There’s not a lot of major news breaking, but there are several things around the industry worth talking about- briefly.
After news that several more distributors were throwing in the towel last week, I took advantage of a weekend with several industry friends to ask a simple question: “is the old distributor model going away?”
The answers were solicited separately, but you would have thought they’d been practicing their answers.Their answers were simple: “we hope not.” And their explanations were much like the ones I heard nearly every time former Ruger CEO Mike Fifer held a conference call with analysts after an earnings report.
“We depend on the distributors to give us significant support with smaller customers that might not make our threshold of business.”
“Distributors know their customers and their needs better than any manufacturer.”
“Distributors handle warehousing, shipping and, to some degree, financing, for small retailers that would be impractical for a manufacturer.”
The answer that was the most direct was this: “Good grief, I couldn’t begin to handle 20,000 customers.”
That having been said, no one from any of the companies said there wasn’t some consolidation going on today. And they all agreed that over the next 18-24 months there would be other distributors that would either sell out of close down. Industry consolidation seems to be inevitable as the business pressures put on the firearms industry impact everything from expansion to inventory management. Without access to capital, there’s no room for growth. As margins tighten (which online shopping has already done), the amount of profit shrinks. When it gets too-small to maintain, the options disappear. At that point the options are simple: sell or close.
If you’re one of those people waiting on a firearms suppressor as it sits in “suppressor jail” waiting for federal approval, you might be pleased to know the time between application and approval finally seems to be shrinking- a little. We’re getting word from Washington that the turn around time has shrunk to something under four months. That’s a lifetime to wait for a part that is more beneficial than malevolent, but it’s the way the current system works.
But there’s reason to hope things will improve. We got word last week that the American Suppressor Association (www.americansuppressorassociation.com) was given a report by the National Hearing Conservation Association that essentially endorses the idea of firearms suppressors.
Further, the NHCA “explicitly supports the Hearing Protection Act and similar legislative and regulatory reforms that seek to make suppressors more readily available to law-abiding gun owners.”
Now that’s a positive development, because the NHCA is made up of the world’s leading experts on hearing loss, not a group normally thought of as being terribly pro-gun. Their membership includes audiologists, scientists, physicians, engineers and other experts from industry, medicine, academia and - this is important- government.
It’s also an independent organization whose mission fits right along with the suppressor: “to prevent hearing loss due to noise and other environmental factors in all sectors of society.”
Of course, that doesn’t do anything to dissuade willfully ignorant politicians, but it does make it simpler to point out to the more rational that suppressors aren’t a threat because of some horrible intent, they’re a benefit to society.
Finally, a quick word about the passing of a legend in the fishing industry. Jerry McKinnis, one of the pioneers of fishing on television, a former owner of B.A.S.S. and all-round good guy, died over the weekend. I recall talking with him on several occasions, and being more than impressed with his abilities to translate fishing into entertaining television.
We were sitting at a Bassmaster Classic when I asked Jerry how he made fishing interesting television.
“You know how to make good television,” he laughed, “why you asking me that?”
My response was that I knew how to “make good television” but he seemed able to make good television while simultaneously making a great amount of money.
That, I explained, was what I really wanted to know.
“Oh,” he laughed, “that’s harder. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.”
Whatever the formula, he had it. And I’m still not doing outdoor television - but that doesn’t mean something not coming in 2020.
We’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd