James Epp of Fraserway RV - No Shortcuts to Success (Part I)

[This is Part I of two blog posts]

 [James Epp will be participating in a “Q & A / Interview” on the topic of “No Short Cuts To Success” with Rick Goossen at the Entrepreneurial Leaders Conference, Vancouver, November 30th, 2016. Here is an overview of James’ story.]

 How to succeed as an entrepreneur? Easy. Spend almost 50 years perfecting and expanding in your niche. That’s the story of RV-loving entrepreneur, James Epp of Abbotsford, BC, who owns and operates Adventurer Group, the largest RV company in Canada. I have had the privilege of working with James as strategic counsel. James’ story has one main lesson for other entrepreneurs—there are no shortcuts to success.

 While the media loves quick “overnight” success stories, a more common tale from the entrepreneurial front is that of founders who painstakingly building companies over decades. The process involves learning hard lessons in the marketplace, making careful strategic moves, constantly pursuing incremental and large scale innovation, and embedding themselves in the business ecosystem as delivering a valuable product that consumers will pay for—and surviving through the ebb and flow of the marketplace.

 That’s precisely how James Epp has built Adventurer Group. Over almost 50 years, James and his entrepreneurial family grew this business to over 700 employees and 13 dealerships across Canada, plus an RV manufacturing company in Yakima, Washington. How did it all begin?

 James first started in the RV business as a raw teenager when his father, Erdman, purchased a camper manufacturing business in 1969, which came with five employees. He started in the company during high school by sweeping floors, taking out garbage and then working the assembly line. He worked full-time in the summer and 20-hour weeks during the school year, getting increasingly involved at different levels over the course of the company’s growth. Instead of post-secondary education, James often jokes that he attended his father Erdman’s “School of Business.”

 The company grew, not like a straight line on a graph, but through certain opportunistic moments. In 1980, after 10 years of ups and downs in the 70’s, James and his father purchased an RV manufacturing company in Penticton, a town of 15,000 in the BC interior. This was the Company’s first significant expansion. This also opened the door for James’ younger brother, Chris, who finished university and got involved two years later.

 James gradually took over leadership of the company from his father. In 1983 – when he was 29 years old – James and his wife Vanessa purchased Fraserway Camper Manufacturer, the Abbotsford operation, from his parents. In 1987, James divided the manufacturing in order to focus on selling campers to dealers on a wholesale basis and the dealerships to focus on full retail sales and service. Each moved into separate and expanded facilities in Abbotsford.

 Another opportunity for growth occurred in 1990 when an RV rental firm closed. James, arranged for terms to pay for the units over 90 days, taking a significant risk, purchased 90 motorhomes from a receiver on short notice. He was able to lease over half the units during the 90 days. This strengthened Fraserway’s reputation as a place not only for retail but for other dealers and manufacturers to sell surplus inventory.

 In 1992, James made what would turn out to be a very astute move by opening a rental division in Vancouver, serving European and local customers. Over the next 25 years, this division has dramatically expanded serving thousands of customers every summer. Typical clients are German or Dutch tourists who fly over for a 3 – 4 week RV adventure in Canada; they are picked up at the airport, brought to Fraserway, given an orientation to their home on wheels and they’re off to the campgrounds and the mountains!

 The rest of the company continued to grow, including his brother Chris’ operations in the BC Interior. Unfortunately, Chris passed away in 2013. James was given the responsibility of being in charge of the Okanagan Group of RV dealerships and his brother’s estate. This led to James purchasing Chris’ four dealerships in 2014.

 There was yet one more recent expansion. In 2015 James added one more location when he purchased an existing dealership in Prince George.

 So, over an almost 50-year period, the Adventurer Group has grown from modest origins to encompass five different brands (Fraserway RV, Country RV, Four Seasons RV Rentals, Roadmaster RV and Travelhome RV) which make up 13 dealerships across Canada. The Group also has a manufacturing plant which builds the Adventurer, Eagle Cap and Okanagan brands. There is a rentals division with 1,300 units on fleet. The Company also has a parts retail unit sales and wholesale distribution under the brand Specialty RV Products.

 In addition to the operational divisions, James also established The Adventurer Foundation which supports extensive charitable activities. James’ eyes light up at the prospect of being able to support a range of worthwhile causes. Employees are involved, too, such as collectively sponsoring hundreds of children in Kenya since 2005.

  James Epp of Fraserway RV - No Shortcuts to Success (Part II) >>