Gander RV & Outdoors is set to close, although an exact date has not been announced. The store is located at 3465 U.S. 41 in Marquette Township. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — Gander RV and Outdoors, located at 3465 U.S. 41 in Marquette Township, announced on its Facebook page the store is closing.

However, officials at the store, which had a sign on the front door indicating an inventory reduction sale of 40% except for certain items, said they were unable to give further public comment. No closing date was given.

Camping World Holdings Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, announced in September that management and its board of directors approved a plan to strategically shift away from locations where the company doesn’t have the ability or where it isn’t feasible to sell and/or service recreational vehicles.

Currently, the Camping World operates 165 locations that sell or service RVs, with over 30 dealership locations opened or acquired since Jan. 1, 2018. In addition, the company operates 37 locations that do not sell or service RVs but sell its assortment of outdoor lifestyle products.

The company said that at certain locations that don’t sell or service RVs, it’s trying to obtain the developmental consents, approvals and permits necessary to do so.

Gander is in the early stages of evaluating the impact of the plan and has had preliminary discussions regarding certain locations, with the current expectation of either selling, repurposing, relocating or closing roughly 27 to 37 locations, although that number might change.

As part of the plan, the company is also evaluating the impact on the company’s supporting infrastructure and operations and expects most activities contemplated under the plan to be completed by the end of the year.

Marcus A. Lemonis, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement: “We believe the sale and/or servicing of recreational vehicles is our core and most important offering and, with the RV and outdoor consumer crossover, we believe there is an opportunity to continue growing our market share and improve our financial performance through the operation of locations with RV sales and/or service and, when feasible, our hunting, fishing and camping products.

“We will continue to operate our RV sales and/or service locations under three banners, Camping World, Gander RV and Outdoors and Gander RV.”

Lemonis bought Gander Mountain assets in bankruptcy court in May 2017, with the Marquette Township store holding a grand opening in March 2018.

The company’s other Michigan properties are in downstate Coldwater and Belleville.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.