HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – Locally-owned hunting and fishing supply store Green Top Sporting Goods is expanding, now that national hunting and fishing supply store Gander Mountain announced it would close in Hanover County, Virginia.
Gander Mountain operated out of a 67,000-square-foot store located in NorthCross Center in Ashland. Green Top will move into the larger space.
“Green Top Sporting Goods was looking to expand and offered Gander Mountain a unique opportunity to redeploy assets to its previously announced expansion plans in a cost-effective manner,” said Gander Mountain executive vice president Eric Jacobsen.
Green Top’s current location on Washington Highway in Glen Allen is just 14,000 square feet, according to Green Top general manager Myke Lynch.
Lynch said the move will allow Green Top to expand its merchandise and move into areas where it was not able to go before. He mentioned kayaks and women and children’s clothes when asked for specifics.
Gander Mountain said it would keep its Hanover store open through July 2012. In a press release, the store wrote employees have been offered bonus payments to stay through July and that all employees were encouraged to apply for open positions at other Gander Mountain locations.
Lynch acknowledged the move to a bigger store could mean the need for more employees at Green Top, but he did not commit to hiring a certain number of new workers.
Gander Mountain operates 114 stores in 23 states. Green Top’s single store has been open for 65 years.
“We’ve had a very loyal customer base,” Lynch said when asked to explain how Green Top could outgun the much larger retail chain. “Our commitment to customer service is second to none.”
