Origins

South Wales Caravan Centre Limited was established in Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley during January 2002 by three brothers Simon, Andrew and Jonathan Bound. Simon had wanted to establish a vehicle related business for some time. Brothers Andrew (a corporate lawyer) and Jonathan (an accountant) provided some of the initial funding requirements, professional expertise and moral support. The company faced the challenge of being established with limited funds and initially a small amount of stock. The three brothers wanted the business to be based in the Rhondda but finding suitable premises was difficult. They eventually acquired a former Austin Rover dealership and as well as establishing the business, needed to renovate the derelict site to bring it up to standard. Another challenge faced was persuading suppliers that it was a viable to operate a caravan business based in the Rhondda and there were certainly some questions initially raised over its location.

Success Factor

Without Simon’s drive and ambition, the business would not have been established and nor grown to its present size. For the first six months of the establishment Simon worked in the business on a part time basis around his existing job. He then gave up this well-paid secure job to drive the Caravan Centre forward. It has been his vision and drive that has secured the two new caravan dealerships, which were gained very much against the odds. In January 2004, South Wales Caravan Centre Limited was appointed main dealers for Adria Caravans. Adria took some persuading because at the time they granted the dealership at the beginning of 2004, South Wales Caravan Centre were still a very new company, with a site that was not up to scratch. Adria also had some concerns of the location. The relationship with Adria has flourished to such an extent that a month ago, the firm won a national award from Adria as the best new caravan dealer in the UK for 2005 and are now amongst the company’s top five dealers. The company has invested invest heavily in advertising and marketing the business and building up our reputation, winning the award for best stands at the Welsh Caravan and Camping show in January 2005. The firm would rather make a deal, make a small profit and sell a lot of caravans to get its name established rather than hold back and look to make a larger profit margin on a small number of caravans. Customer Service is key and the company has developed a loyal growing customer base

The Future

The plans for the future of the company is to consolidate what it has at the moment. To date, the business is run very much on a breakeven basis investing heavily on advertising, marketing and development of the site. It aims to build up a profitability side of things slowly. The company have just redeveloped its workshop facilities and taken on more trained working staff to handle repair and insurance side of the caravan business. South Wales Caravan Centre has recently been appointed as dealers for Adria Motor Homes from 2006 and is looking to develop the motor home side of the business.