Airstream has a long history of retail store sales.
It all started in 1945. Wally Byam, founder of Airstream, was working with Lockheed as an engineer. He kept highly detailed notebooks, both dealing with work and personal entries.
One personal note pointed to his post-war endeavors. He decided he wanted to become involved in the direct mail order business, but when the war ended, he instead returned to manufacturing. In 1947, Wally reopened the Airstream factory.
Years later in 1960, when the African Caravan ended, he returned to Los Angeles. He was making the necessary arrangements to transfer Airstream's responsibilities to a different set of hands. There were many topics to discuss, but one that was very close to his heart was creating a Wally Byam Store and mail-order catalog.
The fuse was lit. Unfortunately, he passed two years later and never saw his ideas for a store developed. When the first catalog was published in 1963, an entry underlined his dream.
"During his travels, Wally started to gather many items and accessories that met the exacting requirements of trailering. His original intention was to provide a readily available storehouse of such items for all trailerists. Wally's death in 1962 prevented him from seeing the completion of this effort, but the team he left in charge brought his plan to fruition...this, the first Wally Byam Stores catalog, is the result of that program Wally had hoped to accomplish."
Airstream World, the company's dealer magazine, was first mailed in March 1965 to 200,000 travel trailer owners throughout the United States and Canada. Besides this large mailing, Airstream encouraged dealers to have Wally Byam Stores at their dealerships.
One dealer commented that the Wally Byam Store sales paid for their overhead in the service department. Another admitted he was skeptical about going into the accessory business, but did so against his better judgment. He was rewarded for his choice, and later commented it was one of the smartest decisions he ever made.
What a rich tradition. Airstream is carrying on a dream and making items available through their online store. Airstream is no longer mailing several hundred thousand catalogs, but now has a digital store reaching millions around the world.
Congratulations, and thank you Airstream, for your new offering that carries forward Wally Byam's dream.
Ready to gear up for adventure? Check out the brand new Airstream online store and shop for travel trailer accessories, official Airstream apparel, and much more.
