Winnebago CEO says retail RV buyers still scarce

FOREST CITY, IOWA, April 14 (Reuters) - The top executive at U.S. motor home maker Winnebago Industries Inc (WGO.N) said the encouraging sales rebound his company has seen over the past four months was a function of dealer restocking, not real end demand, and that he was still waiting for retail customers to return to the market.

In an exclusive interview on Wednesday inside the company's 2.5 million square foot factory complex, Bob Olson, Winnebago's chairman, president and chief executive, also provided a glimpse into his company's desperate effort to respond to the sharp downturn in demand that began a little over two years ago, saying the managers were repeatedly outrun by the deteriorating market as they tried to respond.