Remington’s search for a buyer — lately rumored to include the Navajo Nation — hasn’t gone well and the nation’s oldest gun maker filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years yesterday. This amid the biggest gun-buying boom since, well, maybe forever.
As the Wall Street Journal reports,
The chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Ala., marks Remington’s second restructuring since 2018, when it filed for chapter 11 and transferred ownership to investors including Franklin Resources Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Remington has been searching for potential buyers and was in talks to sell itself out of bankruptcy to the Navajo Nation before negotiations collapsed in recent weeks, leaving the company without a lead bidder, or stalking horse, in place.
The manufacturer’s firearms and ammunition businesses could be sold off separately, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Big Green is still weighed down with high interest costs in addition to expensive litigation defending itself from lawsuits resulting from the Sandy Hook shooting.
From the AP:
In the most recent legal action this year against the Madison, North Carolina, company, families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting were granted access to the computer of the shooter.
The families are looking for evidence of the shooter’s exposure to advertisements for weapons. They say Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing its Bushmaster XM15-E2S, an AR-15 style weapon, to civilians.
Remington has what should be some very valuable pieces of business. They make iconic guns like the Model 700 line of rifles and Model 870, Model 1100 and Versa Max shotguns, among the most popular guns in their categories, as well as a full line of ammunition.
Same type of mismanagement that ruined Sears, Pennys , etc. Over priced their firearms too.
I have only a single Remington that’s less than 20 years old. It’s also the only gun in my entire collection that currently doesn’t work, due to a failure it incurred last year before it ever saw 500 shells total since new. Neither I nor the armorer/gunsmith I took it to were able to fix it, the his recommendation was to send it back to the factory. Haven’t done it yet, and not quite sure what the process would be, anyway, considering the confusion surrounding Remington now.
My other Rems from the mid-20th Century have never had so much as a hiccup, and are still going strong. I would never recommend any of their guns from the past 30 years, though. Just another sad story of poor management who took over from the good ones and ran the company into the ground.
Understand, and live according to, the sacred words of the flawless ‘I Haz A Question’.
I don’t like half the people you criticize. You are still a jerk and have a serious problem
Besides an 870 and an 1100 my only other Remington is a Sendero with a limited production fluted blued barrel in 25.06. It has a Leupold tactical scope, Harris 6-9 bipod, etc. Zero issues although it has only seen 100 rounds to determine what it likes. I could sell it today for 3 times what I have in it. Of course it is not for sale, trade or rent.
Remington is like Fender when it fell into the wrong hands. And if America falls into the hands of democRats America will be one big CHAP/CHAZ sht hole.
Of course if biden is elected by cooking the books democRats will be looking for gun owners like the forum’s resident shthead enuf who slandered and libeled the POTUS and has demonstrated hate for those who voted for the POTUS.
Marxists would hire enuf to run their KGB and seek out and confiscate guns of those voted for the POTUS. Is enuf the kind of lowlife who would do that? That’s an affirmative.
TRUMP/PENCE 2020.
The Remington Sendero in .25-06 with a 26″ fluted barrel runs about $1,300 new-in-box. If you have the original trigger, it’s been recalled.
Absolute crying shame what they did to Marlin’s good reputation too.
That has been my opinion as well, but several folks I trust told me to take a look again at their newer guns. I shot a new 1895CB this weekend. The owner would not let me buy it from him otherwise I would have. That was a well-made gun.
I’m trying to find one to purchase, (not having much luck) and I’ll put some nice precision tang mounted sights on it. Once I get one, I’ll do a full review of it. If it is anything like his, it will review well.
The very sad thing is that over the last couple of years Remington has begun to reduce their SKUs and focus more on the quality of their legacy lines. I’ve seen the results in their model 7s and 700s. I wouldn’t buy a new 870, but the Versamax is excellent. Since I bought mine, I’ve cleaned it once a year and shot many many hundreds of rounds between those cleanings.
As often happens, by the time the ship is righted, there is too much water on board to keep it afloat.
I’m keeping an eye out for an 1894 dark (70412) 357 Mag/38 Special (prefer the shorter barrel) at an affordable price. Just never see any available (at least not affordable that is). I have a 336 (built 1979 IIRC) and love it.
