Sports and outdoor retail giant Gander Mountain has responded to this month’s rumors that the company is facing bankruptcy. Earlier this month Reuters reported on unnamed sources that the company is gearing up to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks.
“Gander Mountain is working with financial advisory firm Lighthouse Management Group, Inc. and law firm Fredrikson & Byron PA as it gets ready to file for bankruptcy,” stated the report.
“Like most retailers, we are subject to normal economic cycles, changes in our industry and shifts in consumer demand that require us to adapt our business accordingly,” said Gander Mountain in response. “It is this constant adaptation and desire to offer our customers the best selection, best value and best service that has been our hallmark for generations.”
According to insiders, the company had problems attracting new customers even with the recent gun-buying frenzy. The hunting and fishing superstore not only faces stiff competition from other sporting outlets but like all retailers, online vendors as well.
For shoppers looking to buy guns, Gander Mountain has a reputation for hit-or-miss pricing. The company buys and sells used guns in addition to selling new firearms with prices ranging across the board. In the case of over-priced guns Gander Mountain risks losing business to competition. And in instances of under-priced guns the company risks losing profits.
See Also: Gander Mountain to Stock Grand Power Pistols
And following the election of President Trump gun sales are down for the first time in years. As of December 2016, gun sales didn’t shatter the record books.
Of course firearms are just a part of the company’s business. Gander Mountain is aware of this and has turned to a consulting firm to help them through their tough times.
“To assist in this process, we have retained Houlihan Lokey as independent advisors and we are confident that the outcome of the review will identify the right go-forward strategy,” continued the statement. “In the meantime, our Gander Mountain stores and [our website] remain the place to go for all of our customers’ outdoor adventure needs.”
The statement explains that they are working on a long-term strategy to stay in business. Hopefully this will alleviate some bankruptcy concerns.
The company’s downturn follows their recent large nation-wide expansion. Today Gander Mountain has 160 locations in 28 states, with around 60 new stores added since 2012.
Reuters reports that Gander Mountain was looking to sell some of their interests but was unable to find a buyer. The company was looking to sell Overton’s, a boating and marine specialty business.
“Gouger Mountain” hugely expanded a store in Lansing, Michigan to keep out an expansion by Cabelas. Not many people really like “Gouger Mountain”. It’s far, far cheaper to get ammo & guns from anywhere else.
Bye-Bye
Gander Mountain in Cedar Rapids, Ia. is closing. They state they are going to reopen in a new location. I frankly don’t care. After years of dealing with them vs Scheels, Dick’s, and some of the smaller independents in the area, GM was ALWAYS much higher on new and used weapons, FFL fees, ammo of all types, and even too high on their own gaudy GANDER MOUNTAIN sweatshirts with 3 inch tall letters. They should have paid customers to wear those given the free advertising involved. They advertised up to 60% off with their moving sale and prices were still too high. I wish them well but their actions seem to guarantee a different outcome.
I was at the Gander Mountain in Ocala, FL on a Thursday evening and had to wait for 40 minutes before I could get waited on in the firearms section. The store was not busy at all (maybe 50 customers in the whole store). There were 5 different sales people that I counted that were behind the firearms counter and were going into the back room and back and forth. Two salesmen were helping customers while the rest of us waited. I just wanted to look through a scope to see how clear the glass is, to maybe buy in the near future.
The customer service at the Ocala, FL store is terrible, during the week with a few customers or on the week ends with many customers. The clerk said that the “Going out of business” rumor, was just a rumor. But if the other store’s customer service is anything like this stores customer service, then Gander Mountain will surly go out of business, due to people shopping elsewhere and online. Thank goodness we now have a Bass Pro Shops near by (20 extra minutes away, but with great customer service). Bass Pro Shops makes Gander Mountain look like a small bate shop.
I’ve been to the local store in Lewisville, Tx twice. If they somehow became the only store allowed to sell guns–then I would just have be a knife collector.
Fact is, their pricing stinks. Last weekend I was at a local Gander Mountain store. They had a Rough Rider single action .22lr pistol for $210, used. I bought a brand new one at Dunhams for $129. That’s why they aren’t attracting customers, pricing is through the roof across all of their lines and in all departments.
“Customer service” is a nebulous term and unless there is a checklist most employees simply won’t get it. I would look for other big box retailers competing in the same market space to have similar issues sooner than later. I bought a Sig Sauer from a local shop, small, and hungry meaning he would match any published price. That’s where I will go in the future.
They are way Over Priced!!!!! Went there a couple of X’s looking at Weapons, There 5.6 x28 H&k was, $200.00 more then what I could purchased it. Even there Cloths are threw the Roof.
