gander mountain to file bankrutcy

[F.I.Sherman]

according to facebook post they are preparing to file soon

[Idahogator]

         http://www.startribune.com/gander-mountain-said-to-be-nearing-bankruptcy/413493263/

[chris steel]

closing down non producing stores and restructuring thats all. there not going anywhere. bass pro filed 2x and cabelas 3x. all part of a restructuring process

[Chris338378]

I'm curious what stores are actually producing since the ones I've been in are a cross between a ghost town and old mother Hubbert's cupboard.   

[chris steel]

store i am at does between 4 and 5 mil a year some of the stores do double that. but that a few low proding stores that they are closing to help with the restructuring

[Chris338378]

That's certainly not the case here, most people don't even go there to kill time.

[mono_mono]

At some point places like Dick's and Gander have to put $5.99 on an item instead of $12.99. It's crazy how much everything costs in those places

[AriettaBob]

I quit going into Gander a long time ago. Between outrageous prices and laughable stock, it'll be no surprise if they board up all stores.

[rdhammah]

I recall many years ago, like 35 years, they were great. I used to order from them all the time. prices were pretty good. Then they disappeared for a few years and resurfaced as retail store only. since they got back into catalog/online sales, I have not been impressed and even stopped looking. not surprised

[52isntbigenough]

I quit going into Gander a long time ago. Between outrageous prices and laughable stock, it'll be no surprise if they board up all stores.

That's not happening though. GM is going to restructure and streamline. Rapid growth and a gun market that didnt keep up is what caused these problems. The core districts in Wi and Mn will pretty much remain as is with mgmt structure changes. Other states outside those will be greatly effected.

[3300]

That's not happening though. GM is going to restructure and streamline. Rapid growth and a gun market that didnt keep up is what caused these problems. The core districts in Wi and Mn will pretty much remain as is with mgmt structure changes. Other states outside those will be greatly effected.

interesting because i was in the market for more pistols and plenty of ammo (since their is no ice and wanting to shoot at a range) and my local gm gun clerk was an a$$. so i went to field and stream instead and another gun shop and spent with both of them instead. my buddy says you just have to know how to talk to them to get them to treat you decent. i said i don't have to do that any where else so i am not gonna try to learn to talk gm with gm employee's now.
the clerk stared boasting how he has 30 plus years experience in gun sales and knows his business. yet can't treat a customer with any courtesy and is too lazy to care. so i hope they do go out of business or get rid of that store or employee's. for a person to act like that and represent his store in such a manner and feel okay about it is a BIG problem for all of his managers and boss's and himself.

that day i went across the street to dunhams and that clerk took every gun out of his case and talked about each of them for me. that's a huge improvement and shows how one store cares a lot about it's customers while showing how another could care less.

i ended up spending over 15k and will be spending much more than that, it just won't be with gm.

also i am glad that cabelas will keep their business to them selves and not sell out to bp.

[backatit]

Seems to me that they are ALL the same. same price, same crazy shipping charge, and all the hassle they can give you and then when you get what you actually ordered and it doesn't work.  Example: My wife bought me a new ION X for Christmas (trust me she is an excellent "SHOPPER") so I went on-line and checked all store ads and everyone had listed as $699.99.    When the CC bill came sure enough $699.99. They can all cram their "Competitive Price" mantra.

[Neil McCauley]

Gander, Cabela's, even Bass Pro... really wouldn't bother me if they all went under. They now have only 3 basic categories of products: 1) Chinese-made junk, 2) Ridiculously over-priced, 3) Permanently out-of-stock.

[Chris338378]

Yeah a lot of their employees think they're all that and their customer service really sucks.  The best was a few years ago when they were selling two identical Ruger Blackhawk revolvers in .41 Magnum, one was new and the other was used and the used one was $100 more than the new one.  For the heck of it I asked why the used one was more and I couldn't believe the guy's response or ever forget it.  He said, "we paid too much for the uses one but we'll get some idiot to pay the extra money for it".  I couldn't believe this guy actually said this in front of my two friends and a bunch of other customers.  Needless to say I hope he wasn't holding his breath while he waited for someone to buy it.  Over the years they fired a lot of employees who were scamming deals.  The one bunch would buy used guns and if they wanted them they would hide them in the stock room until the night before the employee discount sale, bring them out after the store closed, put the price they paid for the gun on it, and then come in in the morning of the employee discount sale and buy it.  Another major problem they have in my opinion is the store can't order anything, what ever the bean counters at corporate decide to send to the store is what they get. Beyond that if they couldn't make it over the past few years when gun sales were at record highs and people were stock piling ammo they'll never make it.

