Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made a bad bet on guns

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Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made a bad bet on guns
In a conference call to discuss earnings, Camping World Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis highlighted what he called a barrage of management mistakes from Gander Mountain that he referred to as “stupid.”



The blunt-spoken Lemonis — who stars in "The Profit," a CNBC reality show — said Gander Mountain overspent on inventory and expanded beyond all common sense into markets where they were cannibalizing their own customer base.

Betting big on weapons for the St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain, which billed itself as "America's Firearm Superstore," wounded the business beyond resurrection, Lemonis said.
Lemonis noted that the gun market isn’t stable and as soon as the President Barack Obama administration was succeeded by the current administration, gun sales plummeted
Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made a bad bet on guns
 
MoMan

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Oh, I get it now, if Hitlery had won the election GM would have been fine. YEA, riiiight! :ROFL:

Don't suppose it's because they just thought they would ass rape whoever came in the store with their pricing! NO, that couldn't be the reason now could it?? :violin:
 
C3D

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Lemonis is correct. The Dicks of the world survive as clothing stores that happen to sell some sporting goods. That's also true of Cabelas and Bass Pro. The only exception to this rule so far is Academy.
 
Deplorable Me

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I "generally" support my local gun store or local FFL. (assuming they're not price gouging.) The clerks at Gander, Dick's, Cabelas, Wally World will not talk 2A issues or talk about the topic. They're corporate employees and weekend FUDDs.
 
Drinkthekoolaid

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I think gander mountain just had a bad business model.

Poor customer service, high prices and they tried to be an everything store. If they want to be a firearm store great. Focus 90% of your attention, resources capital into core firearms business. Offer better prices. Move more volume. Treat customers better etc..

Dicks and cabelas already have that big box store market. Gander mountain did a terrible job competing with them. They should have went in a different direction.
 
tirwin1

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I for one will be sad to see them go. I agree their prices were on the high side and customer service was mixed. Yet I remember they advertised on a billboard in downtown rochester proclaiming they were the state's #1 gun retailer only weeks after the safe act was passed. I am certain there were plenty of people advising against such a provocative sign given the political environment. But they didn't care if they pissed of cuomo and the rest of the anti-gun crowd. Unfortunately like many other retailers they could not survive the changing economic times.
 
carpediem

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I actually liked Gander Mtn. I guess the choices will get fewer and fewer as the antis want it. The LGSs are not nearly as plentiful as in years past, and anti cry-bullies have gotten store to drop firearms and ammunition all together. Now, they watch with glee as the big box stores fall by the wayside. It seems as though they won't need to ban guns, just regulate and eliminate all the places to get them. Remember Operation Chokehold or whatever it was called that Airhead Holder was doing?
 
Saltwater60

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tirwin1 said:
I for one will be sad to see them go. I agree their prices were on the high side and customer service was mixed. Yet I remember they advertised on a billboard in downtown rochester proclaiming they were the state's #1 gun retailer only weeks after the safe act was passed. I am certain there were plenty of people advising against such a provocative sign given the political environment. But they didn't care if they pissed of cuomo and the rest of the anti-gun crowd. Unfortunately like many other retailers they could not survive the changing economic times.
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I lov d the one by me. Only issue I had is some times the gun lines were too long for me to wait. Sure their prices were high, but they could get me anything I wanted. They are the only ones who cared to help me find a left handed semi auto .22 for my son.
 
GOPerfect

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He is very correct. I worked for them for years. I saw some of the big purchases GM was making in regards to guns. While Obummer was in office, they were sailing high with gun sales. They just kept buying and buying. Many times, they bought the wrong inventory.

Even when gun sales would start to decrease, GM just kept buying. They paid no attention to other stores and their prices, they were out for mass profit only. They firearm inventory with Gander is beyond huge. For every gun they would sell, they would buy three more. They put too much faith into gun sales.

There are many reasons for their failure. Inventory was a large one. Customer service was another along with non-competitive pricing. Gander will be better than ever once all of this is ironed out.

I look forward to the all new Gander. Hell, I might go back to work for them if Tonawanda stays open.
 
spat

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GOPerfect said:
He is very correct. I worked for them for years. I saw some of the big purchases GM was making in regards to guns. While Obummer was in office, they were sailing high with gun sales. They just kept buying and buying. Many times, they bought the wrong inventory.

Even when gun sales would start to decrease, GM just kept buying. They paid no attention to other stores and their prices, they were out for mass profit only. They firearm inventory with Gander is beyond huge. For every gun they would sell, they would buy three more. They put too much faith into gun sales.

There are many reasons for their failure. Inventory was a large one. Customer service was another along with non-competitive pricing. Gander will be better than ever once all of this is ironed out.

I look forward to the all new Gander. Hell, I might go back to work for them if Tonawanda stays open.
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Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

Or are you going to go back and sell tents and sleeping bags ?
 
GOPerfect

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spat said:
Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

Or are you going to go back and sell tents and sleeping bags ?
Click to expand...


From all I have heard, guns will still be there. I understand that he (The new owner) wants to revamp the way they order, stock and sell guns. Not sure what that means. I do know that under new management, a new FFL application has been submitted.
 
spat

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GOPerfect said:
From all I have heard, guns will still be there. I understand that he (The new owner) wants to revamp the way they order, stock and sell guns. Not sure what that means. I do know that under new management, a new FFL application has been submitted.
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Thanks, thats good news at least.

Sucks though, the Henrietta store just finished this massive expansion to their gun section, and I'm sure it'll shrink right back down now.
 
4

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spat said:
Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

Or are you going to go back and sell tents and sleeping bags ?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be to sure about firearms selling..according to a link from Camping World they claim the downfall of Gander came solely on the "gambling with firearms" during the end of Obama times and now since the drop in sales they're allegedly over stocked and caused the crumble..o_O I don't have the link but read it somewhere over the weekend. The real answer would be..who really knows til we see how the bankruptcy takeover pans out.
 
GOPerfect

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4excal said:
I wouldn't be to sure about firearms selling..according to a link from Camping World they claim the downfall of Gander came solely on the "gambling with firearms" during the end of Obama times and now since the drop in sales they're allegedly over stocked and caused the crumble..o_O I don't have the link but read it somewhere over the weekend. The real answer would be..who really knows til we see how the bankruptcy takeover pans out.
Click to expand...


It wasn't so much that they sold guns, it was the way they went about it.
 
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Robin

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I was in the Henrietta store, I think it was last September, and it looked Like they were already out of business. No people, very few staff, and not much merchandise. Gander has gone bankrupt at least three times since the 70's, its part of doing business in a country that forgot that everybody's business if not their business. I'm sure their tax attorneys and CPA's advised them this is the most profitable move.

Robin
 
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