Tracker Marine Group to sell boats at 105 Gander Mountain stores

ST. PAUL – The Gander Mountain Company and Tracker Marine Group, a division of Bass Pro Shops, announced yesterday that, effective this spring, popular Tracker Marine Group boat brands will be sold throughout the network of 105 Gander Mountain stores.

Gander Mountain will offer Tracker and Fisher fishing boats, Sun Tracker and Fisher pontoon boats, Nitro and ProCraft high-performance fishing boats, Tahoe runabout/deck boats, Mako offshore/inshore fishing boats, and Kenner Bay boats. Brand offerings will be tailored in each location based on market dynamics and customer preferences. With 105 stores in 22 states, Gander Mountain will be the largest national network of outlets for Tracker Marine Group boats. That network will continue to expand with the planned opening of at least 12 new Gander Mountain stores in 2007.

“Gander Mountain has a great opportunity to grow their boat business by offering our best-selling brands in regional markets that their competitors have not entered,” said Dennis Revell, vice president of Sales for Tracker Marine Group. “By covering those second- and third-tier markets so well, Gander Mountain has the ability to offer a line-up of boats that is right for every season of the year. We’re looking forward to getting our boats in front of a lot of people who live in many new areas not previously served by Tracker dealers.”

“Bass Tracker and other top brands from Tracker Marine Group will put Gander Mountain in great position to take advantage of the large potential in the boat market,” said Gander Mountain president and CEO Mark Baker. “We’ve gained good experience in the boat business during the last couple of years. Now we’re ready to make boats a big part of our business.”

Gander Mountain jumped into the powersports market in 2003 when it announced a similar partnership to offer Arctic Cat ATVs. Since that time, it has partnered with Genmar to sell the company’s Stratos, Champion and Seaswirl brands at selected stores. And most recently, it partnered with Crystal-Pierz Marine in the Minneapolis area to have the dealer’s staff train Gander Mountain sales reps in addition to providing support for customer financing and other back-office functions.

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