LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) (the “Company”) today announced the realignment and new assignments of its executive leadership team in an effort to improve performance and process in key areas.
Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, “Over the years, we have created a unique business model that combines a comprehensive portfolio of high-margin recurring products and services, known as Good Sam, with a database of more than 4.5 million active customers combined with a RV dealership and RV and outdoor retail platform that requires evolution and constant improvement. Our 2019 focus will be to better serve our customers, associates and shareholders while continuing to expand our RV market share with opportunistic RV acquisitions and completing the rollout of RV dealerships into newly opened retail locations. We will also have an intense focus on dramatically reducing our retail inventory levels and aggressively reducing capital expenditures to maximize and drive free cash flow. As previously indicated, we will not hesitate to close underperforming locations, and we have recently closed four unprofitable RV dealership locations in addition to eight retail locations that we felt would not be accretive long term.”
Mr. Lemonis added, “The organizational changes we have made and are announcing today should streamline our team and bring a new and heightened focus on inventory management, expense control, product margins, cash flow and asset deployment. On September 27, 2018, Brent Moody was named President of the Company. According to Mr. Lemonis, “Brent oversees all operations and plays an invaluable role in the management and growth of the business, with great vision for the Company’s future. For over 16 years, he has built an impressive track record of strategic, operational and financial accomplishments. He has proven to be a great partner in growing the company, and I trust his leadership and vision.”
As previously disclosed, Roger Nuttall resigned from his position as President of the Company’s dealership group on December 21, 2018, and his responsibilities will be divided up between Marcus Lemonis and four tenured Divisional RV Presidents with extensive experience in the RV industry: TJ Smith, Scott Jensen, Todd Nuttall and Josh Erickson. In an effort to streamline the decision making process and improve performance, Matt Wagner has been appointed Senior Vice President of RV Inventory Management, Digital Marketing, Media Services and RV Dealership E-commerce; Brock Whinnery has been elevated to Vice President of Fixed Operations for the RV dealership group; and Randy Rahe will serve as a Vice President of RV Dealership Operations and will assist the Divisional RV Presidents with process and standardization, finance and insurance, and customer and associate experience.
Finally, the Company announced the appointment of Thomas Wolfe to President of Good Sam and Melvin Flanigan to Chief Financial Officer. As President of Good Sam, Mr. Wolfe will focus on continuing to enhance the growth and development of the Consumer Services and Plans segment as well as improving the overall value and customer experience for its more than two million Good Sam Club members. Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Flanigan will work together to ensure a seamless transition of the CFO role. Mr. Flanigan will be supported in his role by Dale Hendrix, Karin Bell, and David McKillip, who lead the financial roles for the corporate functions and Consumer Services and Plans segment, RV dealership segment, and Retail segment, respectively.
Mr. Flanigan previously served as the Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of DTS Inc. (“DTS”), a leader in high-definition and wireless audio, licensing branded intellectual property to entertainment technology markets worldwide, from September 2003 to December 2016. Prior to that, he served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of DTS from July 1999. From March 1996 to July 1999, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Operations at SensArray Corporation, a supplier of thermal measurement products for semiconductor, LCD, and memory-disk fabrication processes. Mr. Flanigan led SensArray’s manufacturing and finance efforts. Prior to joining SensArray, Mr. Flanigan was Corporate Controller for Megatest Corporation, a manufacturer of automatic test equipment for logic and memory chips, where he was involved in international mergers and acquisitions activities. Mr. Flanigan has also previously held positions at Cooperative Solutions, Inc., a software developer in the client server transaction processing market, Hewlett-Packard Company, a provider of information technology infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging and printing, and Price Waterhouse LLP (now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP). Mr. Flanigan received an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Accounting from Santa Clara University.
About Camping World Holdings, Inc.
Camping World Holdings, headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is the leading outdoor and camping retailer, offering an extensive assortment of recreational vehicles for sale, RV and camping gear, RV maintenance and repair, other outdoor and active sports products, and the industry’s broadest and deepest range of services, protection plans, products and resources. Since the Company's founding in 1966, Camping World has grown to become one of the most well-known destinations for everything RV, with more than 225 locations in 36 states and a comprehensive e-commerce platform.
For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements about our business plans and goals, including our plans to expand the number of RV sales locations, including certain Gander Outdoors locations, add RV products, parts, and services to Gander Outdoors locations, the ability of our model to deliver long-term growth and sustainability through industry cycles, and our beliefs regarding our opportunistic position. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations.
These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: potential impact of the recently identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; the availability of financing to us and our customers; fuel shortages, or high prices for fuel; the well-being, as well as the continued popularity and reputation for quality, of our manufacturers; general economic conditions in our markets and ongoing economic and financial uncertainties; our ability to attract and retain customers; competition in the market for services, protection plans, products and resources targeting the RV lifestyle or RV enthusiast; our expansion into new, unfamiliar markets, businesses, or product lines or categories, as well as delays in opening or acquiring new retail locations; unforeseen expenses, difficulties, and delays frequently encountered in connection with expansion through acquisitions; our failure to maintain the strength and value of our brands; our ability to successfully order and manage our inventory to reflect consumer demand in a volatile market and anticipate changing consumer preferences and buying trends; fluctuations in our same store sales and whether they will be a meaningful indicator of future performance; the cyclical and seasonal nature of our business; our ability to operate and expand our business and to respond to changing business and economic conditions, which depends on the availability of adequate capital; our reliance on seven fulfillment and distribution centers for our retail, e-commerce and catalog businesses; our dependence on our relationships with third party providers of services, protection plans, products and resources and a disruption of these relationships or of these providers’ operations; whether third party lending institutions and insurance companies will continue to provide financing for RV purchases; our inability to retain senior executives and attract and retain other qualified employees; our ability to meet our labor needs; risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space, including our inability to maintain the leases for our retail locations or locate alternative sites for our stores in our target markets and on terms that are acceptable to us; our dealerships’ susceptibility to termination, non-renewal or renegotiation of dealer agreements if state dealer laws are repealed or weakened; our failure to comply with certain environmental regulations; a failure in our e-commerce operations, security breaches and cybersecurity risks; our inability to enforce our intellectual property rights and accusations of our infringement on the intellectual property rights of third parties; disruptions to our information technology systems or breaches of our network security; feasibility, delays, and difficulties in opening of Gander Outdoors retail locations; realization of anticipated benefits and cost savings related to recent acquisitions; potential litigation relating to products we sell as a result of recent acquisitions, including firearms and ammunition; and whether we are able to realize any tax benefits that may arise from our organizational structure and any redemptions or exchanges of CWGS, LLC common units for cash or stock.
These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2017, and our other reports filed with the SEC could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change, except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
