RV Upturn Carries Good Sam Enterprises LLC

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Marcus Lemonis The upturn in wholesale and retail sales of RVs has carried over to the service side with Good Sam Enterprises LLC reporting surges in a number of company metrics. During an investors’ conference call today (May 16) that followed up Good Sam’s first quarter results announced on Tuesday, Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis said the company is seeing upticks from sales of roadside assistance and membership... Read more

Jim Rogers Resuming Northern Indiana Tour

KOA’s Jim Rogers during keynote presentation at “RV Power Breakfast’ Jim Rogers, CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), continues his visit to Northern Indiana today (May 10) and through the weekend with appearances at the KOA campground in Middlebury. Rogers, who was the keynote speaker Thursday at the inaugural “RV Power Breakfast” held at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, will be speaking tonight at the Middlebury KOA, owned by Hope Perkins. Perkins was in the... Read more

First ‘RV Power Breakfast’ Draws Crowd of 400

An audience of 400 gathered this morning at the “RV Industry Power Breakfast” in the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind., to hear a blue ribbon group of speakers tout the RV industry and provide a glowing forecast for its future. The first-time event, organized by RVBusiness magazine and co-sponsored by a number of RV industry firms, drew speakers from the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), GE Capital and local and national government. Their message was upbeat and well received by... Read more

Rogers Urges Cooperation at Power Breakfast

Jim Rogers, CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc., addresses an audience today at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind. Jim Rogers, CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), took his effervescent, pro-camping message to an audience of 400 people from the RV industry today (May 9) in Elkhart, Ind. Rogers was the keynote speaker at the inaugural “Power Breakfast” sponsored by RVBusiness magazine, sister publication to Woodall’s Campground Management magazine. Speaking on the theme “Let’s Uncover... Read more

AGS Reveals Latest Decision in Industry Spat

AGS and its owner, Brian Schaeffer, report another preliminary victory in their ongoing legal dispute with industry competitor Southeast Publications Inc. Schaeffer, CEO of Crowley, Texas-based AGS and Texas Advertising Inc., told Woodall’s Campground Management (WCM) that Federal Court Judge John McBryde has denied Southeast’s request to dismiss AGS’s suit against it. Now, the parties will proceed into the discovery phase of the lawsuit which will give AGS the opportunity to take... Read more

Sun Communities Expanding RV/MH Footprint

Armed with $60 million in cash and $300 million in “additional liquidity,” Sun Communities Inc. is quickly expanding its footprint in the RV park and manufactured housing community industry. Gary Shiffman, Sun’s chairman and CEO, briefly touched on the company’s expansion plan during an earnings conference call Thursday (April 25), following release of its first quarter financial report. In that report, Sun announced revenue of $103.38 million, and earnings of 93 cents per share. Click here to... Read more

Michigan Parks Upbeat Entering ’13 Season

Members of Michigan ARVC, gather in Lansing for their spring convention. “Under the Big Top” was the theme of the Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds of Michigan’s (ARVC Michigan) spring convention, which welcomed 100 members from 49 campgrounds March 25-27 in Lansing, Mich. The trade show featured 64 exhibitors. Both attendance and vendor participation was up from last year, reported Lori Tews, executive director of ARVC Michigan. “The mood of Michigan campground owners was pure excitement,”... Read more

Park Vendors Make Gains in Growing Market

Wilcor International, a distributor of over 6,000 products to the campground industry, is concluding its start-of-the-year marketing surge through product displays at its showroom in Utica, N.Y. Based on these early customer contacts and orders, Sales Manager David Corrigan concludes that RV park and campground owners, who constitute 70% of Wilcor’s business, have returned to a pre-recession mindset and that’s good news. “This year it seems a lot of them have gone back to the way they had been... Read more

Camp Stores: Source for Essentials & More

The Sandy Mart at Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, S.C., offers a wide selection of products for campers. The campground store can be the difference between a successful campground with happy guests and a less successful campground with guests who frequently leave the park to buy essential camping items. Stores are a common fixture at campgrounds, with 81% of those parks responding to the 2010 economic survey conducted by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) saying... Read more

Public/Private Park Relationships Over U.S.

Even without an organized effort to get along, pure economics may end up leveling the playing field between the public parks and private parks. So surmises Jeff Sims, director of state relations and program advocacy with the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC). With most states under budgetary pressures, rather than subsidize their state park and campground budgets with tax revenue, Sims says, “a lot of parks and campgrounds are generating their own revenue and becoming more... Read more

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