I bought a Marlin Trapper SBL in 45-70 a couple years ago, it’s a beast and totally dependable. For fit and function I put it up there with my other Marlins, better in some ways.
The story of how Cerberus Capital Management financially engineered Remington to take on massive debt, getting nothing for that debt, is given here in some detail:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/01/magazine/remington-guns-jobs-huntsville.html
It is a lot of complex financial trickery by Cerberus, but the end of it is that Cerberus borrowed a huge sum and transferred the debt to Remington. When it transferred the debt to Remington it was done in such a way that Remington was obligated to pay it with cash. This was hitting Remington at the very time that the Obama Gun Sales Era was ending and sales were plummeting.
That is where the debt comes from. The quality issues are another matter. Some elements of that story are in link also, and makes for interesting reading.
A neat little trick to create a shell company that purchases Remington, borrow as much as possible even when it’s very high interest loans, make Remington buy that debt from you so they’re responsible for it, then laugh all the way to the bank. Mitt Romney would be proud.
You know, I think you’re right. Mittens would be very proud of this deal.
News for you enuf…You and mittens are one in the same…Both of you, by your own words and actions, are proven POTUS back stabbing self serving lowlifes who are not worth spit.
Mittens? I thought you NeverTrumpers loved that dude? Hmm…
George Kollitides and Cerberus destroyed the company. They used it as their own private playground. Ken D’Arcy has the right ideas and is going in the right direction. Give him enough time and Remington should be back…if they get the chance.
Meanwhile other manufacturers are practically printing money.
They are actually producing quality products that people want to purchase and then there is Remington.
Ouch
Hey! Ruger! Buy Remington!
Ruger is, IMO, the best and most well-run of the major American gun manufacturers.
That is why Ruger won’t throw good after bad in a Remington purchase.
They’re proving to be the Ford of American gun companies, to Remington and Colt’s GMC.
In the last few years I have bought two Ruger rifles. The Scout in .223 and the Precision Rimfire. Both worked out of the box.
My only gripe is the .223 Scout has ceased production. Some friends went to buy them and were told they are no longer being made.
If Ruger is so good then how come you don’t see any high-end gunsmiths making custom bolt action rifles on the M77 or Hawkeye actions?
When you can’t make a profit in this market…
I noted that this is Chapter 11 bankruptcy, not Chapter 7. They’re still trying to keep things going instead of parting the company out to the highest bidders.
They say Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing its Bushmaster XM15-E2S, an AR-15 style weapon, to civilians.
How is advertising a legal product a violation?????
It isn’t,,however in the mind of mentally defecient Leftards anything goes.
lefty judges dont care about the law. ends justify the means comrade
Let us not forget, it was his mothers rifle. He didn’t buy it. So not sure how the whole advertising thing is gonna work out.
I believe it has already worked. It causes Remington to tie up millions in a legal defense that they shouldn’t have to spend or defend. That strips away capitol the company doesn’t have to spare. even if Remington got a fair shake in court, they would be out millions.
Be honest and think back and I’m sure you’ve seen or heard of other court cases that were with little or no merit and the person they were against simply couldn’t afford to fight the court case.
His and the dead sorry ass excuse for a parent are not only dead but bad no assets. Besides, it’s a chance to take down a gun maker.
Please just die already, Remington. You’re the 99-year-old brain dead comatose patient who’s life support is draining the rest of the family’s resources. Everybody who loved and cared about you just wants your suffering to end.
Just sell the 870 patents to Ruger and please, please go softly into that good night.
That would be awesome. Ruger has the cash to buy it for cheap. Ruger has proven to be able to make awesome shotguns themselves in the Red Label.
This !
The 870, and most/all other successful Remington designs, were patented before most of us were born.
Remington sells good (but long since out of patent protection) original designs; copies of other popular but ubiquitous firearms (AR, 1911); and a few newish, but poorly received designs of its own.
Asking a successful manufacturer to buy a failing manufacturer with no valuable IP and nothing but an old and dwindling name to offer is wishing failure on the successful manufacturer.
