After a golden era of sales under Barack Obama, America’s gun manufacturers are in trouble. Sales have tumbled, leaving the companies with too much stock on their hands and falling revenues. The crunch claimed its biggest victim this week when Remington filed for bankruptcy.
The move does not mean the end. Remington is using the US’s chapter 11 bankruptcy law to offload $700m of its $950m in debt, and to restructure the company. But it does underscore the level of distress in the industry.
In December, American Outdoor Brands, the owner of Smith & Wesson, reported that its profits had fallen 90% year over year, from $32m to just $3.2m. Sales fell 36%. Last October, Sturm Ruger, the US’s largest firearm manufacturer, announced its quarterly revenues had fallen 35%. Both companies will report their latest results shortly but neither is expected to announce a dramatic increase in sales.
[...]
With Trump in the White House, said Spitzer, gun sales had sharply defaulted to their long-term trend of declining ownership rates.
“Gun ownership has been declining since the 1970s and there are now fewer gun owners than ever,” said Spitzer. Fewer people are hunting, younger people are less interested in gun ownership and the gun industry has had little success in its attempts to appeal to women and minorities.
Ninety-percent drop in profits in one year? Ouch.
Okay, okay, okay... let me get this straight. If the NRA is controlled primarily by manufacturers, and manufacturers are primarily concerned with profits, shouldn't they be supporting, generally, Democrats?
Spitzer said there may be better news aheads for the gun companies. In November, Americans return to the polls again for midterm elections, raising the possibility of major gains by Democrats, given Trump’s historically low poll numbers and a pattern of poor performance for the president’s party in midterms.
“If the Democrats do well, the gun industry and the NRA [National Rifle Association] will no doubt use it as an opportunity to issue dire warnings about gun rights. Their aim is to press as many guns into the hands of as many people as possible,” Spitzer said.
I got this; they need to support pro-gun folks, but really hope they totally bomb so the other guys take-over, right? In that case, it would make sense to support the most over-the-top, dare I say slightly insane, pro-gun folks, rather than run-of-the-mill pro-gun folks (I seem to recall most individual gun owners, or maybe even NRA members, support things like background checks... or stats to that effect).
Remington, owned by Cerberus Capital Management, made the Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle that was used in the Connecticut shooting. The company is being sued by the parents of the victims in the Connecticut supreme court.
After the shooting, Cerberus, whose billionaire chief executive Stephen Feinberg was a major Trump supporter, came under pressure from its investors to sell Remington.
But Cerberus struggled to find a buyer for the company and settled for letting its investors sell their shares in the company. The bankruptcy agreement will let Cerberus sever its ties with Remington.
Stephen had the right idea, but I guess it was just shit luck that Trump actually won. In fairness, it is quite a fine line to walk.
What they should do is start running ad campaigns like:
Epic Voice-Over: Imagine a world where there are no guns.
Image Montage: Obama, Hillary, highly selective clips edited for, erm, 'clarity'
EVO: They have been defeated, but the war rages on.
IM: Empty gun stores, defeated-looking workers walking out of a gun factory with a comically large "Out of Business" sign
EVO: If you are not buying guns, we can't keep making guns, and if we're not making guns, what will you do when the next wave overcomes you?
IM: Antifa doing their thing, other protests, maybe those gals in the knit hats burning a car, or whatever floats your boat
EVO: The midterms are under threat by the FAKE NEWS (Trump clip) and the mainstream media is working to put anti-gun people in Congress - and on to the Oval Office (Muller flash). Fear the future; buy guns now, and tomorrow, and don't stop, before it's too late. Don't forget bullets, because they go bad, you know.