Gander Mountain was recently sold at a bankruptcy auction earlier this year in April. It was bought by Marcus Lemonis a businessman, investor, television personality (star or The Profit on CNBC) and philanthropist; now CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, and now Gander Mountain.
He recently went on a twitter storm answering questions and giving an idea of the possible future of Gander Mountain, now renamed Gander Outdoors. Lemonis has confirmed an intent to keep six stores to remain open in Minnesota, Hermantown, Forest Lake, Lakeville, Baxter, and Bemidji. He has also expressed interest in building a new store in Woodbury, across the street from its currently location (which is technically in Lake Elmo.)
He also unveiled a new logo for the company:
Gander Outdoors headquarters is currently located in St. Paul, in Lowertown in the 180 East Fifth Building. It has been reported that the current lease signed by then Gander Mountain was to run until April of 2020 at a cost of 2.3 million dollars a year. In 2003 the city of St. Paul gave Gander Mountain $700,000 to relocate from Bloomington to St. Paul. The agreement was that they would stay headquartered in St. Paul for ten years or they would pay this money back.
When asked on Twitter about keeping the headquarters in St. Paul, this was his reply; “I want St. Paul headquarter (sic) to remain but costs have to come down.”
This idea of costs coming down is not just tied to the building they are headquartered in. In this Pioneer Press article he tweeted the reason for the Fargo, North Dakota being closed is “Land not affordable. Landlord not amenable.” This would say that if the current landlords of non-company owned locations don’t want to renegotiate the stores will be shuttered and the company will move on.
There is still a lot to figure out as the list still has not been finalized. For updates straight from the source, follow Marcus Lemonias on Twitter: @marcuslemonis; he has been very active with posting new information and replying to questions.
