It is not business as usual for several companies in the outdoor space. Over the weekend, Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based West Marine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Delaware filing said the 200 retail location marine supply company filed the usual ongoing business paperwork with the court, saying in a statement their Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) had the support of “96.2% of its lenders, 100% of its FILO lenders, and 93.9% of its equity holders.”
All West Marine retail locations will remain open during the restructuring, and West says it has sufficient liquidity to meet obligations to “customers, employees and vendors.”
The filing lists Garmin International as its largest creditor, with an $8.57 million balance. Sierra International and East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc., are listed with balances of $4.7 million and $4.43 million, respectively. Twenty six additional creditors listed in the filing include Lippert Components Manufacturing, Lumitec LLC, 3M, AkzoNobel, Raymarine, Xylem and Navico.
According to a statement released by West, the actions “will allow us to optimize our operations and rationalize our footprint, so that we can focus on continuing to serve our customers and our community well into the future.”
Again, the company says all stores will remain operational, as will all customer programs.
Since 2021, Roundhill Group, LLC, the present owners of RemArms, a/k/a Remington (before it was divided up with the ammo business going to Vista Outdoors), has planned to move the company from its longtime home in Ilion, New York, to LaGrange, Georgia.
But the LaGrange Daily News is reporting future construction of the planned new facility in LaGrange is in serious dispute. As in facing a June 2 foreclosure for failure to pay creditors. According to their report, there are three possible futures ahead for RemArms: pay up millions in capital and bills owed creditors to push forward on construction, foreclose the building and lose millions in investment, or get a new buyer to take over the company.
If that sounds familiar, you’ve been around the industry for a while. Remington, once known as “big green” and one of the icons of the industry, has gone through several iterations over the past decade, each leaving the historical brand diminished. Vista, and now the Kinetic Group, has assumed the ammunition business and kept it operating at or above previous standards. The firearms division hasn’t fared nearly as well.
According to one unpaid creditor, nearly 250 companies and individuals are owed more than $11 million for work already performed on the planned headquarters.
What’s ahead is difficult to determine. Lawsuits are flying, but the foreclosure clock is ticking.
Finally, the labor dispute between the International Association of Machinists and Olin Corporation’s Lake City Army Ammunition Plant has ended. The agreement ended a strike that began April 4 when 1,300 union workers walked off the job, seeking wage and contract improvements, including better work/life balance, calling for relief from forced overtime.
The new contract includes front-loaded wage increases throughout the new, four-year agreement and some relief from forced overtime.
Winchester Ammunition released a statement to local media saying the company was pleased the union accepted its proposal and the agreement addressed “wages, work-life balance, and operational needs at the Lake City facility.”
The 3,935-acre facility does not belong to the company, it is government-owned, but operated under a contractor agreement. It is the world’s largest small arms (5.56-20mm) manufacturing plant. With the exception of a five-year period between the end of World War II and the Korean conflict, the plant has been in continuous operation since 1941.
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd