I do not work for the company but I am very close to a few people who work for them, not in the stores. Right now it is just a rumor and we shouldn’t get worked up YET. Is it true? Probably, but things change daily. There are dozens of retailers who have filed for chapter 11 and are thriving right now. Heck, even GM went through it back in the 90’s.
I actually think that the Gander I shop at in Woodbury has gotten better since Cabelas moved into the neighborhood. At first, I thought they were going to fold up that store, but they have improved pretty dramatically.
I think part of the headwinds Gander is experiencing is nothing to do with Gander stores or employees, it’s the overall trend toward hyper-specialized online retail instead of all things to all people big box stores.
I spend most of my outdoor budget on hunting, firearms, and reloading. Taking reloading as an example, I buy almost nothing these days from big box retailers like Cabelas or Gander. It all comes from specialized places like Precision Reloading or small internet sellers.
Same thing with loaded ammo, I tend to buy in case lots now from online sellers like Able’s Ammo and not single boxes off of store shelves.
Larger purchases like firearms tend to come from online sellers or auction sites, not the racks at Gander. I will say that Gander may get more of a look in the future because they have come off of their laughably high prices and become more competitive on price. I found this past weekend that Gander had the same out the door price on my next smallbore rifle than a big internet seller had.
In the long term, I think the big box might be an endangered species and not because of the employees or the management, but because I think the business model has outlived its usefulness to the customers.
I will say that some retailers like Reed’s have done tremendous work in getting their business operating in both worlds. I still love to go to Reed’s in Walker, but to be honest I have BOUGHT far, far more from Reed’s online.
Grouse
FF seen the writing on the wall…. & sold out. For what it is worth, FF in St Cloud has more clothes than the GM in St Cloud… FF puts it by candy and chips and housewares. 
the old days of HUNT FISH CAMP
The reason they fill the stores with clothes, is they have the highest profit margin. It also can apply to a broader range of customers. In FF, clothes bring in the most money for the store year in and out. I found that out while working there in high school. Surprised me then, but now I know why.
I used to like my local GM, but now they do not carry much I need and prices are usually MSRP. Cabelas moved in, and they are a little better. Honestly, I have so much tackle and equipment, that I never have time to use, that I shouldn’t be in those stores anyways☹️
Maybe it could be a corporate decision (drivin by profit and not service or convenience) because the Gander here in town is also closing its west side store, but moving to the east side across the cedar river, why? I’ve been inside this store a few times and the more I went in there and looked at prices over the years the less I went in, because I’m not paying those prices. why pay 8 or 9$ for a lure that I can drive 3 miles for and pay 5 to 6$.
The east side in supposed to be where the money is in town so maybe they are trying to (lure) the anglers that are over there into paying their prices because the west side won’t, maybe its because were too thrifty and know the value of a buck.
I don’t know forsure what’s going on but while driving around town and looking in the back yards and driveways of homes over the years there’s way more fishing boats on the west side of the river then the east.
Its probably because of a few other reasons too.
Alas a distant second cousin put in a bait/tackle shop on this side of the river and only 3 blocks from the river and I’ve watched it grow really well in the last two years going from I wonder if they will be able to keep their doors open in winter too a point when I’m there buying bait for a few minutes, and someone else comes in after me. I know part of the reason is price because I told my neighbor about the new shop so he went in to check it out. I talked to him a few days later and he said he went in and also ordered some lures. I asked why he didn’t buy them at gander and his answer was, their too expensive. So now theres a baitshop on this side that not only will order lures for you but their cheaper.
Plus now their doing so well they bought a whole new set of refrigerated bait tanks, starting with stainless tanks last year that were good enough. Not only do they sell two sizes of minnows but another minnow that’s a pinkish red color that’s called a rosie, and suckers that are farm raised and are 4 too 6″ long. So now not only do they sell fishing equipment and lures cheaper they also sell different kinds of bait, Gander took out their tanks many years ago and their minnows weren’t that good anyway.
So I guess Ganders outlook twards the fishing guys and gals that live on this side of town, and what they think we are and should be, is (now we have to close our doors on this side because were too expensive and we have to also sell minnows WTF???!) well the west side knows what their doing and GOOD RIDDINS. Id rather spend my money in a baitshop that’s owned by fishermen and wants to cater to fishermen and give them the quality and service they like and don’t have to settle for, you buy some minnows and they are trying to jump out of a 5 gallon bucket their so lively.