[gonehunting]

Seems like they are way over-priced when compared to other online stores.  Example Mr. Heater Big Buddy Heater $149.99.  I can buy them on sale at most places during the ice season for $110 or less.  $4.50 for a 1lb propane tank.  WTH

[mdrobny]

I nicknamed them "yuppie hill" quite a few years ago and quit buying anything there. a few buddies got some decent deals at their -store closing sale- they never had practicle gear/clothing, and were high on their prices

[Chris338378]

LOL I nick named it Greed Hill because of their crazy prices.

[UFCreel]

Well we will just have to wait and see what transpires. My some what local Gander up in Kenosha Wisconsin used to be the place for anything ice fishing related. Sadly that is not the case anymore. Although they do carry more than the local Dicks Mchenry, Cabelas Hoffman Estates, or Bass Pro Gurnee. Over the last 10 years or so selection of jigs and what not has declined. They used to carry just about everything. Now it seems Clam Corp has a big deal with them. Also as mentioned before it sure seems they are more of a clothing store now. I was talking to one of the clerk's about there lack of inventory and they blamed corporate. As they decide what and how much a store carry's. Used to love Gander Mountain. Not so much anymore. Mostly it is hit up my local bait shop now. The owner can order just about anything from anywhere. Or on line sales for me now.

[52isntbigenough]

interesting because i was in the market for more pistols and plenty of ammo (since their is no ice and wanting to shoot at a range) and my local gm gun clerk was an a$$. so i went to field and stream instead and another gun shop and spent with both of them instead. my buddy says you just have to know how to talk to them to get them to treat you decent. i said i don't have to do that any where else so i am not gonna try to learn to talk gm with gm employee's now.
the clerk stared boasting how he has 30 plus years experience in gun sales and knows his business. yet can't treat a customer with any courtesy and is too lazy to care. so i hope they do go out of business or get rid of that store or employee's. for a person to act like that and represent his store in such a manner and feel okay about it is a BIG problem for all of his managers and boss's and himself.

that day i went across the street to dunhams and that clerk took every gun out of his case and talked about each of them for me. that's a huge improvement and shows how one store cares a lot about it's customers while showing how another could care less.

i ended up spending over 15k and will be spending much more than that, it just won't be with gm.

also i am glad that cabelas will keep their business to them selves and not sell out to bp.

I work for a GM that's 5 minutes from a Cabelas. If I got 1lb bottle of propane for every customer that walks in and says, "I was just at Cabelas and couldn't even get anybody to talk to me, much less sell me anything," I could launch a shuttle to the moon.

If I had a penny for every customer that said, "Cabelas customer service sucks", I could probably buy everybody here a new auger (at full retail)

It sucks having bad experiences at a retailer, but no matter who you are and where you go, odds are you're going to have a bad experience. Why? Because you're spending money and whether you believe it or not, a huge percentage of your experience is in how you perceive your money was spent. I ask customers from time to time......"if everything was free would you ever say that a store treated you badly?" Hell no you wouldn't. But when you spend money, hard earned money, you want to be treated kindly and you want to know that the money you're spending is at least appreciated and went as far as it could.

BPS, Cabelas and Gander....imo, they're all basically the same, but with different logos. Make the most, spend the least, staff as little as possible as cheaply as possible, yet try to keep a customer base.

[mjk67]

I get more attention in a Cabelas, then I ever will at a GM.  At the very least Cabelas staffs their gun dept. during the appropriate seasons.  Try to get someone to talk to you at a Gander Mtn (unless you have 30 minutes to wait).

If you want to be treated well, shop Scheels. 

I work for a GM that's 5 minutes from a Cabelas. If I got 1lb bottle of propane for every customer that walks in and says, "I was just at Cabelas and couldn't even get anybody to talk to me, much less sell me anything," I could launch a shuttle to the moon.

If I had a penny for every customer that said, "Cabelas customer service sucks", I could probably buy everybody here a new auger (at full retail)

It sucks having bad experiences at a retailer, but no matter who you are and where you go, odds are you're going to have a bad experience. Why? Because you're spending money and whether you believe it or not, a huge percentage of your experience is in how you perceive your money was spent. I ask customers from time to time......"if everything was free would you ever say that a store treated you badly?" Hell no you wouldn't. But when you spend money, hard earned money, you want to be treated kindly and you want to know that the money you're spending is at least appreciated and went as far as it could.

BPS, Cabelas and Gander....imo, they're all basically the same, but with different logos. Make the most, spend the least, staff as little as possible as cheaply as possible, yet try to keep a customer base.

[52isntbigenough]

I get more attention in a Cabelas, then I ever will at a GM.  At the very least Cabelas staffs their gun dept. during the appropriate seasons.  Try to get someone to talk to you at a Gander Mtn (unless you have 30 minutes to wait).

If you want to be treated well, shop Scheels.

There's nothing I can say to change folks opinions of GM, nor will I try, but I'm truly sorry you had bad experiences. I've been around part-time for 17 years. Been a fishing guy, a national Pro Staffer, a gun sales guy and now a gun tech. I've had way more positive interactions than negative and to me the most gratifying part of retail is having a customer come in and ask for me personally when they want to buy or have services done.

