They opened a store in our area last fall,except the opening week being jammed..now going there its like on a deserted island.
Had a good selection of fishing and guns but I thought they were over priced,I have been there handful of times and never bought a thing
Allen
911 Bass Anglers
Bucks County PA
We've got one here in town and I bet I haven't bought a dozen fishing items there in the last 6 years. It's come to the point I don't even look there for something because they never have it. Academy is not bad. 75% of all my tackle buys come from local shops around KY Lake, 1% from chain stores the rest online.
That was more of a "business philosophy", not bankruptcy. David Pratt ruined the company when he took ownership '06 (I believe it was '06). His had a vision of "destination" stores to rival BPS filled with yuppies buying clothing and footwear. His beautification process resulted in major remodels (some stores went through 3 or 4), the failed Gander Academy firearms training, more GM branded product, reduction in fishing and camping, huge expansion in footwear and clothing. Firearms was/is the backbone of the business and they'll ride that as long as possible. It's just a matter of time before the door closes...vendors not getting paid, horrendous merchandising/product selection and no identity for consumers to grab hold of. They could have easily turned it around, but Pratt's ego and big wallet keep trying to make them something they will never be....Originally Posted by tubejig
I have never been in one. There is one about 40 miles from me but I still prefer my local tackle shop.
98 Bullet 20XD
225 Pro Max
Are you a former Gander employee like me? I couldn't have put that any better than what you did.
One of my stories of trying to get an item into the store... Was working in fishing, had multiple people looking for tourney weigh bags. My manager was rather hands off and told me to contact the regional manager to get the ball rolling. From the first email to when we actually got the weigh bags in was a one month process. They sent me 24, I sold those 24 in a week... Contacted the regional manager to get more in only to be told the there wasn't enough sales history on the item in the previous 12 months. Mind you we never stocked them prior to me getting them to send us some. That was the brilliance of Gander Mountain's management.
I used to visit the Gander Mountain in my area maybe once a month. I was usually shopping for many items when I would get there but would end up buying only a shirt or something small because their selection of fishing and camping equipment leaves a LOT to be desired... not to mention their prices seem higher than BPS. I will say that their firearms department seems to be pretty busy most weekends.
I have a Cabela's near me that would be an awesome store... if the attached building wasn't a mostly-empty crime ridden mall. It's pretty bad when you can't even visit the store after dark because of the neighborhood. I used to go there many weekends but the last time I was there, the store was completely empty on a Saturday afternoon except the few employees. How they have even stayed in business this long is beyond me.
Meanwhile, business is booming at the nearby Bass Pro Shops. Crazy busy any day of the week and any time of the day. They must be doing something right.
The brilliance of bean counters...
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
x2
I'm not dead yet.....competition is the life blood of any human being
Why would you WANT any American business to fail and people lose there jobs and the community lose tax revenue ? ... I'm all for competition so if their business model doesn't work and they fail, well that's business, but to HOPE people lose their jobs because you don't like the store's selection WTH?
Because they deserve to fail, poorly managed all around.
I cleaned house at the Denver store over the holidays. Thanksgiving all tackle was 40% off. At Christmas all tackle was 60% off. Archery supplies were up to 75% off. I came home with dozens of SPRO mcsticks and rockcrawlers, Zoom and Strike King plastics, Gamakatsu hooks, Seaguar Invisx line ....... just to name a few. Deal of the century was Gold Tip Pro arrows that are normally $125 dozen for $30.
Excellent post.
I worked part time in the fishing department at our local store for about 5 years. It was around the time when Gander was starting its big push "south". It was clear when the store opened they didn't know what they were doing. Their buyers were terrible. Our store was set up just like a "northern" store complete with ice fishing, musky baits and walleye tackle. Gander would not buy from local vendors nor would it listen to it's local store managers about items they should carry. Gander got better over the years but I think they had scared away a lot of people.
As is the case most of the time on here folks seem to have all the answers without knowing much about the topic. I have a history with GM that I am not going to go into detail about however I do know a great deal in regards to what goes on behind the scenes plus management practices. My opinion of GM is mine and to be honest I was being very conservative in my post about them going away. I regret the fact that people lose their jobs when something like this happens but thats corporate America and they will move on.......and probably do better.
I hate to see them close too. The closest one to me is just north of Dayton, Ohio, about 40 miles from me. I've not been there for a year or so, but they used to have a pretty good fishing tackle selection.
Bill Gard
Richmond, Indiana
2015 BassCat Caracal/225ProXs
TEAM SHERM'S MARINE
Of course I talk to myself...sometimes I need expert advice.
So you have answered my question, you have a personal gripe about the company and it's practices.
Academy is opening a store in Paducah, so we will soon see how they stack up against Dick's and GM, as far as selection goes. My main gripe against GM is all the store branded stuff that they sell, I refuse to buy anything with GM's name on it. Why do they think people would want to walk around with GM on their clothes and such, UGH! Just like Rural King, I like the store, but will not buy something even if I like it and the price is right, with their name on it.Just as soon walk around wearing a jacket with Wal-Mart on it. YUCK.
1989 Hydra-Sports 17ft-6in. VS-150T
Evinrude 150XP
Hummingbird Electronics
All the Gander Mountain stores suck. Academy will destroy everyone else in Paducah.Academy is opening a store in Paducah, so we will soon see how they stack up against Dick's and GM, as far as selection goes. My main gripe against GM is all the store branded stuff that they sell, I refuse to buy anything with GM's name on it. Why do they think people would want to walk around with GM on their clothes and such, UGH! Just like Rural King, I like the store, but will not buy something even if I like it and the price is right, with their name on it.
FYI - Gander Mountain does have decent online sales. I actually placed an order yesterday for some boat seats and brackets.
20% off everything right now (except some clearance items), and free shipping on orders over $50
FRIENDS20 is the code, good through the 25th
Agreed. For instance our Academy has the exact same War Eagle SB for a entire $1 cheaper than GM. All their tackle seems to be that way. And Academys selection is much larger.All the Gander Mountain stores suck. Academy will destroy everyone else in Paducah.
2007 Basscat PII Anniversary Edition/200 Opti
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