketing that they had in the
> past. Corporate cost cutting has been the main focus of the new
> ownership groups. Additionally, the common ownership of Prevost
and
> Bluebird probably generated some indirect pressure from that parent
> company over having two high end products addressing the same
> relatively small market space (in potential number of units, not
> dollar volume).
>
> As a result, for the past few years they have had little to no
> direction in lifestyle marketing, product and market segmentation,
or
> overall corporate direction with regard to the Wanderlodge
division.
> Cutting staff, cutting advertising in the FMCA magazine to zero
for a
> while (when they used to command the marketing coveted inside front
> cover each month), and selling the marketing symbol of the donut
wagon
> (stated reason too expensive) that used to hit many of the RV
> rally/shows (and always got additional free press exposure in rally
> coverage), are all symbolic of the loss of direction/dedication to
the
> market.
>
> In the past eight years that I have owned a Bird, they have never
had
> a strong and dedicated nationwide dealer network. Holland,
Bleakley
> and Parliament are the exceptions to that and the three shining
stars
> of their dealer network, carrying real inventory, but very
regionally
> spaced. The other "dealers" are mostly what you see at Shorewood,
> IMO. Even when Buddy Gregg was a dealer, I never saw more than 4-
5 BB
> in total on his Dallas lot (new and used). Since Buddy quit, we
have
> had three "dealers" in Texas come and go. The first two after
Buddy
> never even had any inventory as far as I know, and the
newest "dealer"
> is historically a consignment lot and has one new LXi listed on its
> website (unknown if it actually exists on-site or is on order) and
one
> 1990 on consignment. I stopped at a then-listed "dealer" near
Albany,
> NY (Alpine?) on a trip a few years back in time and they had no BB
> inventory, and no sales person that knew anything about them.
>
> The less than stellar dealer network was not important a few years
> back when BB actually had some marketing effort, was the brand to
be
> aspired to, was selling everything they made and there was less
> competition in their market space. In the last few years while
they
> have been floundering, the market for higher end coaches has grown
> tremendously due to baby boomers, and numerous other players have
> entered the market space. We have to hope that BB regains some
sense
> of marketing and starts developing a real market segmentation and
> product plan. In the meantime we have these wonderful coaches they
> have produced that will outlive most of us on this forum. These
> forums can also serve to fill the gap in the lifestyle marketing by
> creating camaraderie, a knowledge and support base, and on-going
> demand for the products. All of this is helpful to the company as
> the management team tries to re-invigorate the brand. Maybe
someone
> there will realize this someday.
>
> Mike Bulriss
> 83 PT40 "Stagecoach" - For Sale
> 91 PT40 "Texas Minivan"
> San Antonio, TX
>
> P.S. I would also be suspicious of a '91 PT 40 traded in on an
> Allegro Bus! But in the meantime, if someone offered me $139K
for my
> '91, it would be gone.....
>
>
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Tom"
wrote:
> >
> > One of the selling points of MH ownership is the
lifestyle...kind of
> > like when Harley sells motorcycles. The "brand" rallies are an
> > important part of that and if BB is to remain a quality
brand...the
> > rally must be an anticipated event and well attended.
> >
> > You read frequently about the "brand" rallies for Country Coach,
> > American Coach, Newell, Foretravel, Newmar, Tiffin, Winnebago
and
> > others. Many owners pride themselves on not missing any annual
> > rallies. If the BB loyalists sit on the sidelines (or accross
the
> > street) it is likely that the rally will atrophy and die. I
don't
> > think that is good for any Blue Bird owner or enthusiast!
> >
> > I believe I read earlier that BB understands that the changes to
RIV
> > may have been too much...too soon? If this is true I would
think it
> > would make sense to be supportive in helping define an RIV that
would
> > again be exciting and well attended. If, on the other hand, BB
is non-
> > reflective and non-supportive regarding the rally format and
> > costs...well...that probably tells you where they sit relative
to the
> > BB "brand" future plans.
> >
> > Just the musings from a wanbee...not meant to offend...Thank
You...Tom
> > Rootness in Northern Minnesota
> >
> > P.S. Just visited the Minnesota BB dealer in Anoka...shows
another BB
> > issue. They have two BBs...both '04 (?) demo models used by the
two
> > owners. I don't think they sold a BB in the last 18
months...not
> > really trying. Maybe they have the brand so the owners can have
demos.
> >
> > Primarily a Tiffin and other brand dealer. BTW they did just
take in
> > a '91 PT 40 on trade on an Allegro Bus. The '91 is quite messy
and my
> > guess is they don't know how to sell it and will end up
wholesaleing in
> > 90 days. Asking $139K which IMHO is quite high for a bit
dicey '91.
> > If someone is interested you might want to call them. Shorewood
RV in
> > Anoka, MN. TMR
> >
>