ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gander Mountain Company (Nasdaq: GMTN), the nation's largest retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, boating, camping, marine and outdoor lifestyle apparel, products and services, today announced that its board of directors has named Michael Owens to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer and Steven Uline to serve as senior vice president of marketing.

Mr. Owens is a 27-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch, where he led efforts to expand the company's product offerings. He most recently served as Anheuser-Busch's vice president of business operations, which required him to lead the company's $6 billion procurement materials program and other finance and planning matters. Previously, Mr. Owens served as Anheuser-Busch's vice president of sales and marketing.

Mr. Uline worked for Anheuser-Busch for 24 years, where he distinguished himself in the company's marketing group. Mr. Uline most recently served as the company's vice president of geographic marketing, field media and special event marketing. He was responsible for local marketing in the company's largest beer markets and was involved in national marketing efforts. Prior to that he directed the company's sports marketing. Mr. Owens and Mr. Uline are both avid outdoorsmen.

"Mike Owens and Steve Uline are proven leaders with a track record of driving business growth and brand awareness," said David Pratt, Gander Mountain's interim chief executive officer and chairman of the board. "They both understand our 'We Live Outdoors' culture and we are excited to have them join Gander Mountain. Mike and Steve will be instrumental to our continued progress."

Mr. Owens' and Mr. Uline's responsibilities begin immediately.

Gander Mountain also today announced the promotion of two current members of management. Eric Jacobsen has been promoted to executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, and Casey Ramm has been promoted to senior vice president of merchandising. Mr. Jacobsen joined Gander Mountain in 2005 as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, and will now be responsible for all legal, human resources, real estate, regulatory compliance and loss prevention matters. Mr. Ramm previously served as vice president of marketing and will now have responsibility for overall merchandising efforts.

About Gander Mountain Company

Gander Mountain Company (Nasdaq: GMTN), headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is the nation's largest retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, boating, marine, and outdoor lifestyle apparel and footwear, products and services. Since 1960, the Gander Mountain brand has offered an expanding assortment of competitively priced outdoor equipment, technical apparel and footwear, as well as gunsmith, archery, boat, ATV and marine services. The stores feature national, regional and local brands as well as the company's owned brands. Focused on a "We Live Outdoors" culture, Gander Mountain dedicates itself to creating outdoor memories. There are 116 conveniently located Gander Mountain outdoor lifestyle stores in 23 states, and direct sales at http://www.GanderMtn.com. For the nearest store location call 800-282-5993 or visit http://www.GanderMtn.com. Gander Mountain is also the parent company of Overton's (http://www.overtons.com), a leading catalog and Internet based retailer of products for boating and other water sports enthusiasts.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this release that are not historical or current facts are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2007 and other required reports, as filed with the SEC, which are available at http://www.GanderMtn.com and at the SEC's Website at http://www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Gander Mountain Company