Gander Mountain files for bankruptcy, plans to close three Illinois stores

Outdoor recreation retailer Gander Mountain plans to close 32 underperforming stores, including three in Illinois — Champaign, Algonquin and Springfield locations — but will keep the O’Fallon store open.

Gander Mountain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Company President Jay Tibbets said in a statement Friday the move is an “important step in our restructuring,” but said most Gander Mountain stores will remain open and stocked.

“As a product of the company’s strategic review, 32 underperforming retail locations will begin a shutdown process in the next several weeks,” a news release stated.

The company, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, currently has 152 stores in 26 states.

A 61,000-square-foot Gander Mountain store opened in O’Fallon in May 2015, becoming the company’s first store in the metro-east. The company also has stores in Chesterfield, Mo., and Fenton, Mo.

The O’Fallon store is highly visible from Interstate 64 and features a selection of gear and accessories for hunting, fishing, camping, boating and archery.

“As we go through this process, the 7,000 employees of Gander Mountain will do everything in their power to make it invisible and inconsequential to you,” Tibbets said in the statement.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Gander Mountain files for bankruptcy, plans to close three Illinois stores."