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

[livingston]

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

 

[swilliams]

Can't view the article - it's all blocked out. But, ugh. Couldn't possibly be because their stuff was always priced higher than the competition and you could never get any customer service in the store.

 

[Defilade]

Big box stores should be able to undercut everyone else and Gander mountain prices sucked!

 

[MoMan]

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

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??

 

[4excal]

Hmm. And all along I thought they made a bad bet by raping their customers with astronomical prices

 

[C3D]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I used to get great service at the Gander in Henrietta. The past 4 or 5 years though? I'm lucky if I could find ANYONE to help me.

 

[carpediem]

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?

 

[Doc8404]

They were the only ones to do $10 transfers here.

 

[Saltwater60]

So he won't sell guns. I went to CW to buy a camper and they wanted to charge me a $2000 destination fee. I walked out and they still a year later keep bugging me. I'm not sure I'll support CW or shop there.

 

[Saltwater60]

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.

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]

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.

 

[Bananabandit]

He should worry about CWs reputation before amything else.

 

[Acer-m14]

waiting for the CW ad .. free AR with camper purchase , free ammo with camping accessories purchase

 

[Bananabandit]

waiting for the CW ad .. free AR with camper purchase , free ammo with camping accessories purchase

would help with their cs quality.

 

[Jezman]

They were the only ones to do $10 transfers here.

Of coarse you could offer a $10 transfer, when you mad %450 off each gun sale.

 

[spat]

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.

Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

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

 

[GOPerfect]

Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

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

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]

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.

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.

 

[GOPerfect]

The Henrietta store is on the list to stay open.

 

[4excal]

Are they even going to keep selling guns ?

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

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.. 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]

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.. 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.

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

 

[4excal]

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

Yea apparently they bought mega excess, gambling on the Obama era of record breaking sales. When that ended, that ended lol. That's what I gathered from the article.
This may be the one I read, even if it's not, it's got the same quotes from CW..
Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made a bad bet on guns | Business | stltoday.com

 

[spat]

Yea apparently they bought mega excess, gambling on the Obama era of record breaking sales. When that ended, that ended lol. That's what I gathered from the article.
This may be the one I read, even if it's not, it's got the same quotes from CW..
Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made a bad bet on guns | Business | stltoday.com

They banked on Hillary winning and lost big time ?

I don't feel so bad about them going under now....

 

[GOPerfect]

They banked on Hillary winning and lost big time ?

I don't feel so bad about them going under now....

With the way things were going, I almost don't blame them.

 

[Robin]

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

 

[Harry Hood]

With the way things were going, I almost don't blame them.

Could of been a huge home run if the election went the other way. There was an open SCOTUS position, it could have changed everything in the first 100 days. They would be out of stock on everything had HRC won, guns, ammo and everything across the country.