Is Colt gone?

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If I had it to do over again I would've bought another Windham from my usual shop. I really like what that company is doing. Colt could learn a thing or three from them.
 
How they haven't tried to bring anything to market to compete against Glock, or the XD blows my mind.
Even as traditional as Ruger and S&W are, we still had the SR9, SR45 and the M&P line-up.
Everyone else took a piece of that market one way or another.
 
Olympus said:
From a dealer's perspective, Colt really pissed a lot of dealers off with their "stocking dealer" requirement. Now a lot of companies offer "stocking dealer" pricing or specials, but not actual requirements. So when a company tells me that my business has to keep on hand at all times at least one Mustang, one Officer/Commander model, one Government, model, one Premium model, and one AR just to have the ability to sell their product, you can count me out! Colt is terrible enough at managing their own business, they sure as HELL don't get to tell me how I run mine. They don't seem to understand that a lot of gun shops in small towns don't or can't afford to keep that kind of inventory in stock at all times, just of ONE brand. Here's an example, a good customer comes into my shop and says "hey, I saw a Colt Competition at Cabela's the other day and I think I'd like to order one, can you get one for me?" And that's a frequent request in my shop with all kinds of different brands. But in this case, I would have to turn a very good customer away to do business somewhere else just because Colt tells me that I can't order their guns unless I keep their minimum required inventory in stock at all times. What a crock of BS and this is felt the same way by a LOT of other dealers. So by implementing this policy, they've actually ended up costing themselves an unknown number of sales.

From a historical standpoint, I'd hate to see Colt gone. But from their current state, it would not bother me one bit if they went the way of the dinosaur. They're still producing 1911s with sloppy fitting grip safeties, poor fitting mag catches, thumb safeties that overtravel, and Series 80 firing pin safety mechanisms that just about every other brand has realized customers don't want and utilized a firing pin safety that doesn't involve the trigger mechanism or simply eliminated altogether. When a customer or friend asks me what I think about Colt 1911s, my answer is always the same. They make a great $700 1911 for $1000 or more.
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This, along with manufacture minimum retail prices, stocking requirements etc. all really bother me. A dealer should be able to buy as few or as many products as the maker can put out and the dealers can afford. Pricing should be the same, perhaps a suggested price. A dealer should be able to sell the products for as much or as little as their business needs dictate. Those controls may be well intended but almost always run afoul of the Law of Unintended Consequences.
 
I assume the logic behind the stocking dealer program was to induce some exclusivity to their products. I don't think it worked as intended.
 
gotboostvr said:
How they haven't tried to bring anything to market to compete against Glock, or the XD blows my mind.
Even as traditional as Ruger and S&W are, we still had the SR9, SR45 and the M&P line-up.
Everyone else took a piece of that market one way or another.
Click to expand...

That would cost R&D money. That would mean less money to be siphoned off into the pockets of the ownership group. Colt is NOT being run as a firearms company. It's merely a vehicle to load up with debt, make the ownership group rich and then be dropped like a used condom.
 
The idea that the Cobra is going to save Colt is sheer hopeful fantasy.

Q: What's the difference between Colt and Sears?
A: You can still buy Craftsman Tools at Sears.

Colt is Sears: an old name company that made bad decisions and got swept away by change. Colt simply isn't a significant player anywhere but in the 1911 market these days, and the competition there gets tougher every day.

I bought a new stainless 1911 Colt two years ago. It is a decent quality gun and the price wasn't outrageous...but it was surrounded on the shelf by equally good guns at similar or lower prices. Nostalgia eventually runs dry.
 
The first poor manager of Colt was Samuel himself, and the company has been plagued by bad leadership off & on ever since. The current corporate bosses are probably the worst ever.

Having said that, I wish some US billionaire with a love of history & Colts would buy them out and set them back on a competent course with emphasis on the civilian market.
 
Colt is essentially un-sellable through normal process.

What billionaire would want to buy a company already so far in debt, and assume such a heavy debt structure right out the gate?
Would you? :)
Denis
 
Wow! I've been a member of THR for a few years, but I mostly lurk and soak up some of the vast knowledge that's to be found around here. I think this is the first thread I've actually started on THR. 185 comments so far!

I'd love for Colt to turn things around, and to bring out a solid line of revolvers to compete with Ruger and S&W, but I'm afraid the odds are against it. red rick hit the nail square with this:

red rick said:
Any firearms manufacture that didn't make a profit in the past 8 years is in deep trouble and terrible mismanaged .
Click to expand...
 
DPris said:
Colt is essentially un-sellable through normal process.

What billionaire would want to buy a company already so far in debt, and assume such a heavy debt structure right out the gate?
Would you? :)
Denis
Click to expand...
Let's hope there's somebody waiting for the bankruptcy to be finished and is going to swoop in and start over.
 
Colt is a privately held company.

They do not issue public financial statements of any kind, nor are they required to profile financial data or to report material events and developments pertinent to their financial condone.

The last publicly released information relative to their debt structure was issued a year and a half ago in connection with their emergence from bankruptcy.

We are amusing ourselves twit speculation here.
 
There's nothing amusing about Colt's debt.
They shuffled some numbers around, but they didn't eliminate it entirely.
Denis
 
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wmgeorge said:
I think this is BS, you mean to tell me a production line employee makes more than skilled gunsmith??
It has nothing to do with the Union and everything to do with Colt management. When they do go belly up, loaded down with profit skimming debt then Unions will get blamed. Pure and simple.
This rant is Not intended for the OP, just the source!
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No, but a production line employee does make more than an apprentice.
 
DPris said:
Colt is essentially un-sellable through normal process.

What billionaire would want to buy a company already so far in debt, and assume such a heavy debt structure right out the gate?
Would you? :)
Denis
Click to expand...

How do you make a million dollars buying Colt? Start with a Billion.
 
IMO Colt is probably going to go into bankruptcy and not too long from now. Someone will probably buy some of the assets like the name and the designs.

I can't imagine there would be a whole lot of reason to buy the factories and machines though.

I could see someone buying a handful of CNC machines and starting the new colt firearms company.

I would be unsurprised if they tried to do a lot of the parts by farming them out like many companies do these days. The new Colt would basically be an assembly, engineering, and marketing concern. they already sold the right to someone to make Colt branded knives, and I think Zippo lighters. There might be other opportunities to use the brand name.

Or I could be completely wrong and they manage to hold on.
 
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If they are really lucky the Japanese will buy them like they did Winchester and start making quality firearms again and managed for a profit. My son purchased one of the Japanese Model 94s and it is flawless. He paid a LOT of money for it and had to be a on a waiting list for months.
When Remington purchased Marlin they got the name and a factory full of worn out machinery. They also thought, how tough can it be to make a lever action. They found out.
 
CraigC said:
The Japanese don't own Winchester. FN Herstal owns both Browning and Winchester and contracts with Miroku to build guns for them.
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You are correct. But unlike the later model USA 94s the ones made in Japan are quality. But that does not seem to be the issue with Colt, just poor management.
 
Creatively eliminating 50% of millions in debt still leaves millions in debt.
The best chance for anybody "buying" Colt would be at a bankruptcy sale.
Denis
 
My LGS just got in a Cobra. So, for a dead/gone/defunct company, they seem to still be making and shipping guns.
 
Nobody says they're either dead or defunct.
Yet.
And as repeatedly mentioned- the Cobra can't possibly reverse the downward spiral on its own.

They ARE making & shipping guns, just not enough.
Denis
 
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