Remington Will Declare Bankruptcy in 2020 Despite Skyrocketing Gun Sales

Industry News Max Slowik This Week
Remington Will Declare Bankruptcy in 2020 Despite Skyrocketing Gun Sales
The Remington Arms Company will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. (Photo: Remington)

Remington Arms, old Big Green, will be filing for bankruptcy in 2020. The renowned gun maker filed for bankruptcy not too long ago in 2018 but was unable to turn around despite the current American gun-buying frenzy.

Even with the unprecedented demand for firearms due to civil unrest and the upcoming Presidential election, Remington was unable to streamline its business model and stay afloat.

Rumors of Remington’s upcoming bankruptcy sprung up earlier this year in June, with the Navajo Nation coming to the table as a potential buyer. According to Fox Business, talks with the Navajo have fallen apart, leaving Remington without any front-runners looking to buy.

While it’s true business has been good, Remington was not able to repay the company’s remaining debts fast enough. Remington paid down at least $775 million following the company’s 2018 bankruptcy, falling short of the $950 million mark needed to remain in business.

The company will be filing a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Decatur, Ala. Following the 2018 bankruptcy the major owners of Remington were Franklin Resources, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Remington saw serious mismanagement during its years as a part of the Freedom Group, owned by Cerebus Capital Management, starting in 2007. Later renamed the Remington Outdoor Company, Remington Arms’ debt almost quadrupled from $252 million to $950 million by 2017.

See Also: Remington in Trouble Again? Court Filing Claims Repaired Model 700 Triggers Still Malfunctioning

Remington faced product recalls and failed product launches along with multiple legal battles in the last decade leading to a decline in the centuries-old company’s reputation. Remington was founded in 1816.

The Remington name still holds value and the company makes products that are in extreme demand, especially right now, but it’s clear that some of the company’s institutional problems may be too big for a quick fix.

The FBI and the NSSF are reporting record-breaking numbers in terms of background checks and sales. Gun stores across the country are selling stock as fast as it arrives, often to first-time gun owners.

Still, Remington’s current debt is much smaller than it has been in a long time, so it’s possible that this is a temporary setback. Fingers crossed that Big Green returns to its former glory.

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  • Buck August 2, 2020, 4:08 pm

    The Bloomies and Soros’ are changing the laws to surround and destroy the Second Amendment so the industry can’t be rebuilt.

  • Rollin L July 31, 2020, 8:53 pm

    My understanding is that the Freedom Group/Cerberus management took out debt on Remington’s books but did not invest the money in Remington. They essentially gutted the company and sold it off to die. Perhaps we need laws prohibiting this kind of profiteering by the vultures. I’m all for capitalism, but not dishonest practices that are designed to enrich an capital group by destroying the company in the process. The gun buying public is harmed, the company employees are harmed, and the greedy bastards get richer in the process. Capitalism only works well when honest people are engaged. Heck, even GOVERNMENT can work when honest people are calling the shots, we are just not used to seeing that. Remember what AMF did to Harley Davidson? Until that company was able to regain control of its destiny, run by people who cared, it was about to die a premature death.

  • jerry seale July 31, 2020, 8:40 pm

    well its time to get some better management personel on hand and get rid of these so called adminastrative overpaid personel as well. With guns and ammo sale going trough the roof this company should be doing better. Take peek at wath ruger and smith and wesson are doing sad but true

  • Kent July 31, 2020, 1:19 pm

    And then there is the issue of the HUGE pending lawsuit from the Sandy Hook victims that has them trapped by the gun-hating courts…..Don’t just feel sorry for Remington, cry for our country. They’re both being intentionally destroyed.

  • Clint W. July 31, 2020, 10:43 am

    Guns are really a niche market considering 330 million folks in the US. Yes, there are a lot of guns out there and in private hands (which makes you wonder why so many vote for Democrats). But those who are really ‘into’ firearms, we are not that big a group, and we are also discerning. Remington’s troubles are not with gun buyers, but a corporate attitude that has been trying to get along with politicians and media. One fellow noted that it might be traced to hiring degreed people who only see Remington as a job, when before, people who knew, loved, and owned guns ran the show. Hunting, parents that raise kids teaching them to hunt, parents that teach kids about firearms the 2A and how to defend yourself, are getting to be as rare as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Every single constructive activity or hobby that requires you to teach yourself something, learn from others, read a book on how to do something, has seen declines in participants because all those folks that were potential participants are on their computer and on social media talking to each other.

    I find irony in the movie ‘Spectre’. In the scene where Bond is instructing Madeleine on a pistol, he tells her the first thing in protecting her life is to learn to protect herself, and presents here with a pistol as that defense. Hard to believe in the nanny state of England, they even understand that concept, and its quickly becoming a not-PC way to do that here, regardless of how many folks are rushing to get one.

  • Mark July 31, 2020, 10:31 am

    I’m a little surprised that people like Bloomberg and Soros haven’t bought them up, along with as many other gun manufacturers. They have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars (considered chump change to them) on politicians to destroy the 2nd Amendment. Americans need to wake up and stand up against these radical leftists, or we will lose everything that the U.S. was built on and stands for!!!

  • Gone247 July 31, 2020, 10:18 am

    Remington has run its course. All companies must come to an end at some point. Better off knowing when to throw in towel and call it quitting time.

  • Scott K Burkhart July 31, 2020, 9:59 am

    If a gun business has to declare bankruptcy during the highest levels of gun demand and sales…It has nothing to do with the product and everything to do with miss-management. These people need to go down the road. Get back to its roots and away from a lawyer running it. Need someone like Larry Potterfield from MidwayUSA he could do it.

