Victoria (BC) Times Colonist story
Victoria (BC) Times Colonist story RE: Bigfoot Closure
B.C. RV maker Bigfoot goes out of business
Downturn in U.S. was death knell for Armstrong manufacturer
Darron Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
Friday, November 21, 2008
One of Canada's largest recreational vehicle manufacturers has closed its doors after 31 years, with sources citing the "unprecedented stress" of economic conditions in the United States.
Bigfoot Industries, based in Armstrong, ceased to exist Friday, with a spokesman for the company saying only the company had "officially closed."
The plant in the Okanagan, about 65 kilometres north of Kelowna, made fibreglass-moulded fifth-wheel trailers, holiday trailers and truck campers and had about 200 employees - with about one-third of those already laid off in June.
Arbutus RV and Marine Sales Ltd., which sells Bigfoot lines at five Island locations and is the largest seller of Bigfoot products in Canada, said yesterday it would be working closely with an appointed receiver "in liquidating this unique and quality-built Canadian product."
Arbutus owner Craig Little said Bigfoot sold about 70 per cent of its product in the United States, but the closure of several dealerships because of softening demand amid the economic meltdown forced the Armstrong company to buy back all unsold inventory. With the Canadian dollar slipping far from par with the U.S. greenback, the difference essentially forced the company to close.
Little said Arbutus RV will add several Bigfoot units to its inventory and offer three-year extended warranties on the product.
Bigfoot's closure was the second shock to the North Okanagan region this fall after Lavington Owens-Illinois, a glass container plant, shut its doors and cut 300 jobs in October.
Bigfoot Industries suffered a serious setback in the spring of 1998 when Terry Mayall, who founded the company, and two directors died in a plane crash near Moses Lake in Washington.
© Victoria Times Colonist 2008
[The reference to buying back unsold inventory is related to the shutdown of the commercial credit markets, including vehicle & RV flooring programs.
"Flooring" is a finance program where a retail vehicle dealer pays a finance charge for the inventory they carry for the period between delivery from the factory and sale to a consumer.
Depending on the industry/segment, e.g., autos, commercial trucks, RVs, etc., flooring terms and programs can vary widely.
If a dealer didn't have a flooring program, they would have to pay full price to the manufacturers for the vehicles on their lot and showrooms (after the typical grace period provided by the manufacturer). If manufacturers didn't have flooring programs available, they would be unable to stock dealers with a wide selection of product.]