Camping World

Camping World
Subsidiary
Industry Retail
Founded 1966
Founder David Garvin
Headquarters Lincolnshire, Illinois
Number of locations
 120
Key people
 Marcus Lemonis, Chairman & CEO
Products RV Parts & Accessories, Camping & Outdoor Supplies
Revenue $3.3 billion[1]
Number of employees
 7,100[2]
Parent Good Sam Enterprises
Website www.campingworld.com

Camping World is an American corporation specializing in selling parts and service for recreational vehicles and supplies for camping. The company has its headquarters in Lincolnshire, Illinois. In October 2016 it became a publicly traded company when it raised $251 million in an IPO. [3] [2] Camping World operates 120 retail/service locations in 36 states,[1] and also sells goods through mail order and online. It claims to be the world's largest supplier of RV parts and supplies. The company is also the title sponsor for the NASCAR Camping World East Series, NASCAR Camping World West Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Recently, it has become the title sponsor of the Camping World Stadium, home of the Orlando City soccer team.

History

Ford E-Series RV.

Camping World began in 1966 with a small store in Beech Bend Park, an amusement park outside of Bowling Green which billed its campground as the world's largest. Campers at the park were requesting a store where they could buy supplies, so David Garvin—son of the park's owner—took out a loan and opened the store. Garvin amassed a large customer list as the years went by, which proved to be a windfall later when he added a mail-order division to the company. That division thrived, fueling the company's growth for years to come.

In 1997, Garvin sold the company to the current owners, Good Sam Enterprises (formerly Affinity Group), of Ventura, California.

In 2005, Garvin announced plans for a huge development near Franklin, Kentucky called "Garvin's". The development, described by Garvin as "a combination of Disney World, Camping World and Bass Pro Shops", will feature a large Camping World store with RV 250 service bays; a five-story, 650,000 square foot (60,000 m²) permanent RV trade show and exhibition area; a "free range" campground with dry-camping sites; a camping museum; and much more. Due to the recession however the venture never got off the ground and much of the land proposed for development was sold at auction in October 2011.[4]

In early October 2016 Camping World raised $251 million in an initial public offering. The 11.4 million shares sold for $22 each. Lemonis co-owns the company with private equity firm Crestview Partners and plans to retain "substantial control" through his ownership of ML Acquisition and ML R.V. Group.[3]

Operations

Under the Freedom Roads brand, the company sells RVs through a network of about three dozen independent dealers.[5] In 2007, the company opened the Camping World RV Sales dealership; formerly known as Stout's RV. It is located on Interstate 65 south of Indianapolis, Indiana.[6][7] Since then, the chain of dealerships has expanded to more than 100 locations. [8]

The company also operates RVs.com.

Auto racing

Camping World has been sponsoring NASCAR's Truck Series since 2009, including the race shown here at Rockingham Speedway.

Camping World has major sponsorship involvement with NASCAR and the Indy Racing League, both for races and teams.

NASCAR Camping World Series

During the 2007 NASCAR Busch East Series, Grand National Division awards banquet, NASCAR introduced Camping World as the new title sponsor for the Grand National East and West Series, beginning in 2008. for the 2010 season it becomes the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Camping World was introduced as the new sponsor of the NASCAR Truck Series, replacing 13-year sponsor Craftsman. The sponsorship started in 2009, and will last until 2022.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hirsch, Lauren (6 October 2016). "Camping World raises $251 million in IPO". Reuters. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 Yerak, Becky (7 October 2016). "Lemonis' Camping World raises $250 million in IPO". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Reuters (7 October 2016). "Here's How Much Camping World Just Raised in Its IPO". Fortune. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Minor, Robyn L. (March 17, 2012). "Garvin land along I-65 auctioned". The Daily News. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ "FreedomRoads business profile". Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  6. ↑ ""Camping World announces grand opening of Indianapolis store at former Stout's location," May 16, 2007". Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  7. ↑ "Camping World RV Sales, Indianapolis". Stoutsrv.com. 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  8. ↑ Camping World RV Sales
  9. ↑ "NASCAR, CAMPING WORLD ANNOUNCE 7-YEAR EXTENSION". NASCAR. May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.

External links

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