Winnebago's Backlog Remains High Due to Demand Resetting Higher After the Pandemic

Winnebago, which reinvented itself under CEO Mike Happe with the November 2016 acquisition of high-end towable maker Grand Design, sees itself as a leading outdoor lifestyle firm. It now has a marine segment with Chris-Craft and Barletta. Towables is an area the company had long wanted to grow in but had remained very small since acquiring SunnyBrook in 2011. Winnebago’s North American towables share is 12%, up from under 2% before Grand Design, so we see a long growth runway if it can keep chipping into Thor's and Forest River's roughly 80% combined share. In fiscal 2021, towables were about 55% of total revenue compared with just 9% in fiscal 2016. High brand equity enabling scale and barriers to entry provide Winnebago with a narrow economic moat.