In an earlier post I passed along information I had picked up from a conversation with Pete (in sales at PC) a couple days ago. I left the factory today with my new unit, but before leaving I tried to flesh this issue out a little more without being too inquisitive. I talked with a couple other folks, including Keith, the admin and money man about the Campers Inn transition. Based on information from those sources (which dovetails with earlier reports that Jim Godfrey got from Barry at the Tampa show), a couple of things seem pretty solid.
For the "foreseeable future" the ability to coordinate a purchase directly with Phoenix in Elkhart will continue unchanged, EXCEPT the actual purchase will be transacted through a Campers Inn outlet. PC's sales team is still taking sales calls, coordinating options and customization, and writing orders just like they have been doing, using the same pricing and discount lists. A buyer can still work the entire build process and take delivery at the factory as always. The actual purchase, however, will transact through CI. I heard this explained in detail to one phone inquiry while there. I asked Keith if he knew how long Phoenix would maintain that arrangement, and he said he did not, but there is no intent at this point to move away from it.
One big advantage for Phoenix with the CI deal seems to be substantial additional production. As I was told, the cream of the Camper's Inn dealerships (some 13 out of 23 or 25 total), will actually be stocking dealers, with several new PC's sitting on their lots for sale. That would seem to mean that in addition to their traditional production for orders as they come in to Elkhart, Phoenix will be building quite a number of spec units to load up the CI dealerships. As a matter of fact, I saw far more new completed PCs sitting at the factory (quite a few outside in the snow!) than I have seen on any previous trip--and the shop was full. I think that ~65 to 100 per year mentioned in earlier comments is undergoing a significant increase--but in three different conversations the importance of maintaining Phoenix's reputation and quality was re-emphasized as the key to future success.
To help manage the logistics of the Campers Inn activities, there will be a dedicated Campers Inn representative placed full time at the factory to facilitate sales transactions there, as well as coordinate warranty and repair requirements for units sold out of the dealerships. That person will be the liaison between the Campers Inn chain and Phoenix for the RV sales issues.
I don't know how this initiative will play out, but it seems to be a fairly well planned effort. We can hope that it will result in the best of both worlds--maintain the direct factory connection for customers who want to personalize their buy that way, and at the same time expand the Phoenix Cruiser brand exposure to a lot more potential RV buyers throughout the east coast who otherwise would never have heard of a PC--resulting in a more solid footing and financial stability for Phoenix.