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This seemed inevitable; Gander Mountain is going out of business completely closing all 126 locations.
http://www.gandermountain.com/?cID=YM

Meh?

Oldgringo wrote:Meh?

not really

That page contradicts itself. Are they out or in? Starts out they are done for then reads on as if they will continue on.

roadkill wrote:That page contradicts itself. Are they out or in? Starts out they are done for then reads on as if they will continue on.

They'll start over as part of "Camping World".....maybe?

If "Camping World" overprices their services as much as Gander Mountain did, then it too will not be open very long.

twomillenium wrote:If "Camping World" overprices their services as much as Gander Mountain did, then it too will not be open very long.

Exactly. I quit even going because they weren't even close on their prices.

Clearance sales maybe????

ETA: I'll be stopping by one today!

I didn't read the part about Camping World and Good Sam's The association with both Good Sam's and Camping World is odd. Good Sam's is a membership for camping grounds, discounts etc mainly for RV's. Camping World sells products for camping mostly RV style along with some outdoor and tailgating items. I'm not familiar with the price points for their merchandise, so maybe some RV'ers can chime in. Perhaps they are going to start selling fishing and boating equipment using GM expertise, I can't imagine they'd be selling hunting gear or firearms, but who knows. Have to wait and see I guess.

No matter the business, if you're not competitive, buh-bye...

I think the days of the high priced brick and mortar retailers like Gander Mountain are numbered. It is too hard to compete when you can buy things online for so much cheaper than you can at one of these stores. What really do they offer that you cannot find cheaper online or somewhere withing driving distance? I know there are a certain percentage of people that will still buy at the store but I do not think there will continue to be enough people to sustain them.

mrvmax wrote:I think the days of the high priced brick and mortar retailers like Gander Mountain are numbered. It is too hard to compete when you can buy things online for so much cheaper than you can at one of these stores. What really do they offer that you cannot find cheaper online or somewhere withing driving distance? I know there are a certain percentage of people that will still buy at the store but I do not think there will continue to be enough people to sustain them.

And if you are going to have brick and mortar stores you better be competitive with other b&m stores near you.

mrvmax,

You may be completely right, but I hope not.

GM is, I hope, a retail anomaly....

I find Cabelas doing a good job, with competitive pricing and great customer service....ok, their pricing has to be on sale to be competitive which it often is...

Went to GM in Round Rock today.

Prices, even with the 15-50% off discounts still weren't that great. I picked up some fishing supplies, some cheap rubber mud boots and a sleeping bag for right at $100.

Biggest deal was the rubber boots and sleeping bag. Boots were like $18 after mark down and additional discount. Sleeping bag didn't have a tag so I talked them down to $45 bucks. Normally about $90 on Amazon.

Well.. bye

I hate to see any business close down, especially because they do provide jobs, but when you don't properly train your staff, don't provide competitive pricing, and wait until every store becomes a money drain, before you take action, you won't last long.
I used to buy a lot of fishing equipment from Gander Mountain catalog, but their in store pricing wasn't even competitive with other big box stores like Cabelas.
They should have taken lessons from Montgomery Wards.