Vista exec: This year ‘most unique retail environment I’ve ever seen’

By Christen Smith

The Vista booth at the 2015 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. (Photo: Daniel Terrill/Guns.com)
Vista Outdoor sales dipped 10 percent in its first quarter, the company’s top executives reported in financial filings this week.
Interim CEO Michael Callahan told investors Thursday he remains “pleased” with the earnings for the quarter — which ended July 1 — and thinks, despite ongoing inventory challenges, “point-of-sale data indicates the recreational shooter is out there and active.”
Vista owns more than three dozen companies in firearms, ammunition and shooting accessory companies, including Savage Arms, Stevens, Federal Premium, Speer and American Eagle.
“I’ve been in the industry for more than 40 years and this is the most unique retail environment I’ve ever seen,” Callahan said. “We’re seeing unprecedented change and it’s not likely to go back.”
Vista recorded $14 million in profit for the quarter, nosediving 54 percent over last year. The company’s $279 million in shooting sports sales comes in 19 percent behind last year — a result of “lower demand across all product lines,” said Chief Financial Officer Stephen Nolan Thursday.
“The markdowns remain challenging, however, we are seeing promising signs,” he said, noting inventory levels of ammo appear to be normalizing.
The overstock of firearms and other shooting products

Source: Guns.com