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Ken Perrotte's outdoor column Date published: 6/10/2004
GENTLEMEN, start your wallets Based on a tour of the new Gander Mountain store that's opening in the building at 3708 Plank Road in Spotsylvania (the old Wal-Mart), this will be a place where an outdoor enthusiast can spend a few coins and outfit just about any hunting, fishing, or camping adventure. As of Monday, the workers applying the striking, rustic face to the retail shop were scrambling to finish their work. Inside, an army of Gander Mountain "associates" from other stores, as well as merchandisers and shelf stockers from various gear and clothing manufacturers, were hustling to fill out display racks and shelves. Gander Mountain was founded in Wilmot, Wis., in 1960, primarily as a catalog business with one main retail outlet in Wilmot. The Gander Mountain catalogs were popular for more than 30 years before that portion of the business was sold in 1996. Today, the company is headquartered in Minnesota and is steadily expanding its retail presence. The 78,000-square-foot Fredericksburg store will be the 70th opened by Gander Mountain, according to John Stainbrook, the store's operations manager. Gander Mountain closed its initial public offering of 6,583,750 shares of common stock on April 26 at a price of $16 per share. Gander Mountain's stock on the Nasdaq was trading at nearly $25 a share on Monday. The new Fredericksburg store will employ more than 100 local residents, according to Stainbrook. Only he and store manager Jason Edwards are from out of town, with Edwards relocating from Laramie, Wyo., and Stainbrook hailing from Pennsylvania. Each has impressive chops in the outdoor arena. Edwards has served as a fishing and hunting guide from New York to Alaska; Stainbrook is a licensed captain and lifelong hunter and angler who loved to fish the Great Lakes. "People are truly friendly here, just like in the West," Edwards observed, adding he's very impressed by the incredible diversity of hunting and fishing opportunities near Fredericksburg.
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