[DR.SPECKLER]

one of the GM here went to selling guns but has a fishing section with everything a michigan guy needs instead of a bunch of crap cabelas has, like you need 2 huge rows of different brand wacky worms.GM have more steelhead/salmon gear in a nice easy to see small  section than cabelas does too.prices suck at all the of those sporting good stores tho.

[Light liner]

Shocker, few times I went to gander mt wasn't impressed.
Hard to compete with online deals.

[52isntbigenough]

Shocker, few times I went to gander mt wasn't impressed.
Hard to compete with online deals.

And that's a huge part of the challenge for retailers. Not only on-line outlets, but when stores like BPS, GM and Cabelas have on-line stores, they're cannibalizing their actual store sales. Makes me wonder if there's going to be any actual brick and mortar in the future.

[3300]

And that's a huge part of the challenge for retailers. Not only on-line outlets, but when stores like BPS, GM and Cabelas have on-line stores, they're cannibalizing their actual store sales. Makes me wonder if there's going to be any actual brick and mortar in the future.

that's why macys is closing many stores. their on-line presence is enough to close many of them.
look at amazon, no real store to walk in or none that i know of. virtual stores are the easiest and fastest ( i can place an order faster than getting to a store to be ignored or try to find some one who wants to earn their pay check and know how to do it) and most convenient way to shop.

[mjk67]

I work p/t in retail as well...  let's just  say the candidate pool today is a bit shallow.  I certainly would never place the blame on the workers; they do as well as they can, given the circumstances.  Between the unrealistic expectations of SOME shoppers, and pressures to up sell, it is a tough gig....

There's nothing I can say to change folks opinions of GM, nor will I try, but I'm truly sorry you had bad experiences. I've been around part-time for 17 years. Been a fishing guy, a national Pro Staffer, a gun sales guy and now a gun tech. I've had way more positive interactions than negative and to me the most gratifying part of retail is having a customer come in and ask for me personally when they want to buy or have services done.

[52isntbigenough]

that's why macys is closing many stores. their on-line presence is enough to close many of them.
look at amazon, no real store to walk in or none that i know of. virtual stores are the easiest and fastest ( i can place an order faster than getting to a store to be ignored or try to find some one who wants to earn their pay check and know how to do it) and most convenient way to shop.

I'm a guy who likes to actually see what I'm buying before laying down cash on am on-line purchase. There will always be need for brick and mortar, but the days of a GM, Cabelas and BPS on every corner is over.

[thomasthepikehunter]

For me the problem is they are equal distance to cabelas, and cabelas is better in almost every way. I do love the advantage series of fishing rods, but only because they were $40 for a good rod. I used to live in Brainerd, MN which has the best Gander Mountain stores I know of, and many agree. Even then I usually just went to fleet farm. The clothing is all made in china garbage, there was not much for hunting. Other than a powder or two, no reloading supplies. The guns and ammo was the worst. Of the selection they had, they were close to double the price of other stores last I checked. There is a dedicated gun and ammo store right next to cabelas in Rogers, MN. What an absolute joke. Everything is twice the price of the cabelas one block away. The fishing department is about the best part about it, and again, cabelas is just as good. I actually like that people leave me alone. I'll go find someone when I need them.

The opportunity is absolutely there if GM does it right. Cabelas was looking pretty poor the last few years I was in it unless you want to buy a boat, or tractor. There isn't even a good tip up sold in cableas anymore, except online.

[GBR]

I don't have any GMs close to me to I can't comment on that. However, I think a lot of the big outdoor retail places are facing similar problems. Today everyone can go online and find better prices than in store. Also, no matter how knowledgeable an employee is, you can always find out more information about a product from an hour or two of internet research. So if people aren't going to a brick an mortar stores for prices or knowledge, they are really just going for service and immediate purchase.

I'll use my local Cabela's for an example. Since it's 45 mins from my house, it would be way easier for me to shop online. However, I go there hoping I will find the item I need in stock and have a great experience. Sometimes that happens, but more often than not, I go home disappointed. I went there in mid December to get some ice fishing stuff because I didn't have time to order. They only had 1 of the tips ups I was looking for, no wax worms or spikes and sold out of a coat that their website said they had in store. I've also had terrible experiences at their gun counter and talked to guys in the fishing dept that didn't know anything.

I've also had plenty of good experiences there, but those aren't the ones you remember. Ten good experiences can be wiped out with one bad experience. I think a lot of these retail stores need to realize that people have other options for buying gear now. 15-20 years ago when it was hard to shop around and research gear their tactics might have worked, but not anymore.

[thomasthepikehunter]

I guess I should mention that my local bait store, Little Jims of Annandale, MN, has a better selection than cabelas, and he matches online prices. Even the next town over in Maple Lake with H&H sports has a good selection, but prices on par with Gander Mountain.