spectr17
01-22-2003, 11:57 PM
January 17, 2003
Gander Mountain to enter New York, Chicago markets
Andrew Tellijohn, Twin Cities) Business Journal Staff Reporter
Bloomington-based Gander Mountain plans to open its first stores in both New York state and suburban Chicago in 2003. Those new stores will also introduce a larger store format for the outdoor retailer.
The new stores will range from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet in size. That compares to about 55,000 square feet in the company's existing stores — an increase of 45 to 80 percent.
The larger stores will include an expanded product line, including all-terrain vehicles and even special products for hunting dogs.
The new stores in Geneva, Ill., Rochester, N.Y., and Buffalo, N.Y., will be among eight new locations Gander Mountain plans to add in 2003.
The company could eventually grow to several hundred stores across the United States, said President and CEO Mark Baker, who joined Gander Mountain in September 2002.
Plans for the larger stores have been helped by the fact that existing retail spaces have become available with closings by Kmart and other retailers, said Baker. "There are hundreds of big boxes where we want to be."
In smaller markets such as Bemidji, the company will keep stores at about 55,000 square feet.
Baker joined Gander Mountain from Home Depot, where he last served as chief operating officer for the company's U.S. stores. Prior to that, he worked for Knox Lumber Co.
There are several competitors in outdoor retail, including Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela's Inc. and Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Shops Inc. However, none owns a commanding piece of the $40 billion to $60 billion industry.
Holiday Cos. of Bloomington, which owns convenience stores and sporting good stores, acquired Gander Mountain out of bankruptcy in 1997. Stephen Watson, the company's previous CEO, announced his retirement last year.
Gander Mountain grew from 27 to 57 stores during Watson's tenure. Holiday Cos. had estimated sales of $1.2 billion in 2001, according to The Business Journal's Fact Book 2003.
The company has never broken out holiday sales. In January, however, the firm announced it had experienced combined double-digit same-store sales increases for both November and December 2002. Those results dwarfed those of the general retail industry.
Outdoor retail always has been counter-cyclical, said Dave Reirden, partner at Chicago-based retail consulting firm, McMillan|Doolittle.
"The weaker the economy, the stronger the hunting and fishing business," he said. A slow economy can help this industry because many unemployed people find time to fish and hunt.
Reirden was Gander Mountain's president in the mid-1990s, but he has had no involvement with the company in the years since.
Gander Mountain chose to enter the Chicago and New York areas partly because their climates are similar to other markets where the retailer is already established. A bigger challenge will occur, Reirden said, when the chain heads into different types of climates.
Sept. 11, 2001, also provided a spur to Gander Mountain's growth, said Billy Hildebrand, host of FAN Outdoors on KFAN-AM (The show is broadcast live from Gander Mountain stores, but the chain is not financially linked to FAN Outdoors). Families are taking shorter vacations, but they are spending more time together and their activities often include fishing and camping.
Gander Mountain, he said, does a nice job of appealing to children, which is important because many outdoor enthusiasts are aging. "Hopefully the powers that be realize that value."
atellijohn@bizjournals.com | (612) 288-2102
Gander Mountain to enter New York, Chicago markets
Andrew Tellijohn, Twin Cities) Business Journal Staff Reporter
Bloomington-based Gander Mountain plans to open its first stores in both New York state and suburban Chicago in 2003. Those new stores will also introduce a larger store format for the outdoor retailer.
The new stores will range from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet in size. That compares to about 55,000 square feet in the company's existing stores — an increase of 45 to 80 percent.
The larger stores will include an expanded product line, including all-terrain vehicles and even special products for hunting dogs.
The new stores in Geneva, Ill., Rochester, N.Y., and Buffalo, N.Y., will be among eight new locations Gander Mountain plans to add in 2003.
The company could eventually grow to several hundred stores across the United States, said President and CEO Mark Baker, who joined Gander Mountain in September 2002.
Plans for the larger stores have been helped by the fact that existing retail spaces have become available with closings by Kmart and other retailers, said Baker. "There are hundreds of big boxes where we want to be."
In smaller markets such as Bemidji, the company will keep stores at about 55,000 square feet.
Baker joined Gander Mountain from Home Depot, where he last served as chief operating officer for the company's U.S. stores. Prior to that, he worked for Knox Lumber Co.
There are several competitors in outdoor retail, including Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela's Inc. and Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Shops Inc. However, none owns a commanding piece of the $40 billion to $60 billion industry.
Holiday Cos. of Bloomington, which owns convenience stores and sporting good stores, acquired Gander Mountain out of bankruptcy in 1997. Stephen Watson, the company's previous CEO, announced his retirement last year.
Gander Mountain grew from 27 to 57 stores during Watson's tenure. Holiday Cos. had estimated sales of $1.2 billion in 2001, according to The Business Journal's Fact Book 2003.
The company has never broken out holiday sales. In January, however, the firm announced it had experienced combined double-digit same-store sales increases for both November and December 2002. Those results dwarfed those of the general retail industry.
Outdoor retail always has been counter-cyclical, said Dave Reirden, partner at Chicago-based retail consulting firm, McMillan|Doolittle.
"The weaker the economy, the stronger the hunting and fishing business," he said. A slow economy can help this industry because many unemployed people find time to fish and hunt.
Reirden was Gander Mountain's president in the mid-1990s, but he has had no involvement with the company in the years since.
Gander Mountain chose to enter the Chicago and New York areas partly because their climates are similar to other markets where the retailer is already established. A bigger challenge will occur, Reirden said, when the chain heads into different types of climates.
Sept. 11, 2001, also provided a spur to Gander Mountain's growth, said Billy Hildebrand, host of FAN Outdoors on KFAN-AM (The show is broadcast live from Gander Mountain stores, but the chain is not financially linked to FAN Outdoors). Families are taking shorter vacations, but they are spending more time together and their activities often include fishing and camping.
Gander Mountain, he said, does a nice job of appealing to children, which is important because many outdoor enthusiasts are aging. "Hopefully the powers that be realize that value."
atellijohn@bizjournals.com | (612) 288-2102