I guess GM hasn’t got the memo that states, “over priced guns and ammo will be left on the shelf!”
Ammo was very over priced, even when on sale.
Gander Mtn. is known for one thing.. POOR MANAGEMENT and EVEN WORSE PLANNING and insight for the future,,,, how do I know.. I worked there… it was obviously pitiful!! TOO much “good ol’ boy” buddies and CLOSED MINDS!!
“Like most retailers, we are subject to normal economic cycles, changes in our industry and shifts in consumer demand that require us to adapt our business accordingly,” said Gander Mountain in response. “It is this constant adaptation and desire to offer our customers the best selection, best value and best service that has been our hallmark for generations.”
Well, Mr. Gander Mountain spokesperson, Gander Mountain is ALSO subject to consumer reaction to “bad customer service”, and until the Gander Mountain BoD recognizes that its “bad management” is “responsible” for said collapse in revenue, Gander Mountain will edge ever-closer to the cliff known as “bankruptcy”.
GM CLOSE TO HOME ACADEMY ACROSS STREET NW HOUSTON AREA . GM PRICE ARE HIGHER MOST OF TIME . SALE AND BETTER SLECTION KEEP ME AT LEAST CHECKING THEM OUT WHEN I’AM SHOPPING. MY COMPLANT IS GETTING WAITED ON SALEMAN ALWAYS FRIENDLY AND KNOWLEDGEABLE BUT I AM PRONE TO SPUR OF THE MOMENT BUYING AND WALKED AWAY MORE THAN ONCE AFTER STANDING AT GUN COUNTER 10 MIN. AND I HAVE NEVER GOT HELP AT FISHING COUNTER !!
You can always come up to the Lewisville, TX store since it rarely has customers and the employees just stand there having conversations with themselves. The prices are probably the same as down Houston way, higher than every other store.
gander mountain has high prices in just about everything, ammo, guns, clothing, i been there a few times when they have a sale and even then the prices are high…. the employees at the gun counter are amateurs with little knowledge, i hope they get their act together ….
Couldn’t agree more…
Same in Nashville area
The Gander Mountain store is about 35 or 40 miles from my house. I received a sales flyer in the mail and on the very day the sale started I drove over very early to purchase some 22LR ammo that was listed on sale.
I was the very first person in that store and went to the Ammo without hesitation. The 22LR ammo listed for sale was not on the shelf. The sales guy said it was all sold out.
The 223 ammo was also all sold out.
That was my last drive to that store for anything.
that is the way in every gander mountain store I been in .. always sold out . went to Jackson,tn gm first customer on sale day start , sold out , later found out by x employee that employee bought limited supply for that store. this is why I don’t go to gm anywhere .. Bass Pro will go that first . then Academy sports next .
Yup prices are hi all over–it’s part of something called business economics.Keep raising prices to the point where the public stops buying, as in something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I live close to Peoria IL. where we have our choice of a Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Dicks Sporting Goods as well as a hand full of mom & pop stores, all within a 20 minute drive of each other–all have hi prices !!!! If you pay asking price for something and find it on SALE next week somewhere else –well then that’s just karma kicking you in the azz –get over it–it happens. It’s up to us as a buying public to do our due diligence / research on products that we wish to purchase and then decide what is reasonable. I will give a shout out to all of these stores in the local area for good customer service-maybe not always the smartest people behind the counter, but they are friendly and try. Keep in mind for those of you that don’t actually own a business, there is a GREAT deal of cost involved with keeping the doors open every day that have to made. After all isn’t it kinda nice to walk into a store–put your hands on a firearm of your choice to see if it fits your hand or shoulder’s nicely ?? Without that store being there , how many time’s are you going to order and pay shipping from an online vendor to get one that does fit—think about it–there goes YOUR savings. But then it’s always easier to blame someone else,,, RIGHT !!!!
I went to Gander Mountain in Dothan, AL. Brand new store. Found a new semi-auto shotgun, wanted to buy it to go hunting.. They would not sell me the shotgun as they have a policy that states they will not sell long guns to out of state residents. Come on, I have a multi state CCW, a secret DOD clearance, DOD issued ID, a BATF Explosives Possessors license, a blasters license and a Class A CDL hazmat endorsement that is cleared by homeland security! I am cleared by the FBI, DOD, TSA, Homeland security and the BATF but cannot buy a shotgun at your store??? REALLY? Besides that, their ammo was the highest price anywhere, I was working at the Army base there. Needless to say I purchased the same shotgun at a different store later that day. I went to a real gun shop.
Gander Mountain, you have IDIOTS running the company! If you wish to survive, get rid of them NOW!
