North East camper van business gears up for 2021 staycation boom

A Brunswick based camper van retailer has seen record profits following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Mini Campers North East, which specialises in selling and converting compact camper vans, saw its profits up by more than 200 per cent than the 2019/20 financial year.

A survey by The Cumberland Building Society carried out in August 2020 revealed that 83 per cent of British holidaymakers would prefer to stay in the UK this year than travel abroad, with 71 per cent of people planning to continue holidaying in the UK in 2021. This is something that Mini Campers North East has capitalised on.

Alex Banks, part owner of Mini Campers North East, commented: “Though we’re looking at recessions and potential job losses, quite often people are getting rid of a car on their drive at the moment.

“Because the vans are small, they’re seen as a way of lowering costs and getting a holiday at the same time, which we all need.”

Despite record profits so far for Mini Campers North East this year, there have been struggles not only for the company, but the wider camper van industry on the whole.

Though the company opened its own workshop on-site, there have been issues with obtaining parts, which are in demand across the country.

Alex added: “The biggest difficulty coming back after lockdown has been parts and supply chains.

“Some supply chains have completely broken down. There are a lot of exports from Italy and Spain, and with factories shutting down for long period of time over there, the industry feels the knock-on effects months down the line.”

Mini Campers North East has also had to put the brakes on moving into the rentals market – something the company had planned at the beginning of the year.

Alex concluded: “I think the last few months have exceeded our expectations overall, and the business is going to continue going from strength to strength.”

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