  • J R July 31, 2020, 9:26 am

    It is sad to see another American Icon in trouble with possibility of disappearing, sad indeed.
    It’s all about culture, what you do, how you do it and if you believe it. Customer service needs to be paramount and number one along with product quality. Customer service, means fixing the problems ASAP with courteous service, arrogance has no place in a customer oriented company. I hope they do survive, what a shame indeed.

  • Malpas July 31, 2020, 9:18 am

    Never cared for their 700 rifles but have a converted P17 Enfield that has done well on deer and a Rem 30S thats a tac driver. Also, use an 870 pump that has never failed me.
    Have to agree with comments about clueless lawyers running a gun business into the ground. There’s the first problem.

  • Greg July 31, 2020, 7:25 am

    Their troubles can be traced to the bad trigger design of the 700. More accidental discharges than any other ba rifle. The huge lawsuits were why DuPont dumped the company. Too bad. Remington makes some good guns.

  • Andrew Ling July 31, 2020, 6:50 am

    I own a few Remington products and always enjoyed using them.
    Only few issues I had with them has to do with their stupid rebate program.
    It never worked for me for some reason. The program reps will flatly refuse to help even if
    a minor glitch is found on a filing. Remington appears to be being undone by the stupidity of
    the managers, not so much the engineers, craftsmen and the mechanics. I hope I can still get
    Remington parts when needed.

  • SPARK July 31, 2020, 5:19 am

    Remington probably has done what a lot of companies do. They only hire people with a degree, instead of someone that knows about guns. Even if there degree is in UNDERWATER BASKET WEAVING. Management is the biggest problem company’s have today. I hope they can reverse this terrible situation they find themselves in.

    • Big John July 31, 2020, 11:24 am

      BINGO!!! We have a winner… and Colt will be next, they hired their Senior Vice President from Sony Entertainment. He’s a Columbia Buisness School wizard who apparently doesn’t know much about guns and knows even less about business. All these guys know now is cost cutting, margin increase, smoke and mirrors bull$#+.

      Remington hasn’t been Remington since they were taken over by Freedom Group, Colt hasn’t been Colt since the early 1990’s (their new “snake guns are all subcontracted crap (made by some of the same subs making Charter Arms parts) that are only assembled at Colt.

      I say good riddance to them all for being so foolish. There are plenty of good companies out there making good American made firearms where they won;t be missed.

  • A. D Roberts July 30, 2020, 3:26 pm

    Not mismanagement. Intentional destruction of companies. Like Frank Lorenzo buying up Braniff and Continental. And where was the government when they could have stopped the destruction of companies?
    They are controlled by socialists who TRULY want to destroy America.

  • Zupglick July 30, 2020, 12:21 pm

    Remington’s QC is not as good as it used to be. I looked at the 870D a few weeks back and it looked like it was made in a Chinese factory on Friday.

  • Matt July 29, 2020, 12:38 pm

    JPMorgan Chase & Co?
    I thought JP was a leftie anti gun company. Certainly donate to the left. Or maybe I’m just making a big thing out of it.

    • Zupglick July 30, 2020, 12:24 pm

      JPMorgan donates to whoever gets it the biggest tax break.

    • Rick August 1, 2020, 2:34 am

      Democrats and leftest have no morals or principles. They only seek power and greed. ( Greed for themselves only )

  • K M Fields July 29, 2020, 11:07 am

    I find it interesting that Remington is in so much trouble. They’ve been buying up the competition for years. ParaOrd, Bushmaster, DPMS, Marlin, etc… Example of a problem I noticed is that even though they purchased Para they’ve done nothing with it. Para has/had a perfectly good double stack 1911 in 9mm, .40, & .45, in full size or compact. Para is/was always a quality pistol & I own 2. Remington has done nothing with them. I use they’re ammunition quite often. I’ve had 2 of their shotguns for years & both still run great. They also have not been servicing the items they purchased either. Recently purchased an old bolt action .22 that had a little magazine problem. Called them up & they had no clue how to address it.

    So how has ‘America’s Oldest Gunmaker’ so completely screwed up things. Like so many other companies in the US I’ll bet instead of having gun people in charge they’ve got lawyers, accountants & HR people, who know diddly-squat about firearms running things so that the only thing that matters to them is ‘shareholder value’… I guess it’s no wonder they’re filing for bankruptcy. What’s this world coming to…

    • A. D Roberts July 30, 2020, 3:24 pm

      Am I mistaken? Did not a famous anti-gun group buy them up a few years ago. So it looks like they are doing what GUN GRABBERS like to do. Buy as many other companies as they can and then shut them all down. IF we had patriots working for the government, they would check into this and stop it. Yes. This is for sure a way to stop the manufacture of guns.

      • Fred Wagner July 31, 2020, 7:25 pm

        You hit on the head.

  • Ed Schrade July 29, 2020, 10:29 am

    Remingtons problem is mismanagement just like Sears etc.

    • uzitiger July 30, 2020, 8:11 am

      Sounds like bad management and it’s not only Sears, it’s Kmart, GE and other companies. I hope that they sell off some of their businesses like Para Ord and Tapco so the new buyer can continue to sell those products.

  • Bobs your uncle July 28, 2020, 7:32 pm

    My first deer rifle was an 1879 black powder Remington rolling block in 43 Spanish it fired a 385 grain bullet, my first goose gun was a Remington 870 wingmaster.

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