EXACTLY.. you get better service ..(and prices) at Wal-Mart… and thats saying a lot!!
The Flambeau rust proof tackle boxes that Gander Mountain sells are the cheapest ones Flambeau makes… the ones (Flambeau rust proof) Wal-Mart sells are a much high quality and Wal-Mart sells them for less money.
We have a brand new G.M. store here in S.C. People here have numerous gun stores from which to buy firearms.G.M. is at the bottom of the list as their prices are sooo high.Their used guns sell for more than new ones available in other stores. They built
a parking lot that can accommodate about 200 cars. It is situated just off a main road. I have never gone by the store and saw more than 2 or 3 cars parked there. I went inside Once, accent on ONCE. I was the Only customer I saw in the whole store and could not find anyone to assist me. Unlike Bass Pro, G.M. does not give the 10% discount to the Military. I could write a book about what a poor place G.M. is to shop, but you get the idea.
I agree with previous posters. My local Gander Mountain store is in Tulsa… one of their “new builds.” My first visit was a couple of years ago and I was impressed with the size of their firearm section. Unfortunately, I was depressed by the size of the prices on those firearms. I’ve gone back several times since, and have consistently found that most of the employees are simply not interested helping the customers. I had a similar experience as Russ: two employees behind the gun counter, but neither one could be bothered to help even though I expressed interest in a couple of their pistols. I’ve also found their used firearms to be mostly a bad joke. On my last visit, they had a used Model 10 Smith that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck over a country road. The bluing was mostly gone, there were pits in the barrel, scratches all over the frame, and crud buildup every where that crud could build up. I was looking for something to rebuild, so I wasn’t too worried about the condition, but the price tag on this piece was $300! Seriously, $299.99. Not even laughable… just insulting.
We have a Gander Mountain and another large sporting goods store that directly competes for the various hunting, fishing, shooting and outdoor recreation lines of merchandise. On the plus side, Gander is a beautiful store that is most often very well-stocked with many brands. The employees at our local store are very courteous and seem to always ask if I need help with anything. On the negative side, Gander’s non-sale prices are high. In particular, their gun prices are very high. I am constantly comparing prices of particular guns in store flyers, online sales and the auction sites. Yes, I know that these are not equal playing fields. Gander and stores like it have huge overhead in giant brick and mortar buildings on highly taxed commercial sites, employee expenses and all the corporate taxes, insurance and whatnot that online retailers don’t have. Gander can do one of two things. It can lower prices to beat the competition and hope to make more money through sheer volume of sales, or, it can continue to keep its prices extraordinarily high (selling guns at full MSRP) and hope to extract the cash from uninformed shoppers. Some of their mid-line handguns are literally 100-150 dollars more than they can be found any day online. Granted, they can’t sell them for online prices but they could put them at a reasonable mark up of $50 over the average price found across the market. Our Gander store doesn’t ever seem to be all that busy. It makes me wonder if it will become like Macy’s and JC Penney, just another huge, empty retail building that has succumbed to the competition of online sales.
Y
I was in Wichita KS. this weekend and had some time to spare. Where I live we only have Cabelas, Bass Pro, Sportsman’s warehouse and a few others. I had never been in a Gander Mountain before. The place was dead, definitely saw more employees than customers. Went throughout the store and their prices are high. Went to the gun counter there were 2 guys working. I start looking and showing interest in a pistol. I was brtween the 2 employees and neither wanted to budge from doing nothing. I was only looking so it didn’t matter to me but if I was looking to buy it would have been an issue. Having to beg to get an employee to help you buy a gun. I left the gun section and continued on towards the front. They did have some clearance racks of clothes that at 50% off were a good deal. However there were no employees there to assist. I could have fit some clothes in my luggage but it was not to be. I will not be returning to Gander Mountain to purchase anything. The prices suck, the employees were lazy, and did not have a good experience. The employees are not motivated and that’s what helps things sell. Bye bye Gander Mountain.
While I wouldn’t buy a firearm from them, I’ve found that the Gander Academy associated with the store is first rate. An excellent live fire range and a well conceived virtual training facility. The personnel operating and teaching at the Academy are worlds better than those out at the firearms counter.
Sadly, not every store has such a facility.
I just love all of these A-holes bashing Gander Mountian, I own a Gun Store and it not easy to compete with Walmart that sales some guns for less then I and even buy them for. All of you A-holes need to get in the gun business and see just how hard it is to deal with A-holes just like the ones that is responding here. And for the Blue book you can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine because most of the time it is not even close to what a gun is worth. Nobody even said anything about Bass pros prices.
