Stories

Unlimited – All in the family

Rental company Wilderness Motorhomes is run on old-fashioned family values. HE AHA te mea nui? He tangata; he tangata; he tangata. What is the most important thing? It is people; it is people; it is people.

That old Maori saying was oft used by the late Keith Managh, particularly when discussing loyal staff at the family’s Thames sawmill. Now his son, John Managh, and daughter, Mary Hamilton, are emulating his business mores. They co-own motorhome rental company Wilderness Motorhomes, a Fast50 newcomer ranking number 18 with a two-year growth rate of 303.74%.

When facing tough business decisions, the siblings often ask, “What would Dad do?”

“A lot of that is unsaid, because we’re really indoctrinated in Dad’s style of business,” Hamilton says, “but we do use it as an anchor for decision-making.”

John Managh’s speech is peppered with “doing the righty”, rather than the wrong thing, when dealing with customers. He reckons these old-fashioned values make a difference to the company’s service delivery. “We treat all customers like they are family.”

He founded Wilderness Motorhomes in 2004 after spending eight years travelling; his boy’s own adventures included working on Alaskan crab boats and driving overland tours through Africa. On his return, he wanted to start a company and spent hours screwing up business plan after business plan.

He finally hit on the idea of importing near-new Toyota Hiaces and fi tting them out himself as motorhomes for less than the price he could sell them. Even if the rental business went belly up he wouldn’t lose money. His competitive edge was to personally greet each customer at the airport, as you would a family member, and tell them about the places Kiwis go. His father liked the business plan so much he bought a half share in the company.

All went well the fi rst year, but then Keith Managh died from cancer, growth in tourist numbers started declining and competitor fleet sizes increased. And even Managh didn’t rate the second-hand motorhomes he was renting out. “It was mutton dressed as lamb. People would hop in the vehicles and go, ‘Oh.’”

But then Hamilton, who was looking for a new venture after the family sawmill was sold, bought her father’s half-share in the company. “I loved being in business, but most of all I loved being in a business with my family.” The siblings have complementary strengths; Managh’s entrepreneurial enthusiasm is tempered by Hamilton’s analytical abilities.

They agreed on a radically-changed business model, one based on competing on quality rather than cost. They bought Motorhomes Service Centre, renamed it RoadCraft Group, and began fi tting out motorhomes suited for the Kiwi lifestyle. The six core design principles include indoor/outdoor fl ow, room to store big boys’ toys, and a really comfy couch to chill out on. Roadcraft sells half its motorhomes to Wilderness.

It was a big call, investing a lot of money while disposing of their existing fl eet. But it’s worked, if ranking above its Kiwi competitors on independent Web 2.0 review site Rankers is anything to go by. I wonder what Dad would say about that?