Why Svea Husbilar was "kicked out" of Caravan Stockholm?

Today we can tell you what really happened at Caravan Stockholm 2018, when the company Svea Husbilar claimed they were kicked out and launched the film "SCANDAL"! We have gathered information from many different sources and today we present the whole story.

This week's 'digging'

It all started when Svea Husbilar was not allowed to participate in the Caravan Stockholm fair and released a startling video that they called "SCANDAL", which was widely shared on social media. We started digging into the story and started with the post The motorhome industry - what happens behind the scenes? 

As we kept digging, we realised that very often it is "The lid of the" in the motorhome industry. It doesn't matter whether customers try to make their voices heard on the companies' own websites or in (some of) the various motorhome groups on Facebook - everything is effectively silenced.

How has the "digging" gone this week? We have already talked to Svea Husbilar, and we have a lot of information left from this meeting to tell you about. We were also contacted this week by the Caravan Stockholm fair. They did not have any new information for us, but we want to give them an honour for contacting us!

In addition to this, we have read all the comments that have poured in both on the blog and on Facebook as well as in emails, both from private individuals and from motorhome operators. In addition to receiving a lot of interesting information, we would like to highlight the fact that we received many comments that actually make us believe in a better climate and a more honest and open dialogue! But now it's time: we can tell you what happened at Caravan Stockholm 2018.

New ideas at Caravan Stockholm 2018

In February this year it was time for Caravan Stockholm to exhibit at Kistamässan in Stockholm. They had worked for a long time to create a really good and eventful weekend, which of course includes a lot of planning and logistics. In addition to presenting interesting exhibitors and speakers, the fair also wanted to offer news, for example in the form of the "Destination Square".

One of the companies that contacted us and wanted to exhibit at the fair was Svea Husbilar, which works with the brokerage of motorhomes and caravans. Since this company does not sell new motorhomes, they did not want to exhibit vehicles but instead tried to think new, which suited the fair perfectly!

svea husbilar would organise the "Milky Way"

Caravan Stockholm and Svea husbilar agreed that Svea would stand outside the fair in an area called "Vintergatan". The fact that it would be a "Winter Street" was the fair's idea. They wanted to come up with news and felt that Svea Husbilar could be open to implementing the idea.

At Vintergatan, visitors to the fair would be able to see Nordic motorhomes, take photos on the red carpet and talk about motorhomes, while Svea would be able to hand out flyers with information about their agency.

Svea Husbilar also produced a film about the fair that reached an impressive 63,000 people in just a few days. This is because Svea Husbilar is a company that thinks outside the box when it comes to marketing, and knows how to use social media. This was an arrangement that felt right both for the fair and for Svea Motorhomes, a win-win. But ... not everyone thought so.

Extortion from motorhome companies

Not everyone liked the concept of the Milky Way and the red carpet. Some other motorhome companies said that it would look like Svea Husbilar was hosting the fair, and that it would be strange if all the visitors had to pass them before entering the entrance.

Other comments suggested that Caravan Stockholm is a "new car fair" and that companies that sell motorhomes do not belong there. In addition, Svea Husbilar was criticised for being "grey importers" of motorhomes, a claim that they themselves strongly reject as incorrect.

We all know that it all ended with Svea Husbilar being told a few weeks before the opening of the fair that they could not participate. It wasn't just that they couldn't stand outside the fair. According to Svea Husbilar, they did not receive an offer to stand elsewhere at the fair.

On the other hand, they were offered a free place at the fishing fair (at the fishing fair!?). The Erwin Hymer Group was not interested in participating if Svea Husbilar would participate in the way it was intended.

Is it true that the Erwin Hymer Group sets the rules on how marketing should be done? As we have understood, it is important not to stand out, or to go outside the framework set by the market's leaders. Who controls the rulers? Money rules, of course, and if you look at the picture below, it is easy to see that the fair would not have been possible without the exhibitors from the Erwin Hymer group.

Are the criticisms reasonable?

It is quite obvious that Svea Husbilar was cancelled from the fair due to blackmail from other companies. The purely legal aspects of this, and whether one company wants to sue another, we leave that to the companies. However, we want to take a closer look at the criticism Svea Husbilar received. Was it perhaps reasonable for them not to participate in the fair?

1. "It would look like they were hosts"

If Svea Husbilar were to stand outside the fair, they could be perceived as hosts of the entire fair, according to some. One reader writes: "Like Volvo having a stand outside the Geneva Fair, so that everyone passing by has to pass their 'stand' to be able to look at other cars. I don't think that would be appreciated by the other car brands."

Another reader does not see anything strange about a company standing outside the exhibition centre, but writes "What is described occurs very often at trade fairs in various industries. That is, exhibitors stand outdoors, even at the entrance. So nothing strange about it! It's good for the organiser to also be able to use the premises outdoors!"

Another reader believes that other factors are behind the criticism: "Do you mean that customers find it difficult to distinguish between the exhibitor (Svea) and the fair organiser? Should Svea be penalised for rethinking how they wanted to position themselves? Could it be that the attractive places inside the fair are booked by the same brands year after year? The fear of competition shines through and this does not favour the end customer!"

2. "Caravan Stockholm is a new car show"

A recurring comment is that Caravan Stockholm is a "new car fair" and that companies that sell motorhomes therefore do not belong at the fair. One reader, representing a company that exhibited at the fair, writes "The purpose of the Kista fair is to present new motorhomes. Svea does not sell new motorhomes, which means that their presence can be questioned on natural grounds."

Nowhere on Caravan Stockholm's website does it say that the fair is specifically a new car fair. The fact that the fair wanted to cooperate with Svea Husbilar also shows that this cannot be the case. In addition, there are many other exhibitors at the fair than new car companies: everything from campsites and destinations to motorhome magazines and bloggers.

The fair's website states that "Caravan Stockholm is the fair for those who are curious about the mobile lifestyle and interested in caravans, motorhomes and camping! Here you can compare, touch and feel different brands, models and equipment, discover exciting travel destinations and get tips from experts."

3. "Svea Motorhomes are grey importers"

The third criticism is that Svea Husbilar is a "grey importer". Grey imports is a term that in this case refers to companies that import motorhomes or caravans from other countries without selling them through a Swedish authorised dealer.

If we understand everything correctly, this is perfectly legal if the import takes place within the EU, but involves some differences when it comes to things like how to deal with VAT and warranty errors etc. This is a complex (and interesting!) issue of its own that we plan to write about next Sunday. So, what about Svea and grey imports?

We have of course asked Svea Husbilar and they say that they do not work with grey imports. According to the company, they imported four motorhomes (two of them new) when they started their business in 2016. However, they decided in 2017 not to import any more motorhomes. Today, they do not import any vehicles except for possible trade-ins in case of export (which happened once, when they exported a motorhome to Denmark). They also have customers from Åland, where they help with the registration in Sweden.

What do you think?

Do you think this is about extortion, cartelisation or just plain old business deals? What do you think about what is happening in the industry and what changes would you like to see? We are raising these questions because we think it is important to have an open and constructive dialogue. As always, we are interested in your thoughts and opinions! Write freely in the comments section (you can remain anonymous if you wish). Please note that your comment may need to be approved before it becomes visible.

Don't miss next Sunday when we will be writing about grey imports of motorhomes and caravans!