I never said for them to buy the company, just the rights to the 870. Ruger already makes a better version of everything else Remington offers already. (Better bolt guns, better handguns, better ARs, etc)
Sorry, should probably have addressed my response to Jimmy Beam, who did directly advocate Ruger buying Remington.
Nevertheless, my main points stand. The 870 is older than the AR-15. I haven’t bought a conventional pump gun in 32 years, but I’d imagine some of the Turk shotguns are basically 870s (just like many/most “new” bolt rifles are generic 700s). Ruger does not need to pay Remington any more than PSA needs to pay ArmaLite. The model number itself is probably trademarked – but since Ruger’s reputation is so much better than Remington’s these days, I don’t see how that would gain them anything.
Meh…I’ll stick with Mossberg. Remington isn’t “fixable”. Being stuck in commie Conn. is their deathknell. Like Sears,Wards,K-Mart and many other’s…they never adapted to reality but thought their name was enough(I worked for Sears siding years ago-they thought “Sears” still meant something. Circa 1991.)
That’s the same year when I worked for a Sears telecatalog center. Tied for worst job I’ve ever had. I stuck it through the holiday season and then happily quit.
I bought myself a Craftsman table saw about that time, too — one of the last good models before they introduced all those crappy cable-drive abominations. At least that saw is still going strong, even if Sears isn’t.
Remington… I used to want a Remington boltie really bad, but that was before I bought my Marlin levergun — which was made the year before they bought Marlin, fortunately. In the years since, they’ve cured me of wanting anything their companies make.
“worst job I’ve ever had”
Yeah it was pretty bad. I only worked there a few weeks as a second job when in college as the call center was about to close down.
Remington isn’t in Connecticut. They’re worse off and based in Ilion, NY. Colt and Ruger are in Connecticut, and S&W are Massachusetts. All terrible places to be.
That’s “204 year old”.
Would like to see some imaginative financial trickster do some good for a change. Instead of raping a company for its equity (cash value) and leaving it drowning in debt, figure out how to both pull Remington out from under what Cerberus did to it and get a Ruger management team in there to get the company back in the game.
Won’t happen of course. Saving companies isn’t half the fun of raping them for these Wall Street finance wizards.
Totally agree.
I’m not really surprised, and I think the Sandy Years of mismanagement left the company hanging on by its fingertips to begin with. I don’t think the Sandy Hook lawsuit was a major contributing factor, although it couldn’t have helped.
Apart from the mismanagement (or maybe deliberate plundering is a better description), NYS /Cuomo wouldn’t let the Ilion plant reopen, so completely aside from any supply chain issues (which I expect there were), having their effective manufacturing capacity decimated didn’t help matters.
Well, that’s a strange mangling of the first paragraph. Think I need to restart my phone’s web browser.
Maybe we can all get together and buy Remington’s firearms and ammunition businesses debt free??
A really big “go-fund-me?
I’m sure the Model 700 Class Action suit didn’t help matters: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/remington-trigger-problems-surface-as-class-action-settlement-deadline-nears.html
The Navajo Native American tribe may buy them..but will change the company name because so many were waxed by Remingtons..so its offensive…talk about chickens coming home to roost….sheeeesh..
I don’t know if its still the case, but I heard that when they were looking at it seriously awhile back they wanted to buy it and then push “smart gun” technology.
last Remington My son owned was a 30-06 model 210, 3 shots and the Barrel slid forward, {not pinned but shrink fit} sent it in got it back barrel fixed, shot 9 more times {bolt handle fell off} sent it back in got it back, out to the range we went 3 more shots the horizontal cross hair in the scope snapped. end of gun. Haven’t bought a Remington since! do own a 700 but its older! no problem with it
I currently own two Remington guns. A 1903 made by them in 1938 and sporterized in fashion common in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In .30-06, still an excellent shooter.
A late production model R51. I had given up on buying this interesting gun because of the disaster when they rolled it out. This one was a clearance sale, half price, and the reviews have been good. So far it works just fine for me, but I’m not carrying it.
The financial disaster for Remington is due to Cerberus using complex sneaky but legal financial chicanery to buy Remington using debt held by a third corporate entity, then transferring that debt to Remington while retaining the cash from the loan.
