Published: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008
Fresno-based recreational vehicle dealer Dan Gamel has closed his RV dealership in Rocklin, along with three other stores from what was once a $400 million-a-year RV empire.
Whether the stores will stay closed apparently will be determined in the next three months.
Gamel, 58, said Monday that the Rocklin RV Center at 4429 Granite Drive was closed Friday, along with his two dealerships in Fresno and one in Modesto. About 150 workers were laid off.
He said he plans to reopen the Fresno and Modesto outlets in a few months, when the RV market hopefully improves.
As for the local store, Gamel said: “I don’t know what I’m going to do in Rocklin.”
Gamel’s RV store in Redding will remain open. He said that outlet has a competitive advantage in that market.
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He wants to open RV “storefronts” in shopping malls and other retail centers. The storefronts would resemble typical retail establishments from the outside, and consumers would shop for specific RVs online.
Gamel said he will open his first storefronts in Concord and Redding after the first of the year.
