Winnebago expanding Grand Design brand, predicts RV industry to improve in spring and summer

Winnebago's Grand Design brand was all towable recreational vehicles — until now. By next fall, there also will be new motorhome options.

Michael Happe, the Eden Prairie-based company's CEO, announced the new lineup during Winnebago's fourth-quarter earnings call.

"[It] will be a differentiated and complementary offering to our current Winnebago and Newmar brand motorized businesses," Happe said on the call with investors. "We cannot wait to bring these exceptional motorhomes to market, thereby further enriching our portfolio and delighting our valued customers."

The news came as Winnebago works through some hard quarters, as leisure sales overall are down after a pandemic high.

For the quarter ended Aug. 26, the company's net income was down 47% to $43.8 million, or $1.28 a share. Revenue was down 35% to $771 million, a bit below Wall Street expectations. Adjusted earnings of $1.59 a share beat expectations.

For the full year, Winnebago had sales of $3.5 billion, down 30% from a year ago, while net income of $219.5 million was down 45%.

So the introduction of new options is important. Happe said Grand Design teams have already started working on designs as well as the workflow, supply-chain issues and dealer communications for the motorhomes.

Grand Design has yet to announce what kind of motorhome it would introduce. The Winnebago brand produces Class C camper vans and full-sized Class A motorhomes, and the Newmar brand focuses on higher-end luxury full-sized Class A motorhomes.

The company believes that a year from now, the RV industry should be in another upswing.

Despite the tough conditions industrywide, Winnebago has continued to deliver new offerings across its portfolio of recreational vehicles and marine products.

Happe said on the call the company anticipates current market conditions to continue through the winter. In the second half of the fiscal year, though, Happe thinks dealers will be ready to add more to their inventories — a welcoming environment to Grand Design's new offerings.

In other news for the quarter, Winnebago closed on its acquisition of Lithionics, a lithium-ion battery company that will be integrated within Winnebago's products to power the "house" portion of their RVs.

It's the first store in a partnership between Winnebago and Camping World and could lead to more brand-specific stores that could open under Grand Design or Winnebago banners.

"We are excited to bring a Grand Design exclusive store to our customer community in a new and immersive way," Clark said in a news release.