San Joaquin County officials are raising the alarm about what one supervisor calls a clever marketing campaign disguised as patriotism by recreational vehicle giant Camping World.
The nation's largest retailer of recreational vehicles and related accessories and services is once again flying a giant American flag outside its store in the Northern California town of French Camp.
This time, however, the flag's appearance is legal.
The county and the RV industry have been arguing for more than a year about the massive flag and the towering flagpole it flies on; the county said the height of the flagpole required proper permits, which Camping World did not have. There was also initial concern about how close the flagpole was to Interstate 5.
Meanwhile, Old Glory was temporarily withdrawn and then raised again against protocols.
The company's CEO told a local outlet that it was his patriotic duty to fly the flag. However, the county maintained that proper process was not followed, but that the retailer ultimately received what it craved: publicity.
“This is a marketing opportunity for Camping World,” San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti said in an email to The Times. “Camping World has a history of installing oversized flagpoles, but they do so without asking permission on numerous occasions.”
Camping World did not respond to emailed questions.
The store is just south of Stockton, off the 5 Freeway.
According to Patti, the county became aware of a potential code violation in June 2023. County officials responded by asking for site plans for the store.
Camping World submitted “incomplete site plans” in December, Patti said.
The San Joaquin County Community Development Department had previously consulted with Caltrans about concerns about the pole's proximity to the freeway. Full plans were submitted in June and approved Thursday, according to county spokeswoman Hilary Crowley.
Camping World's flagpole is 130 feet tall. To reach that height, approval from the county zoning administrator and a building permit were required, according to Crowley.
Although the size of the flag was not disclosed, other Camping World store flags across the country have been routinely used. measures 40 feet by 80 feet. Which means if that flag were put up, it would cover roughly 70% of a regulation-sized NBA court.
Camping World in French Camp lowered its flag for an undisclosed amount of time during the permitting process. The company's CEO, Marcus Lemonis, ordered the store to fly the flag again on Monday, according to reports from the local Fox News affiliate.
For Lemonis, the flag removal was a tough pill to swallow. The Lebanese immigrant and star of CNBC’s “The Profit” said he was grateful to “come into this country and become a citizen.”
He told Fox that the flag should be flown because it symbolizes “what we feel about this country.” Additionally, he said, “we have a lot of veterans that work for us and a lot of veterans that shop with us.”
County disputes media reports that is it tidied up the shop lower the flag until the corresponding permits were approved.
“The county never told them to remove the flag,” Patti wrote. “We have no record of or citation for the flag to be removed, and we have always had an open line of communication to request the site plans that were slow to arrive from Camping World.”
County spokesman Crowley said the issue “has been solely with the height of the flagpole.”
Camping World has had problems with flags in the past.
In 2019, the city of Statesville, North Carolina, sued the Illinois-based corporation over the size of the flag at an affiliated store.
The lawsuit created a stir and Camping World created an online petition signed by more than 450,000 people asking the city to reverse its policy.
“Many cities like Statesville have requested that Camping World and Gander Outdoors remove their American flags.” The petition said“WE WON’T DO IT! Support us!”
Camping World paid $11,000 in fines to resolve the problem.
Patti thanked Camping World for its patriotism and added that the county “supports our flag 100%.”
“It’s a self-inflicted problem, but as a business owner and someone who understands marketing, it’s great,” he added.
