Name one single company that has put out "better"...."higher quality"......or "did better" after being aquired by an investment company.
I've got a better question. Name one that survived period, who
weren't acquired by an investment company? Why do you think these bundled purchases are packaged and made in the first place? It's not because these companies are raking in profit.
They take several financially poor companies, (Remington, Marlin), and bundle the complete purchase with a few that are good. (Bushmaster, DPMS, (Panther Arms). In order to make the whole thing financially feasible.
It's not what anyone really wants. It's the only way it can happen from a monetary standpoint. Or else banks won't loan them a dime. One helps erase the others bad debt and poor credit. A bit like when a financially train wrecked woman marries a wealthy guy. She gets to go shopping again, because suddenly all of her credit cards once again work.
It is what investment company......what bean counters are going to do to destroy the product, drive people away from product all for quick returns. Post will likely get nuked, but it is not so much of what colt did to ruin themselves....or remington....or marlin....but what the investment company did to force....FORCE those companies to cut corners all in the name of more money.
There is so much wrong here, I don't know where to even start. First off, let's get real. Of course these companies like Cerberus Capitol Management, who put up the cash for the Freedom Group buyout of Remington, DPMS, (Panther Arms), Marlin, H&R, Bushmaster, and a few others are in it to make money. Do you think they are in it to lose money? More importantly,
if it weren't for the Cerberus buyout, many of these gun companies like Marlin and Remington would have gone out of business long ago.
Remington was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had law suits galore. A factory that was falling apart. Equipment that was so old Christopher Columbus brought most of it over on the Santa Maria. Not to mention a factory full of high priced, aging, tribal knowledge workers. Marlin was in much the same sinking boat. This buyout, regardless of how much you hate it,
saved those companies from extinction. They NEVER would have survived on their own.
It took millions of dollars in venture capital to make that happen. Where was it going to come from? Banks wouldn't loan them a dime on their own. They consolidated manufacturing wherever they could. (Moving assembly of DPMS, Remington, and Marlin guns under the same roof was one). Remember, they purchased Remington, "As Is". That means pending legal action and all. That alone was a mess that ended up costing tens of millions of dollars to clean up. You never know how these law suits are going to pan out in a courtroom.
No one else would have, or for that matter could have done that. Both Remington and Marlin would be long gone by now. Remington STILL may be gone. They are struggling as we speak to stay afloat financially. Even AFTER the Freedom Group's massive cash infusion. Marlin, fortunately is back on the road to recovery.... Thanks to them.
Yes, quality suffered temporarily until many of these factories could be relocated, new people hired in more cost effective locations that cater to business. Instead of taxing and unionizing it to death like New England has. Purchasing new equipment, and getting it up and running with new tooling, programs, fixturing, not to mention people. Would going bust have been better? Because that is exactly what would have happened.
These companies like Cerberus Capital Management have a Board Of Directors, along with stockholders to answer for. They can't just do what they want. Or what you as a gun owner think they should. If they don't make money through this entire lengthy process, their investors will dump them like a hot brick. Then what? It is difficult, if not impossible to manage quality properly on bad equipment. It's even worse when you're trying to do it while
MOVING. There is always going to be a downside to something like this, no matter how it's played.
Does your wife cook 5 course meals when you are in the middle of a move, and her kitchen is packed up in boxes? Or do you eat at Burger King for a few days until you get settled? This is 10,000 times worse. I worked for a large manufacturing company when they moved. It's a disorganized disaster, because you cannot shut down production.
The bottom line here is the people you are pointing the finger at for bad quality, are the same exact people who SAVED these companies from financial destruction, that would have ended their existence forever. There were problems along the way. A lot of them have since been worked out.
I've purchased 2 new Remington guns since the buyout, and both of them show the same fit, finish, and quality, all my 1980's DuPont Remington's have. So be happy they're still around. And as I said, pray and hope that even with all of this, Remington survives, as they are continuing to struggle..... Colt is another story all together. They have been making disastrous business decisions for decades. It has all finally caught up with them.
