Marcus Lemonis....... Behind the Wheel at Recreation USA

By Bob Zagami, Associate Editor

In any company, roll ups are tough. In publicly-traded companies they are even tougher because they are played out under the watchful eye of investors and competitors alike.

In addition to being tough, many don't succeed because management waited too long to make changes or effectively integrate the acquisitions.

Recreation USA (NASDAQ: RVEE), the RV industry's first publicly traded dealership chain, ran into difficulties shortly after launching their roll up in 1999. Despite a strong market and several growth years in the RV industry, the company just wasn't hitting on all eight cylinders. The acquisition and integration of new companies wasn't bringing the desired results and the board of directors took quick action to stabilize the business.

Enter Marcus Lemonis. This young and experienced turnaround specialist from the automotive industry accepted the challenge to enter a new domain and reverse the challenges that Recreation USA was experiencing in 2001. His previous experience with AutoNation will serve him well in his new position with Recreation USA.

Lemonis was introduced as the new president on March 13, just ten days before the company released its first quarter results showing a net loss of $2.7 million.

Lemonis rolled up his sleeves and went back to business basics and people skills to start his short journey back to profitability.

Make no mistake about it; just because Lemonis was successful in a short period of time, this was a classic case study on how to implement a rapid-fire business turnaround.

Although financial results were not available when we were conducting this interview, Lemonis predicted that the negative trends had been reversed and that the current quarter would be profitable. continued