Camping World RV Sales, LLC acquired Richardson’s RV Center with eight locations as well as multiple sales, parts and service centers in Southern California. The deal, first announced in May, was finalized yesterday.
According to a Camping World press release, the acquisition was the largest acquisition in Camping World’s history.
“The Richardson’s top-notch management along with their solid team members are the primary reason we sought this deal,” said Marcus Lemonis, CEO, and chairman of Camping World Holdings. “We know the Richardson’s RV Centers add immediate value for our customers, as an iconic family brand that has been providing exceptional service to RVers for over 30 years.”
The continuing involvement of the Richardsons brothers is yet-to-be-determined, a spokesperson said.
The California locations (Colton, Menifee, Riverside and Temecula) will transition to the Camping World brand and bring the company’s current count to 12 RV dealerships and five parts and service centers in the state, with a future RV dealership coming soon.
The Indiana location (Indiana RV Connection in Middlebury) will convert to Camping World’s RVs.com brand and provide a digital and factory-direct experience for customers nationwide.
A history of growth
In 1985, Raymond Richardson and his sons Steve and Mark began selling RV repos and consignments out of their used car dealership. The practice continued until 1991, when the Richardsons negotiated an affordable property lease on an abandoned 5-acre lot in Riverside, California. They sold used motorhomes with the help of John Deere Credit. In 1992, with a $200,000 John Deere credit line, Richardson’s RV began selling new RVs. Their first lines were Salem and Sierra travel trailers from Cobra Manufacturing in Perris, California (Now known as Forest River).
In 1995, the Richardson’s decided to open their second location in what is now Menifee, California, and became an authorized Jayco tent trailer and Type C dealer.
Three years later, Richardson’s RV Centers bought out a failing RV dealer in Temecula, California, and became a full-line Jayco dealer.
In 2003, the Richardson’s bought a 10-acre open lot next to the Menifee location. In 2004, they built a 65,000-square-foot RV dealership with an indoor showroom and a parts and service facility equipped with 20 service bays.
In 2010, Steve and Mark Richardson assumed their father’s interest shares in the dealership. In 2013, the sons opened a fourth 5-acre sales location in Middlebury, Indiana, as an exclusive Jayco dealership. The dealership served as a preparation center for RVs shipping west.
In 2015, the Richardson brothers purchased a fifth, 6-acre location with a 50,000-square-foot building dedicated to parts and service in Riverside, California.
In 2018 the brothers purchased a sixth location in the nearby town of Colton, California. They turned an abandoned building into what the Richardson’s call “the largest indoor RV showroom in the West.” The Colton location houses over 100 RVs and maintains a parts and service center.
The Richardsons purchased the seventh location in nearby Grand Terrace, California. The 5-acre parcel provides customers with a prep and service department, 10 service bays and an additional parts store to maintain more inventory.
The brothers bought their eighth location in Beaumont, California. The location sits next to Interstate 10 freeway. Future site plans include adding a parts, service and sales center.
Negotiating the sale
RV Business Solutions, a buy-sell advisor to RV dealers, was the exclusive sell-side advisor for the Richardsons.
“I have known Mike (Lankford) and Scott (Degnan) for many years,” Steve Richardson said. “We had several options available to us, but in the end felt that Camping World would be the best fit for us and our employees.”
Since 2021, RV Business Solutions has advised on the sale of over 40 RV dealerships.
“Scott and I have the utmost respect for Steve and Mark Richardson and the successful company they have built,” Mike Lankford, RV Business Solutions co-founder and partner said. “It was our honor to help advise them on this large-scale transaction. We could not be happier for them and all their employees.”