A word too the wise is if your going to sell shoes sell laces and polish too. What would you do, and I’m waiting to see how long the east side store will last.
Last time I went to GM, I needed a bag of shot. After a long while, a guy came out from the back, stated he was the gun dept manager and asked if he could help. I said I was looking for a bag of 7 1/2 shot. He asked me why, and I asked him if it really mattered. After wandering up and down the isles I just wandered up and down he stated that they must not carry it.
Then he stated he doesn’t know much about reloading and that he was more of a shotgunner guy. Then he asked me what I meant by 7 1/2 shot. I told him I didn’t have enough time to explain it all, turned around, walked out and have never been back.
It doesn’t surprise me they are having problems.
Made a large order and 2 weeks later got told it was canceled is bullsh!t when everything was in stock when I ordered. I passed the same items in them 2 weeks because I thought GM would produce never again They can’t close soon enough.
Just saw a press release on their website…
ST. PAUL, March 10, 2017 – Gander Mountain Company announced today that, to maximize the opportunity to achieve a “going-concern” sale of its business, it and certain of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Today’s action is the result of an in-depth review of the company’s strategic options undertaken in recent months to preserve the value of the company and position it for long-term success. Like many retailers, Gander Mountain experienced challenging traffic patterns and shifts in consumer demand resulting from increased direct-to-customer sales by key vendors and accelerated growth of e-commerce. Despite aggressive actions to improve the efficiency of the company’s retail operations and support functions, the underlying financial impact from underperforming stores and unproductive, excess inventory hampered efforts to create a sustainable path forward.
The company’s strategic review yielded the following conclusions:
A narrowly focused and lower cost operating model is necessary to position the company for profitable growth;
The company does not have the financial capacity or time to reset its operations to fully implement the new model and, as a result;
The best available path forward is to sell the company on a going-concern basis.
The court’s protections will enable us to manage the sale process on an expedited basis while protecting the interests of our customers, employees and other stakeholders. Gander Mountain is in active discussions with a number of parties interested in a going-concern sale and expects to solicit bids prior to an auction to be held in late April 2017. The company expects to submit the winning bid to the Court for approval in early May and anticipates a closing of the sale by May 15.
The company generally expects to conduct normal business operations during the pendency of its restructuring. Employee pay will continue to arrive on time and in full, employee benefits will remain in place, retirement accounts are intact and protected. As a product of the company’s strategic review, 32 underperforming retail locations will begin a shutdown process in the next several weeks.
The company has obtained a committed debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing facility underwritten by Wells Fargo. Subject to court approval, this DIP financing, combined with cash from operations, is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support the company’s continuing business operations and to minimize any disruption during the reorganization process.
The petitions were filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. More information about Gander Mountain’s restructuring is available online at http://www.donlinrecano.com/gmc. Court filings and claims information are available at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court website, http://www.mnb.uscourts.gov/.
Gander Mountain’s advisors in the restructuring are Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc. serving as financial advisor and investment banker, Lighthouse Management Group serving as Chief Restructuring Officer, and Fredrikson & Byron, PA serving as legal advisors.
I would suggest using any gift cards while you can. If a closing store is sold to a liquidation company the gift cards most likely will only be honored at corporate stores.
Gift cards sit on the balance sheet as a liability. They could try to write down the liability during the BK.
Stores slated for closure in the coming weeks:
Alabama (4) – Gadsden, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa
Georgia (3) – Augusta, McDonough, Snellville
Illinois (3) – Champaign, Algonquin, Springfield
Indiana (2) – Merrillville, Greenfield
Minnesota (3) – Rogers, Mankato, Woodbury
New York (1) – New Hartford
North Carolina (2) – Raleigh, South Charlotte
Tennessee (1) – Chattanooga
Texas (10) – Houston, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, Round Rock, San Antonio, Sugar Land, Texarkana, Waco, West Houston
West Virginia (1) – Charleston
Wisconsin (2) – Eau Claire, Germantown
I would suggest using any gift cards while you can. If a closing store is sold to a liquidation company the gift cards most likely will only be honored at corporate stores.
