Indie Campers

Last updated
Indie Campers
IndustryRV Rental
FoundedFebruary 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
FoundersHugo Oliveira, Stefan Koeppl
Headquarters Lisboa, Portugal
Website indiecampers.com   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Indie Campers is a motorhome rental company, operating in the Europe, North America and Oceania , with its own fleet of over 7000 vehicles distributed by more than 70 locations in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in the United States. In addition to its own fleet, Indie Campers has a campervan Marketplace with more than 2000 vehicles from private hosts.

Contents

History

Indie Campers was founded in Lisbon in 2013 by a Portuguese, Hugo Oliveira, who had the business idea after returning from a trip in Australia, in 2012. The business was launched alongside his Austrian friend, Stefan Koeppl with the guidance of the "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs", sponsored by the European Union. [1] In 2014, to pursue a career as a venture capital investor, Stefan Koeppl sold his stake in Indie Campers, leaving Hugo Oliveria as the sole shareholder for the company.

In 2015, Indie Campers raised its first financing round (seed round), sponsored by Portugal Ventures at one hundred and forty thousand euros. The participation was reacquired in 2017 by the founder and CEO Hugo Oliveira, for seven hundred and fifty thousand euros, after the company's internationalization and growth objectives were achieved. [2]

Between 2015 and 2017, Indie Campers grew from 3 to 80 employees, headquartered in Portugal with multiple operational locations across Europe, and multiplied its turnover four times each year. In January 2018, they announced hiring of 150 new employees in areas of operations, customer support, marketing and finance. [3]

In 2020, Indie Campers was awarded a title as the fastest-growing Portuguese company in Europe between 2015 and 2018 according to FT1000 Europe's Fastest Growing Companies list published on the Financial Times. This ranking is based on the recorded increase rate of revenue growth, between 2015 and 2018. With the total growth of 2878% in the analyzed date range, and average annual growth of 210%. Indie Campers is ranked 37th place in the overall ranking. [4]

2021 was a year of expansion for Indie Campers, the company extended its operations to the United States, [5] thus becoming a transcontinental business and also launched a campervan Marketplace allowing caravan rental companies and private owners to rent their vehicles through the platform.

2023 marks the company's expansion to Oceania, with the opening of locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Cristchurch.

Business model

Indie Campers allows its customers to rent campervans through an online check-in system. This company presents a business model centered on the relocation of vans between their operational bases, according to the availability of each type of campervan and the demand for each location. This means that the company minimizes operating costs by offering its customers the possibility of booking one-way trips between the locations it serves. Subsequently, Indie Campers also started to create a market place for private motorhome owners and professionals in Europe to rent their vans through their platform and resources. [6]

The vans are, in general, a smaller size when compared to traditional motorhomes. And attic equipped with beds; storage areas; cooker; cooler chest; shower; cleaning kit; kitchen with sink; bathroom, among others. Several extra services may also be added such as Wi-Fi; bedding; bicycles; transfer to and from the airport; surfboards; outdoor tables and chairs, among others. [7]

Products

Indie Campers has multiple types of cars in its own fleet, from rooftop tent Jeeps to fixed beds RV´s, that accommodate from 2 to 5 people. [8]

Locations

Indie Campers is headquartered in downtown Lisbon and has operational depots in all countries where it is present. The locations served by the company are:

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References

  1. ↑ "O Erasmus também se faz nos negócios". Jornal Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  2. ↑ "Portugal Ventures sai da Indie Campers por 750 mil euros". Dinheiro Vivo (in European Portuguese). 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. ↑ Pimentel, Ana. "Portuguesa Indie Campers tem 150 vagas para estágios e empregos em 10 países". Observador (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  4. ↑ Kelly, Maxine (2020-03-02). "FT 1000: the fourth annual list of Europe's fastest-growing companies". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  5. ↑ Chang, Brittany (28 October 2021). "A European camper van rental platform has expanded to LA with RVs starting at $40 a day". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Smith, Andrea. "This new service wants to help you rent out your campervan". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  7. ↑ "Indie Campers. O sonho americano numa carrinha de roadtrip". Dinheiro Vivo (in European Portuguese). 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  8. ↑ "Fleet". Indie Campers. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
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