Corey Bryant was working in a caravan sales yard when he noticed a gap in mobile caravan repairs.
That night he went home and told his partner, Aleisha Kaeding that he wanted to start doing mobile repairs on weekends in between his full-time job.
Ms Kaeding thought he was “nuts” but went along with the plan.
In 2016, the pair bought a secondhand trailer, put a sign saying Caravan King on the front and placed an ad in the Mandurah Mail.
Since then they have never looked back.
“His phone just started ringing,” Ms Kaeding said.
“It went from weekends to doing repairs under torchlight after work.
“Eventually he let his employer know he was going to give this 100 per cent.”
Business booming
Within six months, Mr Bryant was so booked out that he brought on a new technician and put another mobile repair van on the road.
It was when their backyard started looking like a “caravan wreckers” and the children were stepping over awnings the couple realised they needed a workshop.
Myself nor Corey ever dreamt we would be the owners of a caravan business – now we can’t think of anything else we’d rather do.
Caravan King owner Aleisha Kaeding
Mr Bryant and Ms Kaeding took a gamble on a premises four times out of their budget and their leap of faith paid off.
“I still remember the first van that rocked up while all the kids running around – we would be there all day and night building,” Ms Kaeding said.
“One of our staff was working from our bedroom because the phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
“We’ve had community support the whole way through – the amount of people that just turned up to say congratulations and asked if we needed help was amazing.”
Only 18 months into starting Caravan King the business got the Suncorp Group contract to do insurance and accident repairs for the South West.
Now Caravan King sits on a 17,000sqm premises with not only repairs but also a caravan sales department, a parts retail shop and caravan storage.
COVID-19 caravanning
COVID-19 has been partly to blame for Caravan King’s boom with the caravan industry expanding significantly during the pandemic.
According to data published by the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, travellers are spending more weekends away, taking day trips or short jaunts, often for activities such as bushwalking, going to the beach and sightseeing.
In 2020, Mandurah recorded the second highest number of caravan registrations across Australia.
And while many people believe it’s the grey nomads who are hogging the road, data from Tourism Research Australia shows travellers aged 30-54 make up most (48 per cent) of the 11.80 million domestic camping and caravanning trips in Australia.
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“WA has been such a safe space for people to travel around so people are seeing our state like never before,” Ms Kaeding said.
“Roads have been redone, there is new accommodation options that’ve never been there before.
“WA residents are getting out and about and making memories in their own backyard.”
Prioritising customers is key
However, Ms Kaeding said putting customers first had brought Caravan King most of its success.
“Due to COVID-19 we had a lot of new customers come our way but for the last financial year 47 per cent of our total sales were still repeat customers,” she said.
“To have almost 50 per cent of customers be repeats is just amazing – that’s why we think local and customers first is so important.”
She said you could fit out your business perfectly but its investing into customers that makes a company grow.
“We’ve never been the fanciest dealership, everything is not brand new, but we do invest into better customer experiences and a better product,” she said.
“In our old premises we had no signage for five months – we were so busy I didn’t have five seconds to design a sign.
“The priority is looking after our customers – I’d like to think that makes a big difference.”
Community support: Aleisha says Caravan King couldn’t have been so successful without their team and customers. Photo: Claire Sadler.
Ms Kaeding said it was easy to put customers first when they’re just as supportive back.
“We have the best customers in the world – we are so grateful for all the support we’ve had from the Peel region,” she said.
“Even when we were receiving a grant we had a customer come in and man the front office for us so we could be together as a team.
“Also without our team there’s no way we could’ve done what we’ve done – we even all go camping together.”
Plans for the future
Caravan King was among six innovative Peel projects that will share in almost $800,000 worth of state government funding.
Caravan King will use a $160,000 grant to expand its workshop, allowing the business to meet demand for caravan maintenance and repairs in Peel.
The expansion will house eight additional bays and create 10 new jobs for technicians, front office staff and potentially an operations manager.
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Ms Kaeding said she hoped this would decrease wait times for repairs to two weeks rather than several months.
“After this the goal within the next five years is to manufacture our very own brand of caravan right out of the Peel region.
“Overall it’s been an amazing journey and myself nor Corey ever dreamt we would be the owners of a caravan business – now we can’t think of anything else we’d rather do.
“We hope it’s here for generations – we are building something that will be here for the Peel region for years to come.”
Time to hit the road
When asked where her family likes to caravan, Ms Kaeding found it impossible to answer.
“WA is my favourite state in the country and I myself have lived in most of them,” she said.
“There are special things about the South West and special things about the North West that I can’t pick a favourite.
“I even tow the caravan down and Corey tows the boat so we can have all of our toys with us wherever we go so we don’t miss out on anything.”
