National Sporting Goods Store Files For Bankruptcy

St. Paul, Minnesota-based Gander Mountain Co. is currently in the process of filing for bankruptcy. The company is working with a financial advisory firm, Lighthouse Management Group, to file bankruptcy as early as this month.

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The financial decision comes after Gander Mountain attempted an aggressive expansion of its stores but failed to attract new customers. To date, the sporting goods chain has roughly 160 stores, 60 of which have opened since 2012.

According to a Reuters report, Gander Mountain took out substantial loans:

The company has a $30 million loan, and revolving credit lines for $25 million and $500 million, according to Thomson Reuters data. It is not clear how much money in the credit lines Gander Mountain has yet to draw down on.

The company released a statement, explaining their financial hardships to consumers and employees:

Gander Mountain is the nation’s largest outdoor retail network with 162 specialty stores across 26 states. We are a fully integrated Omni-Channel retailer dedicated to servicing the hunting, camping, fishing, shooting sports, and outdoor products markets. As ‘America’s Firearms Supercenter™,’ we are a market leader in the shooting sports category with an extensive offering of firearms, ammunition, and accessories.

Like most retailers, we are subject to normal economic cycles, changes in our industry and shifts in consumer demand that require us to adapt our business accordingly. It’s been that way since 1960, when we started out as a catalog company in small-town Wisconsin, and it remains the case today. It is this constant adaptation and desire to offer our customers the best selection, best value and best service that has been our hallmark for generations.

Gander Mountain and its ownership group have undertaken a best-practices approach to review our strategic options specific to positioning the company for long-term success. When we engage in such a review we often seek information and advice from external advisors to inform our decisions. To assist in this process, we have retained Houlihan Lokey as independent advisors and we are confident that the outcome of the review will identify the right go-forward strategy. In the meantime, our Gander Mountain stores and gandermountain.com remain the place to go for all of our customers’ outdoor adventure needs.

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This announcement follows the closing of Sports Chalet, Sports Authority and Bass Pro’s purchase of Cabela’s.

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