Gun-maker files for bankruptcy one day after March for Our Lives
Trump’s White House win has sent gun profits into a tailspin, and gun-maker Remington is no exception.
There’s a cultural shift underway in America, and gun makers like Remington, along with the NRA, are on the losing end.
One day after millions across the country marched in favor of gun safety in hundreds of demonstrations, America’s oldest gun manufacturer, Remington, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The gun industry continues its massive business tailspin since Trump was elected.
“Remington Outdoors, which also owns gun manufacturers including Marlin and Bushmaster, says sales in 2017 were just over $600 million, down more than 30 percent from 2016,” CNBC reports. “Like other gun manufacturers, Remington saw sharp sales declines following the 2016 presidential election, as customers apparently saw less urgency to stockpile firearms” after Trump’s win.
For eight years, the NRA pitched that fabrication about how President Barack Obama wanted to take away guns, and for eight years NRA members bought it, stocking up on guns and ammo to the tune of nearly $50 billion.
More than 11 million firearms were manufactured in the U.S. in 2016, up from fewer than 4 million a decade ago, according to Bloomberg.
But Trump’s surprise victory, and the Republicans’ control of Congress, means gun owners are no longer fueled by NRA paranoia about “gun grabbing” Democrats, so consumers have drastically reduced their purchases.
And then the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, happened and a national gun safety movement was born.
Suddenly major retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods got out of the military-style gun business altogether, while others, including both Dick’s and Walmart, raised the gun-buying age at their stores to 21.
A strong majority of Americans, including Republicans, now want those assault-style weapons banned in America.
Remington is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, which has tried to sell Remington but can’t find any buyers. The company’s Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle was used in the 2012 mass school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 26 dead.
Cerberus is owned by private-equity billionaire Stephen Feinberg, who has been a major Trump supporter.
Recently, American Outdoor Brands, which manufactures the famous Smith & Wesson gun brand, announced that its year-over-year sales were down 33 percent, and that profits had plunged 65 percent.
The NRA cheered Trump’s 2016 victory. But for some gun manufactures, that win might end up signaling their demise.
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