Fort Lauderdale company buys Wichita-area recreational business

Three years after opening a new store in Park City, Harper Camperland has sold its two Kansas stores to Fort Lauderdale-based RV Retailer.

“We are excited to enter Kansas with Harper Camperland growing our store count to 106 across the nation,” said Jon Ferrando, president and CEO of RV Retailer, in a story by RVBusiness.

“Kansas is one of the top 10 fastest growing RV states in terms of registrations with excellent RV demographics,” Ferrando said. “Harper Camperland has served the Kansas markets since 1983 as one of the largest dealers in the state.”

The sale also included the Harper Camperland in Great Bend.

Harper Camperland had eyed the Wichita market for years, including the south side where Marcus Lemonis opened his Camping World in 2019.

That same year, Harper Camperland decided to open on 10 acres at the southwest corner of I-135 and 85th Street in Park City.

At the time, general manager Dan Lear, whose family owned the business, said Park City was especially welcoming and ideally located.

He said Harper Camperland has “a huge focus on customer service” and that’s why he wasn’t deterred when he learned about Camping World. He said he was looking to “capitalize on their weaknesses.”

“Actually, it made us more excited,” he said.

RV Retailer plans to keep both the Park City and Great Bend stores.

This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 4:47 AM.