Wednesday, February 06, 2008
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN FREEDOM ROADS AND FEATHERLITE?
RV Business
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Although few details have been released, FreedomRoads/Camping World and Featherlite Luxury Coaches Inc. yesterday (Feb. 5) announced in terse separate releases that they have called off a Nov. 27 agreement through which FreedomRoads would have become the high-end conversion bus builder’s exclusive U.S. sales and service outlet.
Sales and service operations, under the initial agreement, were to have begun at selected FreedomRoads/Camping World facilities in mid-December.
“Featherlite Coaches, Inc. announced today that it has notified FreedomRoads/Camping World that it has elected to terminate its relationship with FreedomRoads/Camping World,” Conrad Clement, chairman and CEO of Sanford, Fla.-based Featherlite, stated in a one-paragraph release.
And this from FreedomRoads Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis in a statement released the same day: “FreedomRoads and Camping World, America’s largest RV and outdoor retailer, today announced it will no longer represent Featherlite Motor Coaches in their dealer network and has terminated its agreement with the manufacturer. Company executives cited that the relationship was not optimal.”
As a company “looking to expand our market presence and price points nationally,” Lemonis further stated, “we’ve had recent success with (Fleetwood’s) American Coach and Monaco (Monaco Coach Corp.) and will pursue other product lines to fill this luxury void.”
Featherlite’s Vantare H3-45 and Vantare XLII lines, both Prevost bus shell conversions, are marketed and sold through factory-direct outlets, and the FreedomRoads deal would have given the company sales and service centers for its luxury motor coaches at selected FreedomRoads locations with a wider geographic reach.
Featherlite Luxury Coaches was formed in October of 2006 following the merger of Cresco, Iowa-based specialty trailer builder Featherlite Inc. with Universal Trailer Holdings Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Although few details have been released, FreedomRoads/Camping World and Featherlite Luxury Coaches Inc. yesterday (Feb. 5) announced in terse separate releases that they have called off a Nov. 27 agreement through which FreedomRoads would have become the high-end conversion bus builder’s exclusive U.S. sales and service outlet.
Sales and service operations, under the initial agreement, were to have begun at selected FreedomRoads/Camping World facilities in mid-December.
“Featherlite Coaches, Inc. announced today that it has notified FreedomRoads/Camping World that it has elected to terminate its relationship with FreedomRoads/Camping World,” Conrad Clement, chairman and CEO of Sanford, Fla.-based Featherlite, stated in a one-paragraph release.
And this from FreedomRoads Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis in a statement released the same day: “FreedomRoads and Camping World, America’s largest RV and outdoor retailer, today announced it will no longer represent Featherlite Motor Coaches in their dealer network and has terminated its agreement with the manufacturer. Company executives cited that the relationship was not optimal.”
As a company “looking to expand our market presence and price points nationally,” Lemonis further stated, “we’ve had recent success with (Fleetwood’s) American Coach and Monaco (Monaco Coach Corp.) and will pursue other product lines to fill this luxury void.”
Featherlite’s Vantare H3-45 and Vantare XLII lines, both Prevost bus shell conversions, are marketed and sold through factory-direct outlets, and the FreedomRoads deal would have given the company sales and service centers for its luxury motor coaches at selected FreedomRoads locations with a wider geographic reach.
Featherlite Luxury Coaches was formed in October of 2006 following the merger of Cresco, Iowa-based specialty trailer builder Featherlite Inc. with Universal Trailer Holdings Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio.