You might want to look in the Mirror. You sound like you are mad at the world.Customer service is what sells guns. I work part time in a gun store where there are 7 or 8 other gun stores plus 5 Walmarts and you skipped the internet sales. We do just fine as
ALL the Sales People have great customer service skills and are very Knowledgeable about firearms. People come to our store
because they are confident they will be treated well and they purchased the right firearm. Price, while important, is not everything!!
Randy, You sound like the “A-Hole” that needs to get out of the business. If everybody took your suggestion and DID get into the gun Business, you’d be the A-hole forced out! Just your hateful attitude and overall tone tells me that you think you invented firearms too. The 5 star rated gunshop/range/on-sight gunsmith that I frequent, jump over the counter to help you without trying to PROVE what THEY know. They aren’t even the cheapest around. They charge a little more than the least expensive of all whether online or not BUT, with a gun purchase over $300.00, they GIVE you a 3 month FREE membership to the range anytime and for as many hours as you like. You provide that? Didn’t think so. I buy any accessory and they install it F.O.C. They actually WANT my business, YOU DON’T! Piss off mate!
Your just the type of a-hole that I’m talking about.
Have a Gander Mt. a few miles from my home . Prices are way too high. not even close to other retail dealers. When trying to sell them a firearm its more like give them a firearm Even their clothing way over priced. Usually more employees than customers in store.
I look forward to their going out of business sale
I’ve attempted to buy guns and ammunition at two Gander Mountain locations Middletown and Kingston. Service at both locations made it quite clear that they had no interest in my business nor anyone else that was shopping there. They don’t have good enough prices to put up with rude and clueless salesmen.
I bought 2 Polish Makarov 9mm pistols for $149.00 ea. Only wanted one but when they said $149,00 I bought the last two they had. This has been my only esperience with Gander Mountain.
Gander needs to look at Cabelas and pay attention to their reviews or they need to close the doors
Don’t have a lot of experience with Gander Mtn. But while traveling in GA one year, I stopped in to get shells and a few shooting accessories. I was amazed that there was a gun counter about as long as the building and only one sales person (who was standing around visiting). I asked for a little help and was told that he was the only one but he would get someone, then continued visiting. I waited 20 minutes, wondered down the line looking at the highest retail prices I had seen in a long time. Left, Never went back and have not given Gander a thought since. I was happy, I hope they are happy at the way they treat customers.
Trade a Gun, More like GIVE a gun, I had a New Ruger Blackhawk , tried to trade it, Gander offered me $200, We BOTH had a
good laugh, and I wanted to know what he was smoking. Needless to say we didn’t do the deal!!!!
I used to shop at the local Gander Mountain quite a bit and even have their credit card. However they have eliminated the archery and fishing gear I bought from them and replace it with clothing. Their Firearms section is honestly second rate compared to other local stores. I did buy a revolver there on sale at a decent price some years back.
I’ll refrain from the obvious (prices), but I will say this. It’s glaringly apparent Gander Mnt’s. Exec. Mgmt. doesn’t listen to the “pulse of the people”…had they done so maybe they wouldn’t find themselves in the predicament they’re in now.
They ought to come down from their Ivory Towers and read the plethora of Gun Blogs’ comments and become enlightened.
I was a Gander Mountain customer and signed up for their MasterCard to get the 10 or 20% (I can’t remember which it was) off my Springfield XD purchase. I don’t use the credit cards very often, but decided to use it for Christmas gifts last year. Much to my surprise, they had cancelled it do to inactivity. While this can negatively affect my credit rating (not much), it really just pissed me off so I quit shopping at Gander.
Yeah I had something similar happen to me. Bought something “on sale” at their overpriced store, they said “hey we’ll give you 10 (or 20) % off of this purchase right now if you’ll apply for this card” so I did and was approved and then I get the card, use it only once to buy something around $50 and pay it off immediately so I don’t have to pay the ridiculous 25% APR on it, don’t use it again for a year or so and lo and behold I am checking my credit score online and these jokers CANCEL my card for “inactivity”…Gander Mountain is a great place to just go LOOK AT stuff and then you can go home and order it online for MUCH CHEAPER. I am surprised they’re still in business at all. They are the Best Buy of the gun world, LOL. People go to Best Buy and look at computers, TV’s, or other electronics and then go home and order it online at Amazon dot com, LOL. So I guess that Gander Mountain performs the same function when it comes to guns, reloading gear, etc…only thing I’d buy there anymore is clothing that is drastically marked down. I can buy two Glocks a year at Law Enforcement pricing ($398.20) if I want to, but if you go to Bass Pro or Gander Mountain, that exact same gun is $600-700. Get real! I guess some people have more money than common sense, but I think that places like this are counting on reeling in people who don’t know any better or they must be too rich to care!
