CEO: Valdosta’s Gander Mountain staying open

Published 1:52 pm Monday, May 8, 2017

VALDOSTA — The signs said “Store closing” and “Going out of business” but Valdosta’s Gander Mountain has gotten a stay of execution.

The outdoors chain, facing financial difficulties, hung “Store closing” banners at several locations Friday, including stores in Valdosta and Albany. At the same time, the company’s website announced that all 126 Gander Mountain stores were closing for good.

The Gander Mountain chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, with much of the firm sold in bankruptcy auction to Camping World, a manufacturer of recreational vehicles.

During the weekend, Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis posted a series of Tweets naming stores that would remain open despite signs announcing “Everything must go!”

Camping World issued a statement Monday saying it planned to keep about 70 Gander Mountain locations open.

Lemonis posted a Tweet Monday naming Valdosta as one of the locations on an “initial list of stores” slated to remain open, said Jess Myers, director of media and public relations for Ewald Consulting, which works with Gander Mountain.

In a video posted Sunday, Lemonis said Camping World bought Gander Mountain’s “intellectual property” — the brand name, websites and assets— and the rights to store leases. What they did not buy, he said, was Gander Mountain’s inventory, which was purchased by a group of liquidators.

Gander Mountain locations kept open will be stocked with new inventory, he said.

Camping World also runs an RV sales lot in Lake Park, only a few miles away from the Valdosta store.

Gander Mountain opened its 52,000-square-foot store in Valdosta in fall 2012.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.