Totally agree, uses those gift cards FAST!
I had $100 gift card and I used it back in February when these rumors first started circulating. Glad I did.
Check your wallets and get those unused cards out.
Grouse
I have like $300 worth… not overly worried about it. They won’t become useless overnight, even in the worse case.
I figured the Rogers store would be on the list. Never more than 5-8 cars there at one time. Less some days. Was hoping it wouldn’t be cause they did carry a few things that big C doesnt for fishing.
When do the going out of business sales start, so we can flock in like vultures?!
When do the going out of business sales start, so we can flock in like vultures?!
Won’t make any difference to me. They are always out of stock for what I’m looking for anyway.
One less rant post every year!
They are always out of stock for what I’m looking for anyway.
I didn’t know they EVER stocked smoked Asain carp and skeeter branded koozies
When do the going out of business sales start, so we can flock in like vultures?!
They want the vultures because they need to move inventory. It’s cheaper to sell the inventory then it is to pack it up, transport it, and unpack it again, hoping nothing is lost or damaged in the process.
High moving items will often be sent to other stores.
*I worked in pricing for a few years for a retail company that eventually liquidated.
I spent a $100 gift card last month. I was wanting to order some salmon stuff on their website, but of course they didn’t have any of it. I was looking for something really exotic, you know, dipsy divers, haha. I guess I was crazy for expecting they would have those on their site, since all of the gander stores in eastern WI and probably other locations carry those products.
I ended up getting some overpriced powerpro, $4.50 flicker shads and some jerky seasoning (that was actually on sale). But, at least it wasn’t my money spent there.
I heard the stores that are doing well will be left open.
I would really hate to be running any retail operation these days. Even Target is struggling. Amazon in particular is killing everything. Pretty soon there won’t be any actual stores to walk into to pick up products and just kill some time at anymore. Perhaps it’s good for the local bait shops in that business will eventually return back to them, but bad for the big boxes in the mean time.
Change is inevitable, but it’s a weird time. I honestly do not think that Gander Mountain would be in any better shape had it done anything different. Cabela’s struggles, Fleet Farm struggles and sold out to private investors, Sports Authority disappeared.
I’ve been to a couple of Gander Mountain stores in Virginia and they do well because there is no other competition around except for Walmart and Dicks. I think that’s the ticket. It’s a shrinking consumer base so in places like MN, there are too few people being spread out around too many stores. On top of internet sales. It’s a no-win situation.
Knowledgeable employees still are not the complete awnser to eliminating all the clothing, Sheels for the most part have good knowledgeable people on the floor and still have a LOT of clothing. The markup on clothing is greater than on guns, ammo and fishing gear
The Burger Brothers had it figured out. Build a very small regional chain of stores that you can properly monitor. Build a loyal customer base. Sell out to a corporation for a boat load of money. Sit back on your porch and watch the bean counters and absentee owners runs it into the ground while drinking a cold beer. 
I’m glad the one in forest lake isn’t closing. It’s a good location. I wonder if they’ll have sales at the ones that are closing of if they’ll just move inventory to the ones that aren’t closing?
I’m glad the one in forest lake isn’t closing. It’s a good location. I wonder if they’ll have sales at the ones that are closing of if they’ll just move inventory to the ones that aren’t closing?
I bet they transfer all the decent selling guns to surviving stores. MC Sports has already transfered all their good guns to somewhere else.
The wife went to get a rod they said they had in stock online, She totally wasted her break on it and was ticked off! I find it hard to believe they can’t survive with 2 customers an hour. Went in there for one of there BIG gun sales. What a disappointment, $100 higher for a Cynergy than everyone elses shelf price. 15+ years ago I really liked the store but now I wouldn’t stop, even if was driving by and needed something.
I figure theyll move their guns to the stores that are staying open but I remember when the one in Maplewood closed I got an awesome deal on one of their tech o2 hunting suits that I still wear today.
Get $20 off a $50 purchase. If you buy something for $50.01 before tax, you are getting close to 40% off.
Think they would mind if I used my Cabelas visa with this coupon?
I don’t know. Maybe you should pull off the road and give them a call and ask.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
