Meyers RV celebrated the grand opening of its first West Virginia store this past weekend.
The northeast dealer chain now has 16 locations in six states.
Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was the culmination of 18 months of work after purchasing Adkins Family RV Center in Ripley, West Virginia, and moving the dealership to a new, larger location just off Interstate-77, said Meyers RV Regional Vice President Kyle Smith.
“The old location was in town a bit more and not right off the interstate. Jason (Adkins) owned a campground that had closed down, so we negotiated to buy the campground as well,” Smith said. “There were already a couple of buildings on the property and just a lot more space to work with.”
Under the ownership of Jason and Bethany Adkins, the dealership was Jayco exclusive, which Smith said does not fit Meyers RV’s business model.
“We were on about two acres in the old location, so there was no room to expand or to bring in new brands,” Smith said. “We would not have been able to do a good job representing new brands with the space we had there. It took us a bit, but we finally got the new property ready about the end of April and started moving RVs over in May. That allowed us to add brands.”
Smith said the new location is more than 20 acres and will add Grand Design and Forest River’s brands among others. It carries both towable RVs and motorhomes.
The location appealed to the company because it is on what Smith said is one of the most accessed exits in the entire state on Interstate-77.
The dealership is a full-service location. Smith said some expansion will be necessary in the service area because the dealership has seen an almost instant increase in service business at the new location. The company remodeled an existing building on the property, adding overhead doors and insulation to make it suitable for use.
Smith said Meyers has already purchased two surrounding properties, one of which will allow for widening the road into the dealership.
“That will make things safer for our customers as we grow and get busier,” Smith said.
Sales Manager Stuart Brabent was brought in from Gillette’s RV in Michigan to run the Meyers RV Superstore in Ripley. He worked with the local community to generate an enthusiastic turnout for the grand opening on Saturday. Several local sports teams greeted customers and served food as part of the festivities.
The local turnout included the Adkins family, Smith said.
“Jason was a huge help through the whole process,” Smith said. “Without him, it probably would have taken us a couple of more years to get to this point. He stayed on and has been a big part of making the dealership what he and his wife always dreamed it would be. It was cool to have them at the grand opening.”
