Lazy Days RV Center misses $8.1-million payment on debt

The downturn crippling the auto industry has come home to the sprawling Lazydays RV SuperCenter in Seffner, the world's largest single-site RV dealer.

Lazy Days RV Center Inc., the company's parent, missed a long-term debt payment of $8.1-million due Monday and is trying to renegotiate terms with holders. Missing the interest payment triggered a 30-day grace period before the company is considered in default.

Lazydays said modifying debt terms is the best way to ensure the company's viability "through what is anticipated to be a protracted downturn in the market for recreation vehicles.''

Between July and September, Lazydays laid off 200 people, about 30 percent of its workforce. It currently employs about 500 in Seffner.

Will the company avoid additional layoffs? "We sure hope so,'' chief financial officer Randy Lay said Monday. "It depends on the market.''

"The RV industry really peaked in 2004,'' Lay said. "It typically leads the economy into a recession and then it's an early indicator of recovery. This downturn is going on four years and I would say it is probably due to recover.''

Amid the economic slump, Lazydays picked up market share from other ailing or failed dealerships across the country. It now sells one out of every nine high-end recreational vehicles, or about 12 percent of the market, up from about 8 percent a year ago.

But the pace of both visitors and, more importantly, sales has fallen dramatically. In the first nine months of 2008, sales totaled $450.9-million, down from $594.6-million in the first nine months of 2007, Lay said.

Cost-cutting has improved cash flow, but fixed interest costs are troubling. The biggest burden for the majority owner, the private equity firm of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., is paying off debt related to its $206-million acquisition of Lazydays in 2004 from company founder Don Wallace.

To help finance that acquisition, Lazydays sold $152-million in eight-year senior notes in a private placement. At the time, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Rating Services assigned subinvestment-grade ratings to the notes, citing the company's high debt levels relative to earnings.

Comments on this article

by alfred	Nov 24, 2008 8:44 PM
mimi, houses are investments..the minute you drove your luxury house on wheels off the lot...you lost thousands..

by alfred	Nov 23, 2008 4:53 PM
mimi.. what can you get for your house on wheels when you try to sell it?

by dd	Nov 22, 2008 10:37 PM
im sure his bayshore house it paid for

by JEFF	Nov 21, 2008 7:28 PM
Same old story. The rich get bailed out because they get greedy and then they get to keep all of their money and propeerty.

by PASCO PETE	Nov 21, 2008 6:07 PM
The big 3 should run their own dealership pay the sales people a salary discounts are rebates only trade price via Kelly bluebook.Service advisors the same no more selling customers services they don't need.Thats right advisors get paid on commision.

by PASCO PETE	Nov 21, 2008 6:06 PM
Lee have you ever worked as a commisioned sales person at a dealership. I have I also worked my way up to sales manager I know what these owners are all about and what they think about their sales people the big 3 should run their own dealerships .

by roger	Nov 21, 2008 6:01 PM
I am a former employee of Lazydays. I was laid off in Jult of 08. lazydays is an extremely honest and caring company that got caught up in going the extra 20 miles for each customer. This is a wonderful company and deserves to continue to do business

by alfred	Nov 21, 2008 5:21 PM
Rick, he must lead a pretty dull like...if he goes around correcting peoples comments..i wonder if he even read the story about lazy days..damn i forgot to cap the i..

by RICK	Nov 21, 2008 4:29 PM
RE: WJK... Dont; you hate it when someone starts off a sentence whithout a capital letter .lol look at your own.This isn't a spelling bee or grammar class it's an internet blog, who cares as long as it is readable.

by Jason R	Nov 20, 2008 8:42 PM
Good ol' Don Wallace got the last laugh in that deal.

by alfred	Nov 20, 2008 8:16 PM
you morons are blaming Obama...and he's not president yet.. yes richard look back...how many times did bush veto bills that were sent to him..

by Jay	Nov 20, 2008 7:22 PM
I'm laughing at the morons that bought the debit in an RV store.

by to WJK	Nov 20, 2008 6:49 PM
Interesting that you complained about posters not beginning a sentence with a capital letter. Reread your first sentence.

by Mimi	Nov 20, 2008 5:17 PM
Rodger, Gas hogs yeah, but I don't have to pay property taxes on my $350,000 house, interest written off, tired of the neighbor or my backyard I move, a storm is coming I unplug my luxury house and relocate :) Sorry you're unhappy with your HOME

by M	Nov 20, 2008 5:11 PM
Escaped, It is the RVers that come here on Vacation or to have Lazydays work on their RV. Those RVers spend their money here and boost Florida's economy. Retirees buy houses and stay. Lazydays attracts money to the areas economy.

