Camping World Holdings Inc. has won the bid for Gander Mountain, a retail chain of sporting goods apparel and equipment, in bankruptcy court.
The winning bid totaled about $37.75 million, with $15.6 million for Gander Mountain’s inventory and $22.15 million for assets that include the e-commerce operations of Gander Mountain and Overton’s boating business, the right to give Camping World authority over real estate leases and intellectual property some distribution center equipment, according to a Camping World statement.
Gander Mountain’s inventory was purchased for close to cost and will be liquidated at Gander Mountain stores, CampingWorld says. Overton’s, which has two store in North Carolina, will continue to operate those locations and its e-commerce site.
Marcus Lemonis, CEO, Camping World
“The Gander Mountain and Overton customer and their affinity to the outdoor lifestyle are the perfect complement to our Camping World business,” Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis said in a statement. The deal requires Camping World to assume a minimum of 17 leases.
“The liquidation of the existing Gander Mountain inventory will allow us to start with a clean slate of what we consider the appropriate mix and level of inventory, including the addition of Camping World and Overton offerings where appropriate, and our lease designation rights will allow us to select only those stores in appropriate locations with appropriate cost structures,” Lemonis said.
Minneapolis-based Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy March 10, citing “challenging traffic patterns and shifts in consumer demand resulting from increased direct-to-customer sales by key vendors and accelerated growth of e-commerce.” The retailer said at the time of filing it would close 32 of its 162 stores.
Camping World is No. 306 in the recently released Internet Retailer 2017 Top 1000. It sells online, via catalog and in more than 100 Camping World SuperCenter stores in the United States. Gander Mountain is No. 224 with an Internet Retailer-estimated $140 million in online sales in 2016, according to Internet Retailer’s Top500Guide.com.
Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc. was said to be bidding for as many as 80% of Gander Mountain’s stores, according to a report last week from Bloomberg News that cited people who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Sportsman’s Warehouse has almost 80 stores in 22 states, mostly in the western U.S., with some in the mid-Atlantic region. Most of Gander Mountain’s stores are in the east. Sportsman’s Warehouse has about $200 million in debt and its revenue has been rising in recent years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Store closings and retail bankruptcies in the U.S. are occurring at a record pace. Sporting-goods retail chains have been hit hard. Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., Sports Authority Inc. and Eastern Outfitters LLC all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the past 12 months.
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