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Comment by onetimemanytime | Hacker News Reader

>>Some say it was linked to it's acquisition by Cerberus Capital.

History repeats itself. As if these companies care about the brand reputation over decades, they just want to milk it and then sell it to idiots (public) that recognize the name. People are buying more guns than ever, so it was probably a planned bankruptcy

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Corporate bankruptcy fueled by private equity?

That goes together like peanut butter and jelly.

As if these companies care about the brand reputation over decades, they just want to milk it and then sell it to idiots (public) that recognize the name.

To be fair it's not just corporate raiders who do this to companies. IBM and HP quite happily did it to themselves.

planned bankruptcy

Planned? You realize Cerberus would have made a lot more money if it had been a successful turnaround.

Cerberus sort of hinges on "a guaranteed amount of much less profit" vs "we might profit, or we might completely lose our investment".

They're not "investors", they're predatory vultures. However, given that, their model does work, even if it is immoral and short-sighted.

That's well-said. I think it's worth adding that it's a highly resonate argument against modern capitalism.

Can you share the details you're referring to? Cerberus is Private Equity, so as far as I know, those details of the deal aren't public.

I can only point to the public knowledge of the outcomes: either, under far stricter management, the new company alienates workers and long time customers... or, those companies do not survive, and are stripped down for their valuable assets and debtors get as little as possible due to bankruptcy.

People describe companies like Cerberus sort of like the undertaker of companies in a capitalist society, but I don't entirely agree with that metaphor.

Often these companies end up back in the hands of the PE firms after being stripped of pension and other obligations in bankruptcy. Maybe they would have done better with a successful turnaround. But they usually manage to set it up so it's a heads I win tails you lose kind of game.

EDIT:

Point taken with the downvotes.

This feels very similar to the Intel story, except it seems that Intel is aware and will rectify the problem.

But less gun companies overall is a Good Thing in my opinion.

I can't think of two more dissimilar stories than Remington and Intel. This is like saying "The Color Purple" feels very similar to "The Da Vinci Code."

Remington has been on the rocks for awhile. Low quality, high prices, and outdated technology. Today's buyer wants a lightened AR-15 with holographic sights, not grandpa's double-barrel shotgun.

I suspect you're being downvoted from the "less gun companies is a good thing" comment.

You would be surprised how popular shooting has become in the US, especially, over the last decade or so, and how diverse the gun community has become.

Not to mention how many new brands there are.

Twenty years ago, you'd walk into a gun shop, and it'd be... well, let's be kind and say "massively sketchy", with a lot of graying beards and a not-insignificant inventory of items with confederate branding.

Nowadays, that's not really the case in most places (which is good!). My favorite range has an espresso bar, and reminds me more of an early-stage WeWork than a gun range.

The median age has trended sharply downwards, and although this data isn't tracked, I strongly suspect that there are a lot of first-time gun owners as well.

Anecdotally, I'm sort of the "liberal gun guy" amongst my circle of friends, and people that I never thought would want to purchase a firearm have been reaching out to me for advice. Which usually starts with "don't buy a gun unless you plan to train with it"

Concerns over civil unrest have significantly factored into this, but there's also things like 3Gun[1][2] (think Ninja Warrior plus firearms) and cowboy action[3] (the same, but with old-timey firearms), which are massively popular.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPPIhfD5DF0 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBcQSLgl20 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPMH5RnTqBg

> My favorite range has an espresso bar

I need to know where this is, please

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