cat and gander mountain partner

Arctic Cat Inc., manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles, has formed an alliance with sporting goods retailer, Gander Mountain.

Gander Mountain's newly-opened Geneva, Ill., store will offer the full line of Arctic Cat ATVs, as well as genuine parts, garments and accessories. As a full-service Arctic Cat ATV dealer, the new 100,000 sq.-ft. Gander Mountain store will also have the ability to fully service Arctic Cat ATVs with factory trained and certified Catmaster technicians.

With the addition of Arctic Cat ATVs, Gander Mountain will become one of the largest and most comprehensive retailers of outdoor enthusiast products in the United States. The agreement provides that additional Gander Mountain outlets may add the Arctic Cat line of ATV products in the future at strategic locations throughout the United States.

"Gander Mountain's client base makes our partnership with Arctic Cat to sell and service ATVs a great fit. We are now able to offer our customers a great way to get to their outdoor destinations on Arctic Cat ATVs," said Mark Baker, Gander Mountain's CEO. "What particularly attracted us to the Arctic Cat brand is their commitment to developing ATVs that are well suited to the outdoor enthusiast. Innovations such as the Multi-Rack Platform (MRP) system offer the versatility to quickly set-up an ATV for hunting one minute, then change ATV attachments and be ready to go fishing or camping within seconds."

The Arctic Cat MRP system, announced in June of 2002, is a first-of-its-kind design allowing users to quickly attach numerous accessories to the ATVs front and rear racks eliminating the need for unnecessary brackets or tools and increasing versatility.

"This alliance with Gander Mountain allows us to attract the demographic that our MRP ATV is specifically designed for: hunters, fishermen and campers," said Robert Bonev, Arctic Cat's vice president of sales and marketing. "We like Gander Mountain's emphasis on value-added retailing as well as their excellent customer service and focus on safety. Although this partnership is slightly different from the majority of our traditional Arctic Cat ATV dealers, we believe Gander Mountain is a great addition and further augments our already outstanding ATV dealer base."