RV distributor consolidation continued this week. Meyer Distributing has acquired certain assets of Northern Wholesale Supply.
Meyer Distributing has a warehouse in Newport, Minnesota, but Meyer Vice President of Sales Cody Ziegler said the company will consolidate its warehouse with Northern Wholesale Supply’s Lino Lakes, Minnesota, operations. Northern Wholesale Supply opened a 110,000-square-foot facility in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, in 2022.
Meyer emailed Northern Wholesale Supply vendors and customers who were not already Meyer customers. Ziegler said the short messages were meant to inform vendors and customers about the acquisition. More outreach on transitioning customers to Meyer’s B-to-B platform will be coming.
Ziegler said numerous Northern Wholesale Supply employees opted to remain with Meyer Distributing after the deal. He said employees in purchasing, marketing and sales will transition to Meyer.
“There will be no disruption at all for customers,” Ziegler said. “Any dealer that had an account with Northern Wholesale and Meyer, those are the easy ones to transition. The portion that did not have a Meyer account, we used their Northern Wholesale account number to transition to our system, and we will walk them through our B-to-B portal.”
Ziegler said Meyer Distributing will bring numerous benefits to former Northern Wholesale Supply vendors and dealers. He said the prime benefit is Meyer’s logistical network, which he said Northern Wholesale Supply could not match.
“We will add opportunities regionally and nationally for them,” he said. “It will be a tremendous improvement.”
Ziegler said Meyer representatives will work with dealers who placed orders with Northern Wholesale Supply since the distributor’s annual trade show and have not had orders fulfilled. He said pending or unfulfilled transactions will be transferred to Meyer’s system. He said Meyer employees will ensure that open back orders are fulfilled.
The acquisition occurs five months after Meyer Distributing acquired Arrow Distributing. The moves have rolled up two of the three largest regional RV aftermarket distributors into Meyer’s portfolio. Meyer also bought AIM Wholesale distributing in 2023.
NTP-Stag, which is currently up for sale, and Land n Sea operate national RV distribution companies. Atlas Trailer Coach Products is the largest Canadian RV distributor. Additional North American regional RV distributors include Keller Marine & RV, Foland Sales and Laurelhurst Distributors.
Meyer hosts its annual trade show in French Lick, Indiana, this week. The annual Mega Show starts with a Monday night reception at the French Lick Resort and Casino in French Lick, Indiana. Vendor training seminars are scheduled for Tuesday. The exhibit floor will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, with a break from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.
Ziegler said the show will feature over 100 vendors. Former Arrow Distributing dealers who did not previously work with Meyer will have their first opportunity to experience the Mega Show.
He said, “The expectation and anticipation is that this will be the biggest and best show we have put on up to this point.”
The Northern Wholesale Supply sale ends an eventful 13-month period for the distributor. In December 2024, Sun Capital Partners agreed to buy Northern Wholesale Supply. The distributor faced over $73 million in debts and said the sale helped preserve over 200 jobs.
Some suppliers had large unpaid bills from the distributor and, despite Northern Wholesale Supply offering repayment solutions, chose to break ties. Other suppliers cited long-term relationships with Northern Wholesale Supply employees as a reason for continuing their business relationship.
In May, the distributor posted an update on its website saying the company was energized and fully prepared to support its dealers and partners.
Last month, the distributor hosted its 39th, and what turned out to be its final, RV Super Show. As with Arrow Distributing dealers, Ziegler said Northern Wholesale Supply dealers who had not been Meyer Distributing customers would be welcomed to Meyer’s Mega Show next year.
