THE FRONT BOOT
Angie Deralas with son Peter and daughter Raquel were on hand, proudly showing customers the range of vans and the new Royal Flair campervan. The campervan was designed and built by Raquel, the only female in the industry to do so. She is currently working on the new model, which will include a club lounge.
Raquel has a keen interest in the industry. In her school years, she worked part time, not just to earn a few dollars but to gain knowledge of the industry and the building of caravans. Her late grandfather, who worked in the factory, was a great inspiration.
Three sales were recorded on the first day of the event.
In response to these tougher times, Royal Flair held a special EOFY sale.
Bill Deralas said that the main problem confronting the industry were decisions by federal and state governments on issues such as taxes, tariffs and imports. Building a caravan today was not cheap, he said, with costs that the general public would not know about.
Will the caravan industry recover? We put the question to the CEO of Caravan Industry Association of Victoria, Daniel Sahlberg, who said he didn ' t think it was a matter of how long or when it would recover.
“ The industry is evolving and transitioning out of covid, with over 50,000 new products in 2022 and 2023, and with so many new brands and manufacturers entering the market, we are seeing more of a correction,” he said.
“ The broader economy is also affecting the industry, with high taxes to run businesses plus pressure on consumer cost of living. All these factors have combined to create a perfect storm.”
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