Mr Lifted Trucks

Over 12 years ago, I was the Internet Manager for an auto dealership that sold Rocky Ridge Trucks. A gentleman came into the dealership shortly after we got a shipment of Rocky Ridge Trucks in and said, "I bought my truck six months ago and didn't want to take a bath on it in trade, but I want it to look like the one of those, referring to the Rocky Ridge Trucks we had on the lot. He was willing to pay out of pocket to ship his truck to Georgia, be without it for at least two weeks, and have it upfitted and shipped back. Unfortunately, Rocky Ridge could only do new trucks, and the gentleman left dejected. Immediately, I thought to myself, how many other people would've bought a new lifted truck if they were aware that the product and option existed when they were ready to purchase? The visit by this gentleman is what got me focused on the new lifted truck problems in the marketplace. The fact that its growth remains untapped and unproven has kept me focused on the new lift...

 Your vehicle inventory consists of stationary objects waiting for a buyer to move them.  As a dealer, you spend X amount on advertising your dealership and inventory.  You spend X amount having your vehicles listed on large third-party vehicle marketplace sites that suggest other dealers' vehicles to their audience, potentially flipping a buyer from your unit to another dealer. Hoping for a buyer to land on one of your vehicles is an expensive marketing strategy. As a Lifted Truck Dealer Coalition member, once you have upfitted a vehicle with our package, it becomes very active virtually, and we put it in front of potential buyers.  You stock our Bear Lifted Trucks, and we'll get you the buyers! Benefits of Being a Lifted Truck Coalition Dealer ▪Lower cost to stock new lifted trucks. You already have the chassis ▪Additional revenue streams for your dealership ▪Identify your dealership as a lifted truck dealer ▪Additional upfit opportunities for walk-ins, such as "I ...

 I do not own FOX Stock. As predicted, the great stall is upon FOX's truck upfit business.  With the anemic stock numbers of new 2024 trucks upfitted by FOX on dealer lots, it's not looking good.  I've warned of the stall and the dealer revolving door stopping.  This is the same scenario that led to both SCA Performance and Rocky Ridge Trucks selling out, with SCA hiring a company to find a buyer to acquire them in 2018.  When you know your revenue is down and don't see it turning around, your company's value decreases with the numbers.  The problem this time, and why FOX is in real trouble with their upfit business, is because of these companies' overhead.  FOX could be doing the current production volume out of one facility.  FOX is offering to pay the dealer's floorplan cost to stock the upfitted truck in the dealer's inventory.  This reeks of desperation on FOX's part and should send red flags up to investors.  The one thing that val...

 To achieve premium brand/product status, you must first get your brand on the consumer radar and have mass awareness of your brand and product.  The new lifted truck market has existed for over a decade.  With no truck upfit brands and brand status with consumers, they charge premium pricing for their products, even if they use the best components!  Premium brand status comes AFTER establishing your product in the marketplace, and the end consumer dictates it. FOX's upfit business, in particular, is contracting because dealers have issues moving these products off their lots.  The sizeable overhead expense of having multiple upfit brands stays consistent, and organic growth needs to happen. FOX has increased package pricing dramatically to keep the lights on, pushed pricing above the product pricing ceiling, and is getting ready to sell off the SCA Group.  Yes, dealers set the package pricing charge; however, when you have a $60K MSRP truck with an additio...

 I do not own FOX stock. Offloading SCA Group I expect FOX to sell off their SCA Group and retain the Tuscany upfit brand within the next 18 months, and here's why.  During the four years FOX has acquired the group, the auto market has experienced well-reported massive swings in their business during and immediately post-COVID.  With things returning to "normal" regarding inventory levels, the glaring problem with the new lifted truck market is now visible to everyone.  That is the obscurity problem; no one knows the market exists, even though new lifted trucks have existed for over a decade.  As I mentioned in a previous blog post , FOX's acquisition of the SCA Group was a lousy investment.  With the current aged new lifted truck inventory and dealer contraction with stocking new lifted trucks, FOX faces massive headwinds in the truck upfit segment.  It makes no sense for them to continue to operate multiple upfit brands that carry large overhead...

 I do not own FOX Factory stock. FOX Factory Holding Corp. held its Q4 Earnings call on February 22, 2024, at 4:30 PM. I am focusing on FOX CEO Mike Dennison's two comments during that call. “And then in AAG, again, fantastic growth over the last couple of years with the upfit business. I mean, it was 40% for two years back-to-back. And so that growth is fantastic in the upfit business. But this year, definitely slower just because we’re not getting the right chassis. We’re not getting enough chassis. And then you have dealer floor plan financing just really inhibiting dealers from taking more risk and putting the product on their lot. And so that’s having a pretty significant influence on us, and quite frankly from a margin standpoint as well.” The upfit growth was an anomaly driven by dealers' inventory situation post-COVID. If you recall, dealers could not keep trucks on their lots, so they contacted upfitters and snatched up any available chassis they had. The consume...