New owner hopes to keep 70 Gander Mountain stores open
Things may not be bad as they first looked for Gander Mountain Company.
Although there is a banner on the bankrupt company’s website announcing that all of its stores are going out of business, its new owner says that’s not exactly the case.
Camping World Holdings, which acquired Gander Mountain and its Overton’s boating business in a bankruptcy auction in late April, may now keep as many as 70 or more of Gander Mountain’s 162 stores open.
“It is my estimation that we are going to probably end up having around 70 — maybe 75 — stores,” Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Camping World, said in a video that was posted on Twitter on Sunday. “Our goal is to see the business survive and thrive, and take care of the people who work there.”
In a statement issued by Camping World, Lemonis said the ultimate fate of the stores is subject to, among other things, the company’s ability to negotiate lease terms with landlords on terms acceptable to it and approval of the Bankruptcy Court.
Lemonis added that the current liquidation of the existing Gander Mountain inventory will allow Camping World start with a clean slate of what it considers the appropriate mix and level of inventory.
Although there is a banner on the bankrupt company’s website announcing that all of its stores are going out of business, its new owner says that’s not exactly the case.
Camping World Holdings, which acquired Gander Mountain and its Overton’s boating business in a bankruptcy auction in late April, may now keep as many as 70 or more of Gander Mountain’s 162 stores open.
“It is my estimation that we are going to probably end up having around 70 — maybe 75 — stores,” Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Camping World, said in a video that was posted on Twitter on Sunday. “Our goal is to see the business survive and thrive, and take care of the people who work there.”
In a statement issued by Camping World, Lemonis said the ultimate fate of the stores is subject to, among other things, the company’s ability to negotiate lease terms with landlords on terms acceptable to it and approval of the Bankruptcy Court.
Lemonis added that the current liquidation of the existing Gander Mountain inventory will allow Camping World start with a clean slate of what it considers the appropriate mix and level of inventory.