Camping World in Scott County update

Camping World has built a 33,000-square-foot facility on a 12-acre parcel off Nash Road near Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

According to the company's website, the local store — a supplier of recreational vehicle parts and supplies — was to have opened in July, but a spot check last week showed interior work is still being done on the building.

"We do not currently have information on an opening date," Camping World replied to a Tuesday, Nov. 22, inquiry by the Southeast Missourian.

Camping World Holdings (CWH), based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, on May 31 said that it planned to have completed a total of 11 new dealership locations, including in northern Scott County, by the end of this year.

CWH already has Missouri stores in Columbia, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis, and in addition to suburban Cape Girardeau, promises new locations in Branson, Missouri, three outlets in Wisconsin, two in California and one each in Kansas, Michigan, Montana and Ohio.

On May 5, Camping World chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis was quoted in www.rvnews.com cautioning RV manufacturers to slow manufacturing to match retail demand.

"We strongly encourage [manufacturers] to cut their production back to scale to meet and match what retail demand was," Lemonis told RV News, "and in some cases, even withdraw a little bit, so that the inventory that is out there in the system can settle in and then we can get into more of a just-in-time inventory."

New leadership/finances

CWH announced Nov. 21 the retirement of Tamara Ward as the company's chief operating officer effective at the end of the year after a nearly 34-year tenure. CWH said Ward's exit is part of a planned leadership succession process. CWH has declared a regular cash dividend of $0.625 per share on the company's Class A common stock with payment expected to stockholders Dec. 29. On Nov 14, CWH announced the coming acquisition of Ashley Outdoors, a family-owned RV dealership in Salem, Alabama. The purchase is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

In previous CWH statements, Lemonis said since Camping World went public six years ago, CWH has nearly doubled annual revenue to nearly $7 billion and more than tripled annual net income.

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