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Many people predicted the fate of Gander Mountain and now more information is surfacing. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy it allows Gander Mountain to clean up their dirty laundry, consolidate as needed, and potentially sell the company without too much disruption for their customers. Gander Mountain‘s timeline is looking loosely like this:
- Solicit Bids for their company in late April
- Present the Winning Bid in Bankruptcy Court in early May
- Close the Sale of their company by May 15th
If it seems like a fast and aggressive timeline; it is. Gander Mountain made a public statement Friday regarding the matter:
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 under-performing stores and unproductive, excess inventory hampered efforts to create a sustainable path forward.
A lot of these statements echo throughout the entire firearms industry. Brick ‘n mortar retailers, both large and small, are continually battling low prices seen on the internet viewed as a race to the bottom. Low prices, regardless of where they are found, are openly welcomed by consumers, but as seen with the case of Sports Authority, Gander Mountain, Radio Shack, and many others it can lead to their potential demise.
Gander Mountain also posted a statement on their Facebook page that can be seen below that was called “A Letter to Our Customers.”.
“A Letter to Our Customers”
In all, Gander Mountain will be closing 32 of its 162 stores in the immediate future. That amounts to 19.7% of their stores that span over 26 states. The breakdown of store closures looks like this:
- Texas [10] – Houston, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, Round Rock, San Antonio, Sugar Land, Texarkana, Waco, West Houston
- Alabama [4] – Gadsden, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa
- Georgia [3] – Augusta, McDonough, Snellville
- Illinois [3] – Algonquin, Champaign, Springfield
- Minnesota [3] – Mankato, Rogers, Woodbury
- Indiana [2] – Greenfield, Merrillville
- North Carolina [2] – Raleigh, South Charlotte
- Wisconsin [2] – Eau Claire, Germantown
- New York [1] – New Hartford
- Tennessee [1] – Chattanooga
- West Virginia [1] – Charleston
At this time, Gander Mountain also stated that all employees will continue to receive their paychecks as scheduled and will retain any benefits they are owed.
In the coming months you will be seeing a lot of moving and shaking between Gander Mountain, Cabelas, and Bass Pro Shops.
