American RV and Marine, A FreedomRoads Company, Poised To Expand in Albuquerque
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--July 28, 2004--| Grand Opening Scheduled for Late 2004 Facility Will House New Mexico's First Camping World |
FreedomRoads, L.L.C., the nation's largest recreational vehicle retailer, today announced that its New Mexico-based dealership, American RV and Marine, is scheduled to open a new store in Albuquerque, New Mexico in late 2004. The facility will cover 100 acres and will house New Mexico's first Camping World store. American RV and Marine also operates a 1000 acre dealership in El Paso, Texas. The El Paso location will also add facilities for another Camping World store which will open this fall.
Jim Paxton, President of American RV and Marine, commented "We are expanding our operations as we see a robust and growing market in baby boomers. They are retiring in large numbers and looking favorably at the benefits of the RV lifestyle," he said. " We know that this market has increasingly high expectations, so we are building a phenomenal facility with that squarely in mind," he continued. Long time Paxton partner and Vice President of Operations Robert Maese, added "This is going to be a large, state-of-the-art facility for customers to enjoy both in terms of the sales and service, and with all of the amenities, it will be a destination in and of itself."
The new facility will stock a large inventory of diversified RV's in excess of $25 million. The showroom will be one of the largest in the country covering 27,000 square feet. It will feature handmade southwest furnishings, a food cantina seating 100 people and a large advanced technology meeting facility. The dealership will also house a J.D. Challenger art gallery featuring Native American subjects.
A large twenty-four bay service department with six detailing bays will serve not only FreedomRoads customers, but any RV owner needing service. American RV has developed a program which takes drop-ins including those with emergency needs. They have instituted a 30 minute guaranteed emergency service which demonstrates a deep service commitment to every RV owner.
The new facility adds further value to the customer experience by housing, under the same roof, New Mexico's only Camping World offering customers a wide variety of RV merchandise. The site will also have the capacity for the storage of 1,000 RV's and is located within one mile of several major campgrounds.
Marcus Lemonis, Co-Founder, President and CEO of FreedomRoads underscored Paxton's sense of the RV market commenting, "Our strategy is to be a dominant presence in the RV retailing by meeting the needs of increasingly demanding and discerning customers. If that means acquiring a dealership and improving it or acquiring land and building outstanding new facilities like this, one way or the other we are going to meet those needs," he asserted. "Jim Paxton is one of the RV industry's great entrepreneurs and together we're going to build a great facility with the added value of a Camping World."
About FreedomRoads
FreedomRoads is a dynamic national network of well-established local and regional RV dealerships who have united to benefit customers, employees, suppliers and the RV industry. FreedomRoads operates as a multi-store retail chain engaged in the retail sale, finance and service of recreational vehicles.
FreedomRoads is America's largest RV retailer. It currently employs over 1500 associates and owns and operates 42 locations in 18 states including; Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington.
FreedomRoads stocks over 250 Million dollars of new and used recreational vehicle inventory and retails over 28,000 units annually. For additional information, please visit http://www.FreedomRoads.com, where more than 6,000 recreational vehicles are available for sale.
About Camping World
Since 1966, Camping World has grown from one store at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, KY to 30 locations nationwide. Camping World is the world's largest retailer of RV accessories, supplies and services.