Wanted to by a gun for my wife that she liked wanted to have GM do the back ground check since we purchased it from another state we purchased the gun for375.00 they were willing for 85.00
I hope the people from Gander Mountain are reading these comments, because every one mirrors my experience with them as well. They want to be a firearm “super store” but they sell at or near MSRP. They hire people and give them little to no training, and all of their accessories are way too high priced. The trade in rule is ridiculous – if you can’t make money on trades and used gun sales, don’t do it at all.
As a matter of fact, a couple of other instructors and I do make a trip to Gander Mountain on a Saturday when we have nothing else to do, simply because it is entertaining to listen to the people at the gun counter tell people about firearms – especially first-time buyers. We get lots of laughs, especially when they are selling to women. Let me run this company for a while – a little training would go a LONG way. As a business owner, my products aren’t cheap. I make a very comfortable margin. My competition is cheaper, but I get the sales. Why? Service. I provide the best service and people pay the higher price for the product with the EXPECTATION of the BEST service.
I agree with everyone here about their high prices but a deal can be had. About three weeks ago they had a $50 off of $250 coupon for online orders. I bought a Remington 870 online and drove 5 minutes to pick it up at the store about 2 hours after I ordered it. That was a good deal no one could beat. They also price matched a XD 45 for me in the past that I was real happy with. You just have to catch it at the right time and their on sale items can be a great deal.
You can screw some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t screw all of the people all of the time. (apologies to Abe Lincoln) A lack of effective leadership, coupled with poor management policies (or maybe just a lack of policy enforcement) is what is killing Gander Mountain. If the board had any sense, they’d immediately fire the CEO, CNO and CFO and quickly bring in some actual talent.
I can’t see why anyone would buy guns from this company as the prices they advertise are extremely higher than the average price that most retailers charge.I hope that learn from this financial struggle but highly doubt they will considering they are hiring “Experts ” for guidance…
I like Gander Mountain, but when I found out, from 2 different sources at different locations, AND from a member of their Corporate team, that their firearms trade in policy was “only offer 60% of any guns Blue Book value”, regardless of condition….that did it for me!
I have a Gander store within six minutes drive from my front door. I won’t spend the time to go there. They are under staffed and some of the staff are just plain rude. In addition, as others have stated the prices are high. They just aren’t competitive. If Gander Mountain did close thier doors it would not be no loss to me and for that matter much of the sporting world. Retail is a tough business and these boys are not up to the task.
They are too “proud of there stuff” as my daughter says! Wake up Gander the modern world is moving on get with the program on break camp, pack up your tent and bug off…. so speak!
They also lie ti customer, I try to get a price match in a gun cabelas had on sale but they told me that was below is cost, three weeks later Gander had the same gun onsale.This happened twice with different guns. Their customer service also sucks
Ganders pricing has finally hit a wall. Gouging people for years because they had items people wanted and charging more for it. They have always been over priced on everything in their stores. Why would anyone buy an item at 20 to 35% over the same item that can be had elsewhere? I always shopped Gander when it was a last choice to find what I was looking for!
Gander needs to redo whole screwed up firearms department! Greenwood IN store sucks. There “we buy used guns is actually a 60/40 split”?????! Do a true trade / exchange & be fair or just don’t trade! There prices are crazy high on most equipment. Most of time they don’t have what they advertise, to me this is a big no no. Hunters want something now not a stupid raincheck. This has happened to me too many times. Can’t wait for someone to buy them out and get rich by doing right towards us true outdoorsman. thanks
I hope these crooks go bye-bye. I was just in a Gander about a month ago and I was shaking my head at like everything I looked at – the prices are about the highest I have ever seen anywhere. This is Corp America greed at the worst. If you enjoy burning your money, well, Gander is for you!!! Massive rip off!!!!!!!
Gander Mountain has prices at the top of the spectrum in most of their products and my family shops for the best pricing on those products we need. The biggest reason GM does not get my shopping time is that in my area, the employees seem to care less whether customers are helped or not. At the firearms counter, after waiting on one customer (45 minutes) they go into the back room out of sight for an additional 30 minutes…and they will ignore you if you just have a question. Every other retailer I go to is quick to acknowledge me and insure that I get service or questions answered quickly and completely.
I like Gander overall but as others have stated I find their prices to be high. But I have found some great deals there when they have sales going on.
Agreed on their prices. Welcome to the free market, Gander Mountain.
Their prices are insanely high, unless there is a great sale. I’m.not shocked about this news. You can only get so far on “atmosphere” alone.
Their shipping charges are so high I don’t even consider them anymore.