Vista Outdoor Separates Shooting from Mountain Bike & Other Non-Shooting Brands
Vista Outdoor, the parent company of Camelbak, Giro, BlackBurn, and Bell - along with shooting sports and ammunition brands - has decided to split into two distinct companies to separate its shooting and its non-shooting categories.
In today's release announcing the split, the company cited wanting to increase strategic focus and capital allocation for each branch, strengthen the companies' ability to attract and retain employees, and better position both companies to acquire and partner with related brands. The release did not mention the controversy that surrounded the company in 2018, when the outdoor industry reckoned with its relationship to gun violence.
Vista Outdoor came under fire in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, when consumers and retailers alike faced decisions about where they put their money. At the time, Vista Outdoor also owned firearm brands Savage Arms and Stevens, along with ammunition brands. Those connections, along with Vista Outdoor's support of the National Rifle Association, spurred an outcry that led REI, Canada's MEC, and several other major retailers to stop purchasing from Vista Outdoor. They resumed their business relationships after Vista Outdoor sold Savage Arms and Stevens, but retained its ammunition brands.
In 2020, Vista Outdoor acquired another ammunition brand, Remington. The separation of what is now called Sporting Products - to be renamed - from Outdoor Products - also to be renamed - means it can court investors and partners that would be alienating to the other company. The now-two companies will be publicly traded and fully independent of each other, and current CEO Chris Metz will continue with Outdoor Products, which will be based in Bozeman, Montana. Sporting Products will remain in Anoka, Minnesota, and will be led by Jason Vanderbrink, who has previously led the shooting side of Vista Outdoor.
Outdoor Products stock will be distributed to its current shareholders in 2023, the press release said, as Outdoor Products establishes itself in its next phase.
Like the rest of the outdoor industry, Vista Outdoor has seen significant gains throughout the last two years, reporting a 37% sales growth in its 2021 fiscal year. Within the Outdoor Sports segment, sales rose 18% to $1.3 billion and gross profit increased 24% to $399 million. Company-wide sales exceeded $3 billion for the year and gross profit increased by 75% to $1.1 billion.
 | Over the past few years, we've made significant progress executing on our strategy to grow our leading portfolio of brands, driving operational efficiencies and delivering value to our shareholders. As a result of our efforts, we have built strong businesses that are well-positioned for continued growth and success as independent companies. As a result of the separation, our Outdoor Products and Sporting Products businesses will have resources, management teams and capital allocation priorities tailored to their respective strategic goals. We are confident that this increased focus will better allow each company to deliver long-term value for its shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders. The Centers of Excellence we have built will reside within the Outdoor Products business and continue to provide meaningful industry differentiation. |
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Take him out (you gotta keep 'em separated)
Hey, man, you disrespecting me?
Take him out (you gotta keep 'em separated)
Hey, they don't pay no mind
If you're under 18 you won't be doing any time
Hey, come out and play
www.quietkat.com/pages/hunting
I'll re-state, I'm not a fan of lining the pockets of politicians, but if taxes are used 100% for something useful, I'm all for it. Also, remember here in the great white north I have to watch Trudeau spend tax payer money.
www.bullshitgenerator.com
vistaoutdoor.com/brands
Fire!
Aim?
If he’s swerving at you and with intent to kill, he will kill you before you access your gun.
But let’s just say you can access the gun in time. The what? Do you fire shots at the car? If you miss him, is he now justified in escalating his sociopathic intimidation to actually deadly force? I’d you hit him, does he don’t continue on his trajectory and end up hitting you instead of swerving away? If you hit him and he dumps the car in the ditch, do you keep on riding? Call the cops? Walk over to inspect and potentially finish him off? Administer first aid?
Everything else is irrelevant.
However....if dude decides to stop and get out of his truck, then it's very easy to claim your life was in danger. Especially if he had just swiped you.
State laws very, and most are fairly clear on what is/what is not allowed. DYOR if you decide to arm yourself. Every bullet has a lawyer attached to it.
Seriously, I would rather have some hope in hell of defending myself.
Got it.
I’ve been verbally and physically threatened from drivers more times than I can count. I’m sorry it happened to you. It shouldn’t happen to anyone.
In my experience, the best response is none at all.
Just remember, you're telling this to people who can't figure out which bathroom to use, and think "birthing persons" can have wieners.
My bullets need a kick in the butt to do anything.
I realize my comment would make one assume that I am one of those things. I'm wouldn't consider myself a redneck, and I don't think I would consider myself a "gun fetishst" whatever that actually means. I just get tired of the opinion that if you own a gun, or multiple guns, that you own one only because one day you hope to kill someone with it. I target shoot, I shoot for fun. I do long range shooting at my families property because it is entertaining, not because one day I hope that I get to kill another human being.
I understand that this flies in the face of what people think of when they picture the average gun owner. The media (and no, I'm not a rabid fox news viewer, I actually voted for Biden because I though Trump was a legitimate threat to this country) pushes an image that all gun owners are LARPERS that couldn't make it in the armed services, but I assure you that couldn't be further from the truth. I think you would be surprised how many gun owners are just normal every day people. I know we disagree on this issue, and that's OK. Happy riding!
See how your fallacy falls apart quickly?
Take away message —-Don’t be daft.
FWIW- @grnmachine and @whitebuilt both make better arguments. However, you still can’t escape the reality that the device is built for purpose by a company that intends for its customers to use it.
Killing itself is not immoral, sometimes necessary for certain people or wild animals to die.
Conversely, there are 276 million cars registered in the US. IN 2020, there were 38,824 traffic fatalities.
That's about 0.014% of all cars results in fatalities. Cars killed more people than guns.....
So I dont make the "guns kill people" arguement. That being said, im not a huge fan of assult rifles (or any other instrument that can be used as a weapon) ending up in the hands of those who wish to do harm. I think we need to regulate who can legally purchase a gun. People kill people....in many different ways. The focus should be on mental health. As a final statistic, in 2020, 54% of gun deaths were suicide.
Here: www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s
You do realize that Giro was functioning on it's own before Vista bought them right? That the employees are core cyclist and snow athletes. That the company has nothing to do with fire arms. They don't share factories. They don't share staff. They don't even share office buildings.
You might as well never walk out of your house. You'd be amazed at how many brands you currently use are or have been at one point affiliated with companies involved in fire arms, war machine manufacturing, technologies originally designed for military use, slavery, destructive manufacturing, nazis, etc. Just because a brand is owned by someone doesn't mean they are the same company.
Ben & Jerry's is owned by Unilever. Doesn't mean ben and jerry's has anything to do with condoms.