by eliot	Nov 20, 2008 5:11 PM
trust me the retirees have and are leaving Florida in droves and you can go back to eating alligators and possum with the family... Mr. Escaped Florida.

by HPS	Nov 20, 2008 5:11 PM
No high tech jobs, no gov jobs, only tourism and you want it to be a family state? What about practicing China's method?

by WJK	Nov 20, 2008 5:01 PM
is it possible that people, before they post any comment, proofread the posting's spelling, punctuation and grammar in such basics as beginning a sentence with a capital letter, capitalizing proper nouns, and using apostrophes in contractions?

by steve	Nov 20, 2008 5:00 PM
"Maybe Florida can recover and become a family state." ?? RV'rs are "Too old to drive..."?? Wow. You two are really sharp aren't ya? I got money and a RV so see ya kids. Oh... maybe I won't huh? HAHAHA

by Barbara	Nov 20, 2008 5:00 PM
Hey Gene, you make it sound like being a "squatter" is a bad thing, I own a house out of state but we live in a camper d/t employment reasons as we go to where we work and it's not a choice, it's a way of life, never knowing where we r going to b!

by Lee	Nov 20, 2008 4:58 PM
It amazes that anyone that is successful, builds a business, gives people jobs and can spend his money anyway he wants is a monster and should be hung in the public square. You people scare me!

by Steve	Nov 20, 2008 4:58 PM
Maybe FEMA can buy them(In a fire sale)..and use them to replace the crappy housing they are supplying to hurricane victims..and in the process contribute to the economy

by Jay	Nov 20, 2008 2:11 PM
The stock market is traditionally a forward looking mechanism. Right now it is saying liquidate your assets before Obama takes office with a Democratic controlled Congress, the same ones that did not want the mortgage industry regulated. Reality.

by David	Nov 20, 2008 1:44 PM
I wonder if they will drive their $500K RV's to their bail-out hearings?!? Let fail just like Detroit Auto makers who flew their private jets to DC for hearings. And I am busting my hump for "change"? Gimme a break!

by lou	Nov 19, 2008 4:09 PM
people that buy RV's are getting too old to drive. I think we should bail them out though. We should bail out every business no matter how many bad decisions they make.

by Sandi	Nov 19, 2008 3:49 PM
I own one of the $400,000 RV's sold at Lazy Days and worked and saved all my life to be in the financial position I am in today. Anyone can achieve the American Dream, it is the choices we make.Remember who caused the economic crisis, not Don Wallace

by Going Broke	Nov 19, 2008 3:47 PM
It is unfortunate that Lazy Days cannot afford to pay its debts on time. Will they get an interest rate hike like the rest of us do if we miss a payment, BY A COUPLE OF DAYS!!!!

by Rod	Nov 19, 2008 3:42 PM
Tell them H.K. sent you!

by Greg	Nov 19, 2008 3:06 PM
Anyone in this community should hope for the survival of this company. Its failure would hurt everyone, direct;y or indirectly. For those already blaming Obama for this, you really are declaring your complete stupidity.

by Richard	Nov 19, 2008 2:35 PM
If we take a look back when the House changed the majority.....things started to decline at that time right through present day.

by Norm	Nov 18, 2008 3:20 PM
It's hard to increase sales when the company is run by accountants instead of RV People. You need people that care about the lifestyle of RVers. Way over paid Management that is not accountable is a looser. Change must come from the Top management.

by judy	Nov 18, 2008 3:17 PM
Ask the owners of Lazy Days how big a home they are building before you feel sorry for them.

by Orv	Nov 18, 2008 2:53 PM
I recently completed the purchase of a 2001 Allegro Bay from Lazy Days. I was completely satisfied with my purchasing experience. The majority of the personal I delt with were true professionals and I pray that they'll be able to maintain their jobs

by Jerry	Nov 18, 2008 2:10 PM
It is a double edged sword. One side of the sword is where hourly workers are located and are the people that truly suffer the most when a company gets into trouble. They live on payday to payday. The other side of the sword is people with the money.

by Mike	Nov 18, 2008 1:58 PM
I feel so bad for these greedy fools... NOT