Gander Mountain to survive in scaled back fashion — and under new banner

Camping World Holdings has given an update on its plans for Gander Mountain.

Camping World, which acquired the assets of Gander Mountain and boating division Overton’s in a bankruptcy auction in May, said it plans to operate 57 locations — assuming details can be worked out with landlords and final acceptable leases agreed to. Liquidation sales started in May at all 160 Gander stores.

The plan for the locations that have survived the cut is for them to reopen under the new brand of Gander Outdoors. The stores will feature a fresh mix of Gander Outdoors, Overton’s and Camping World products and services.

“Our original goal was to initially open seventy or more stores, and while our initial list is now less than seventy, we are not willing to open stores which we do not believe have a clear path to profitability,” said Marcus Lemonis, chairman of Camping World Holdings, and star of the television show “The Prophet.”

The company is also currently pursuing other locations for expansion, he added, and expects to announce “additional locations and markets in the near term with all of our Gander Outdoors, Overton’s and Camping World offerings.” On Thursday, Lemonis tweeted that he planned to open 45 new stores during the next two years.

Camping World recently held a contest, with a $100,000 grand prize, for a new logo for Gander Outdoors. On Thursday, Lemonis flew to Denver to present a check to the creator of the winning logo, graphic designer Benten Woodring. (To see the winning logo, click here.)

In addition to the winner, the designers of the top four runner-up logos received $5,000 each. The next 85 runner-ups received $1,000 each.
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