Over the weekend, news spread of Gander Mountain closing all of its remaining stores, worrying employees and loyal customers that the longtime outdoor specialty brand would soon be no more.
Gander Mountain stores started closing last week, including six locations in North Texas. The company said on its website that gift cards will be accepted until May 18.
But CNBC’s “The Profit” Marcus Lemonis, who now owns Gander Mountain, said at least 70 Gander Mountain locations will remain open.
On Sunday, Lemonis tweeted in response to an Amarillo man’s post that the store here is one of the outlets he plans to keep open.
“So Gander Mountain filed bankruptcy as you know, and about 10 days ago I bought all of the assets, all of the intellectual property, all of the trademarks, all of the leases and the Overton’s business. Except for the fact that I did not buy, intentionally, the inventory that’s in the stores,” Lemonis told The Indianapolis Star on Sunday morning.
“A liquidator bought the inventory that’s in the stores and they have the right to sell that inventory down and out as if it’s going away. But the confusing message is whether a store is staying open or not. And ultimately we control the leases … every single property. And my intention is to keep at least 70 open.”
The homepage of the Gander Mountain website is currently a large digital flyer promoting that aforementioned liquidation sale. The ad says that after 57 years, all locations will be going out of business and that “everything must go.”
When the St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy in March, it said it would shut down 32 stores in 11 states over the next several weeks. At the time, the company’s 160 stores employed 1,280 full time and part-time workers.
Gander Mountain now has 126 stores in 26 states.
Camping World Holdings, which operates a network of stores catering to recreational vehicle owners, said last week that it has won a bankruptcy auction of Gander Mountain’s assets. Lemonis is CEO of Camping World.
When the company made its announcement of the sale and all stores closing, Lemonis immediately took to social media to dispute the reports and announce stores that were going to stay open.
”We want to help the liquidators sell their inventory. We don’t want to be disruptive to that, but we also don’t want employees thinking that they’re all losing their jobs. That’s why I’ve been so active is because, think about it. If you have a rent payment, a car payment, a tuition payment … you need to know what the hell is happening,” Lemonis said. “I don’t want to disrupt what the liquidators are trying to do, but I am definitely going to protect my people at all costs. No matter what.”
