Gander Mountain buys out Reed's

[iceman]

Gander Mountain buys out Reed's
Deal between Baxter outdoor retail stores to be done in September
By JENNIFER STOCKINGER
Outdoors Columnists
The top two outdoor retail stores in Baxter will no longer be competitors.

Gander Mountain is buying out Reed's Baxter store for an undisclosed amount, it was learned Friday. The transaction is expected to close in early September. The two stores are located a couple miles from each other on Highway 371.

Tim Martin, vice president of marketing for Gander Mountain, located in the St. Paul office, said Gander Mountain is purchasing Reed's inventory and certain assets and moving it to its Baxter store. He said Gander Mountain won't purchase the building.

"We think this is a good thing for both companies,"Martin said. "It was mutual. The deal came quickly, was friendly and will benefit both of us.

"I think both companies were feeling good, but having one individual store will simplify operations and will be more pleasing to the customers in the Brainerd lakes area."

Martin said Gander Mountain didn't need to purchase the Reed's building as Gander Mountain has about 80,000 square feet, the size of most of the chain's stores, and that is all it needs.

Adam Arnold, president of Reed's, said the Reed's Baxter store will remain open for business until the transaction is closed.

Arnold also would not disclose the amount of the purchase, but said, "It was impressive, and Gander Mountain demonstrated that it wanted to be the only competitor in town."

Arnold said the agreement was mutual and that Gander Mountain approached Reed's about purchasing the Baxter store. He said it wasn't the Arnold family's intention to build the Baxter store in 2004 and then sell it so promptly. He said it was a compliment to have a corporate store like Gander Mountain approach the family about buying the business.

"This is a win-win opportunity for Reed's," Arnold said. "This gives us the opportunity to explore additional retail locations and further develop our Internet and catalog business. There could be more than one location we're looking at for expanding."

Arnold said selling the business in Baxter was no reflection on the store's sales. He said sales have continued to grow since it opened.

The Baxter store has 15 full-time employees and Arnold said they will go to the Walker store, which has been in business for 56 years, or to the Gander Mountain in Baxter.

Arnold said the family is exploring its options on what to do with the 50,000-square-foot Reed's building. He said that most likely, it will be sold.

Arnold said the last three years have been gratifying. He said Reed's was the first business in its location when it opened, and now there are many businesses in the area.

Arnold said the store is grateful to all its customers, staff and the communities for supporting Reed's and that the store will still have its annual fall sale Aug. 18-26, as well as a customer appreciation sale Labor Day weekend.

[Mayfly]

To Our Friends and Family of Reeds,
We have just completed a very exciting deal that we wanted you to hear about directly from us . . . Gander Mountain is purchasing the Reeds Baxter Store! We are excited about this unexpected sale because it expands our future opportunities and positions Reeds in coming years to explore additional retail locations and further develop its growing internet and catalog business at ReedsSports.com. Accompanying this letter, you will receive a press release announcing the news to the public. It describes the basics of the transaction, but since Gander Mountain is a publicly-traded company, its notices cannot be very detailed. We are writing this letter to share with you our excitement and additional details.

We were surprised when top Gander Mountain officials made a serious offer to purchase the Reeds Baxter store. It was never the intention of Reeds to build, develop and sell the Baxter Reeds store. Since its opening in 2004, Reeds Baxter store showed continuous sales growth year after year. Reeds Baxter store gained much success with great service and customer care. We are proud of our sales performance and what the Reeds Family of employees established as a strong, loyal following of friends and customers.

We are proud of the support that we provided to countless community organizations, fundraisers, conservation groups and non-profit organizations. Moreover, we believe that it is a landmark accomplishment to create a business from scratch in a new community that in just three years is regarded highly enough by a publicly-traded national competitor that they wanted to purchase it. The sale is also rewarding to us because of the uncertainty and skepticism from those that questioned Reeds initiative to create the Baxter Reeds store, especially in a location where there was just a heavily-forested undeveloped section of Baxter, which now bustles with business, growth and development.

The Brainerd Lakes area and surrounding communities have been very good to Reeds and our Baxter store has been very successful. So, obviously, much soul-searching, prayer, thought and good business sense went into the decision to sell the Baxter business segment of Reeds. The Brainerd Lakes area community is our home and we do not intend on leaving the Brainerd area. We will continue to reside in the Brainerd area, but just work out of the Reeds in Walker until new locations are established in the coming years. Reeds will continue to serve all our friends and customers at our hometown Walker store and through our nation-wide shipping business at www.ReedsSports.com.

From a business perspective, the purchase offers great opportunities and puts the Reeds company in a position where it has additional resources to focus on further growth of its internet business (ReedsSports.com), its catalog sales and more retail stores in coming years as opportunities develop. For example, we now plan to commence with our Walker store expansion and remodeling plans. We have wanted to remodel the Reeds? Walker Store for some time and now we have a great chance to do so. We will begin working on plans for a huge remodeling and expansion project that will be completed in the Spring of 2008 to make the legendary Walker Reeds Store even more of a destination.

Reeds? Baxter Store will continue with its typical merchandising and marketing in place until it closes on Labor Day. We will hold our annual Fall Classic Sale on August 18-26, which will feature factory semi-trailer truckload sales and amazing deals storewide. As a grand finale, Reeds will host what will be billed as the Greatest Customer Appreciation Sale ever over its last three days of operation in Baxter on Labor Day Weekend, August 31-September 2. Reeds Baxter store will close permanently at 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 2, on Labor Day weekend.

We are very grateful for you and all of our customers, staff, friends, business peers, and to the communities in the Brainerd Lakes area. We look forward to continuing to see you and our other friends in our Walker store and on-line at ReedsSports.com. We hope you have time in the coming months to stop in and visit us in the Baxter store before September. Thank you.

Our very best regards,

The Reeds Family

[autocatt]

This is a suprise. I personally didn't care for the stroe in Baxter. I would rather go to the original store in Walker. I also feel that Gander Mtn. had better deals and will be better compitition for Fleet Farm.

[Rywheat]

I think Cabela's should buy the building and have a outlet store or a small store and this would be a total slap in the face to Gander.

[Big Slick]

I think Cabela's should buy the building and have a outlet store or a small store and this would be a total slap in the face to Gander.

I hear that...Cabela's store always way more organized and are a lot cleaner. Would do business with Cabela's WAAAY before GM.