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s /UTDOOR )NSIGHT s *ULY outdoorinsightmag.com C amping World CEO and cable TV star Marcus Lemonis doesn't mince words when describ- ing what "killed" Gander Mountain, forcing the retailer into Chap. 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, and how the slimmed down outdoor specialist will operate differently under new ownership. The first 20 "new" Gander Out- door stores, stocked with an aggregate $42.4 million in inventory, should be operational by November 1. "Of the 160 (Gander) locations at the time of the bankruptcy," Lemonis told a gathering at the Stephens 2017 Spring Investment Conference last month, 105 of them were four-wall cash-flow positive before any rent negotiations. "What killed that business is massive corporate overhead, an undisciplined inventory process, an inefficient logistics and transportation process and stores being built too big with too high rent factors." Gander Outdoor will begin its next retail life as part of publicly traded Camping World with no corporate overhead and a new distribution center model. Five facilities will house all Camping World, Overton's and Gander merchandise by early July. Going forward, Gander will have somewhere between 60 and 80 locations, likely sized in the 30,000–40,000-square-feet range. "If we end up at 58 (doors), it will be because those locations represent the best opportunities for us. We will never build a Gander again without it being tied to an RV dealership. That is our model," Lemonis proclaimed. After the initial 20 Gander stores are opened, another 10-15 are expected to debut by December 1. It should be noted that Camping World owns designation rights to every current Gander lease until Oct. 6, including some it may want to sell to competitors in the outdoor retail space. New ownership doesn't want the lease terms that saddled the bankrupt Gander – including one store that generated $19 million in annual sales but only $87,000 in profits due, in part, to $3.5 million in rent payments – or operating a store "sandwiched between a Hobby Lobby and a Best Buy." More than anything, it was Gander Mountain's database of customers who generated three million annual transactions, and the banner's and Overton's potential synergies with Camping World, that excited the acquirers. Camping World utilizes a $27 a year "Good Sam" club model that offers its current 1.7 million members fuel discounts, pet benefits, discounts on merchandise and access to a credit card to qualifying members. Lemonis estimates Good Sam, which rolls out in Overton's locations in July, generates "pure EBITDA" of approximately $80 million that Camping World utilizes to service debt and fund capital expenditures. "You can expect our margins in the Gander segment will be lower than historical," Lemonis detailed. "Our strategy is to undercut the competition on the local level, be very web savvy in terms of pricing and ultimately drive club memberships and the database." The pricing scheme will also offer guns and ammo "at way below market prices" as the retailer aims to acquire new customers to add to its database and "sell them other things." Lemonis will use a few episodes of his CNBC show, "The Profit," this fall to offer viewers inside details about the Gander transaction. O Resurrecting Gander By Bob McGee Potoo: flickr.com RETAIL ANALYSIS OUTDOOR EYE Read this and the latest industry news at sportsinsightextra.com