It’s like, you want to buy a house but you do not want to spend your own money or take on debt.
So, you get a neighbor to buy the house with a loan you negotiated, but are not liable for.
You never move into the house, and you sell the house you got the neighbor to buy.
The neighbor walks away with no debt, and no house.
The original owner is forced to take on the debt but now owns the house again, from which all the equity has been removed. So the prior and once again owner of the house cannot borrow against its value, and has an outstanding debt they did not benefit from.
And you walk away with all that equity (cash money) while you leave behind the debt from the whole dirty deal. A deal worth tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, for which you are completely free of legal liability.
All legal.
Because that’s just how Wall Street rolls!!!
Same thing with Toys R’ Us. While sales have been declining for a couple decades, TRU was flush with equity because they owned their stores and the dirt under them. Rather than try to turn arround the sales issue, the Vultures borrowed against all the real estate equity, transfered the cash to the holding company, and left the toy store with the dept.
Screw ’em. Make way for innovative brands.
When you turn your brand into a bad joke, bankruptcy follows. Twice.
Exactly. Just as President Trump.
Out of many remmys I’ve owned, I currently have three oddballs in my possession = a . 308 xp-100 in a thumbhole stock (for silhouette) , a . 44mag 788 with barrel cut back to 17″ , and a . 204ruger xr-100 range master. The last 2 heavy barrel 700’s I have owned made in the last 7 years couldn’t consistently be made to shoot sub-MOA after everything being thrown at them. Also, what they did to Marlin until the last year or so is borderline criminal. I know they got dealt a shitty hand by Cerberus, but they folded instead of playing all in.
Yup that’s true. Marlin used to make really good firearms. Used to…
When was the last time you handled a Marlin? Because I’ve got two bought within the last five years that are back up to snuff. You should give the new ones a look!
Few, not five.
If you think Remington products are bad stateside, you should see what we get downunder. If there ever was a dumping ground for Remington QA rejects, it is the bin labelled “Export”.
The only reason to buy a Remington rifle is for the aftermarket customization and it is cheaper and more effective to buy an old 700 ADL or BDL for the receiver and then go nuts with a Brownells catalog.
Being that they are owned by Cerberus Capital management, they never stood a chance. After seeing what they did to Chrysler before they sold them off to Fiat, it’s a wonder that they’ve lasted as long as they have. Cerberus buys companies, strips them down and leaves them a pillaged shell of what they were. Cerberus has no interest in developing and growing a company. They buy, sell off and strip the company of what they can and then sell off the remnants.
Hopefully, somebody will pick them up, develop a decent management team to run the show, and bring them back up as a viable company.
Freedom Group mismanaged Remington into a hole in the ground. They tried typical big business practices(buying up smaller gun companies with hot products) and proceeded to mismanage them as well. RIP ParaUSA.
All the successful products end up outside the parent company, Remoil, RemUMC, ect. Just like the only Winchester products left are the Ammo division that parted ways with the parent brand and avoided the melt down of stupid.
Get taken over by Wall street, you are just going to be part of some list of acquisitions to be managed by non-gun business men.
I own a Remington 1100 20ga. My dad gave it to me as a Christmas gift back in 1988. Monetary value isn’t much but the memories of what all we done together hunting are priceless
I have fond memories of Dove hunting with my Dad and his 20 ga Remington 1100 as well. Also of that POS jamming on almost every shot. We finally fixed it by replacing the barrel with a new one with properly drilled gas ports.
I just bought a Remington TAC-14 that I found in a country gun shop at a pre-corona price. It is an 870 with a shorty barrel and only a pistol grip. Figured I better grab it up while I could.
Action is as smooth as silk and fit/finish all seem to be good. It feels like a good, solid gun. Hurts like hell to shoot, but you cant have everything.
I have a Mossberg 500 that looks like the bolt was finished with a chisel. It shoots ok but looks like hell, and Mossberg wasn’t interested in fixing it when it was new. I’ll stick with 870s I think.
I find it so dishonest, to say that Remington violated their laws because of something someone accessed online. If I create a website, I have no need to tailor it to their laws, the website is not in or part of their state.