 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: CWH (Class A) Russell 2000 Component | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1966; 59 years ago (1966) |
| Founder | David Garvin |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 227 (Dec 2018)[1] |
Key people | Marcus Lemonis,Chairman andCEO |
| Products | RV Parts and Accessories, Camping and Outdoor Supplies |
| Revenue |  US$4.792 billion (2018)[1] |
 US$201.015 million (2018)[1] | |
| US$65.581 million (2018)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$2.806 billion (2018)[1] |
| Total equity | US$32.917 million (2018)[1] |
Number of employees | 11,835[2] (2017) |
| Subsidiaries | Gander Outdoors |
| Website | rv |
Camping World Holdings, Inc. is an Americancorporation specializing in sellingrecreational vehicles (RVs), recreational vehicle parts, and recreational vehicle service. They also sell supplies forcamping. The company has its headquarters inLincolnshire, Illinois. In October 2016 it became a publicly traded company when it raised $251 million in an IPO.[3][4] Camping World operates over 180 retail/service locations in 46 states,[5] and also sells goods throughmail order and online. It claims to be the world's largest supplier of RV parts and supplies.
The company is heavily involved in sponsorship of sports entities, such as serving as the title sponsor ofCamping World Stadium and theCamping World Kickoff, which is played in the same stadium. It is currently the presenting sponsor of theProfessional Bull Riders' Team Series. It was previously the presenting sponsor ofMajor League Baseball'sLeague Championship Series,NASCAR'sTruck Series, and theNational Hot Rod Association'sDrag Racing Series.
Camping World began in 1966[6] with a small store inBeech Bend Park, anamusement park outside ofBowling Green, Kentucky, which billed itscampground 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 sagacious 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), ofVentura, California.[7]
In 2005, Garvin announced plans for a huge development nearFranklin, Kentucky called "Garvin's". The development, described by Garvin as "a combination ofDisney World, Camping World andBass 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; campingmuseum; 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.[8]
In early October 2016 Camping World raised $251 million in an initial public offering. The 11.4 million shares sold for $22 each.Marcus 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]
Under the Freedom Roads brand, the company sells RVs through a network of about three dozen independent dealers.[9] In 2007, the company opened the Camping World RV Sales dealership; formerly known as Stout's RV. It is located onInterstate 65 south ofIndianapolis, Indiana.[10][11] Since then, the chain of dealerships has expanded to more than 100 locations.[12]
The company also operates RVs.com.
In 2017, the company expanded into hunting and fishing gear by acquisition ofGander Mountain, which includes theGander Outdoors andOverton's brands.[13]
In December 2020, Lemonis announced a partnership with electric vehicle manufacturerLordstown Motors. The deal stated that Camping World act as the service and maintenance provider for theLordstown Endurance pickup truck, as well as potentially marketing and selling the truck at their Camping World centers. As of June 2021, the two companies announced the deal was off.[14]
Camping World has major sponsorship involvement in sports, particularlycollege football andauto racing. In a 2020 interview withAutoweek, Lemonis emphasized the importance of a "conversion rate of familiarity" for sports fans—particularly those from racing series—into potential Camping World customers.[15]
Since 2016, the company has held the naming rights toCamping World Stadium inOrlando, Florida, and also sponsors the stadium'sCamping World Kickoff college football game.[16] The stadium's bowl game was known as theCamping World Bowl from 2017 to 2019.[17]
In 2017, the company became the inaugural title sponsor ofMajor League Baseball'sLeague Championship Series.[18] This sponsorship lasted through 2022.
In 2023, the company became the inaugural title sponsor of theProfessional Bull Riders' Team Series.[19]
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Camping World's involvement in racing began in 2006 as a sponsor ofNASCAR Busch Series driverJohn Andretti.[20] The following year, Andretti would also race with Camping World sponsorship in theNASCAR Cup Series andIndianapolis 500.[21] Other Camping World promotions during the 2007 season included sponsoring races like theIndyCar Series'Grand Prix at The Glen and forming partnerships with NASCAR teamKevin Harvick Incorporated.[22] Camping World would also sponsor various races and teams in both series over the years, such as Cup driverDavid Ragan and IndyCar'sScott Dixon in 2017.[23][24]
In 2008, Camping World assumed title sponsorship of theNASCAR Busch East Series andNASCAR Autozone West Series, dubbing them the Camping World Series East and West.[25] Both series names lasted until 2010 whenK&N Engineering became the new sponsor.[26]
Camping World became the title sponsor of NASCAR's Truck Series in 2009, replacing 13-year sponsorSears through itsCraftsman brand (since sold toStanley Black & Decker). The sponsorship started in 2009 and will last until 2022.[27]
On May 8, 2018, NASCAR announced an extension of Camping World Holdings' involvement in NASCAR, including a rebrand of the Truck Series to theGander Outdoors Truck Series, a move made as Camping World's 2017 acquisition of the brand has allowed them to brand the series with an outdoors store.[28] After two years with Gander Outdoors branding (the second of which was as the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series), the series reverted to the Camping World Truck Series name in 2021.[29][30]
In October 2020, Camping World acquired the naming rights to theNational Hot Rod Association's pro series, branding it theNHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.[31] The sponsorship had been spurred by atweet from Lemonis in September expressing his interest in supporting the NHRA after it had lost its title sponsorship withCoca-Cola.[32]
In February 2021, in response to theprevious season's Truck Series championSheldon Creed's truck running nearly unsponsored during the first two races of the2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Lemonis made a "challenge" to all unsponsored teams for the2021Bucked Up 200 atLas Vegas Motor Speedway. His deal was to give teams $15,000 just to have the truck wrapped in Camping World colors and logos, $25,000 if the truck comes in the top 10, $35,000 for a top 5, and $50,000 if the truck wins. Numerous drivers and owners took Lemonis up on his offer, including Creed.[33] Lemonis' sponsorship campaign continued in later races, with his other companies like Good Sam also being involved, and included supportingNASCAR Xfinity Series teams.[34][35][36]
Ahead of its inaugural season in June 2021, Camping World became the title sponsor for theSuperstar Racing Experience, naming it the Camping World SRX Series. The collaboration was led by Lemonis' donation to the Plating Change charity.[37]
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South Warren High School has a Bowling Green address but is south of the city limits. | ||