Affinity Group Inc.
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Recreational vehicles |
| Predecessor | Affinity Group, Inc. |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Founder | Stephen Adams |
| Headquarters | Ventura, California, U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Marcus Lemonis, Chairman & CEO |
| Revenue |
 US$562.2 million |
|
Number of employees
|
20+ (2008) |
| Subsidiaries | Good Sam Club, Camping World, Gander Mountain |
| Website | www.goodsamclub.com |
Good Sam Enterprises (formerly Affinity Group or AGI) is a provider of membership clubs, as well as subscription-based products, services and publications, targeted toward recreational vehicle and other outdoor enthusiasts in the United States. Additionally, the company owns Camping World, a leading RV-related specialty retailer, and RV.net, an RV-focused website.
The company is the composite of several distinct businesses acquired through a leveraged buildup in the 1980s and 1990s and traces its earliest predecessors back to 1935.
The company is based in Ventura, California with major operations in Englewood, Colorado and is 97% owned by private equity investor Stephen Adams.
AGI’s antecedents date back to 1935, with the first publication of Woodall's Travel Trailer Magazine, followed by the publication of the first Woodall’s directory in 1948. The Good Sam Club was founded in 1966, the same year that the first Camping World location opened in Bowling Green, KY. Coast to Coast Resorts (“Coast to Coast”) and the Golf Card were introduced in 1972 and 1974, respectively.
On December 23, 1988 the direct predecessor of AGI acquired a company called American Bakeries Company, owned by investor Stephen Adams, for approximately $138 million. Adams was a noted private equity investor in the 1980s completing rollups of billboard assets to form Adams Outdoor Advertising and he also owns or has owned various banking, bottling, publishing as well as television and radio companies. At the time of the merger, the sole operating assets of American Bakeries Company were TL Enterprises, Inc. and Camp Coast to Coast, Inc. These entities consisted of what is today the Good Sam Club, Coast to Coast, AGI’s subscription-based products and services business and the Company’s RV-related publications, with the exception of the Woodall’s titles.
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