National Boat & Caravan Show at the NEC for Romahome
A tripling of business has brought a successful outcome from the National Boat and Caravan Show at the NEC for Hampshire-based Freeborn Group and its Romahome subsidiary.
The show finished on February 28 and put a spring into the step of Freeborn managing director Andrew Jones as he did the sums.
Last year, the company achieved business worth £500,000 but 2010 saw that rise to close on £1.5 million after orders were placed for 17 new Romahome models, built on the Isle of Wight, instead of the six achieved last year with Freeborn Motorhomes staff also selling 15 vehicles from the AutoTrail stable of models as well as seven used motorhomes.
“Every Romahome we took to the show was sold off the stand and we took orders for every model in the range, from the diminutive R10 single berth through to our high end four berth R40 coachbuilt,” said Mr. Jones.
“We also had orders for four examples of the new R25 but strong interest in our R20 models in both high and low roof designs showed we were right to keep them in the Romahome mix alongside R25.
“As well as our own stand, which was incredibly busy, I had sales staff from Freeborn Motorhomes’ site in Godalming manning the AutoTrail stand, where they sold models from the AutoTrail, Elddis, Excel, and Trigano ranges including a £72,000 AutoTrail Chieftain.
“Last year we thought we had done well in the teeth of the recession but this year was exceptional for us. I found a real buzz at the show after lunch on the second day and we just never stopped working until the Sunday night the show ended.
“It was obvious that buyers wanted both quality and keen prices and we were able to offer that through Romahome and the AutoTrail group brands.
“We were making sensible deals for both us and the customers, with well equipped vehicles that appeal to a broad spectrum. The motorhome industry is one that has buyers with a mature outlook. They want good prices but they also value first class dealer support and top quality vehicles. Freeborn Group has exactly that winning combination.”
Caption: The newly-introduced Romahome R25, popular with buyers at the National Boat and Caravan Show at the NEC
