Vista Outdoor admits new strategic plan had bad timing

By Christen Smith

The back of the Savage Arms display at the Vista Outdoor booth during the annual NRA-AM in Dallas on May 4, 2018. (Photo: Daniel Terrill/Guns.com)
Vista Outdoor’s new strategy — likely sans guns — came at a bad time, the company said this week.
A spokesman told Guns.com Friday its decision to field buyers for Savage Arms came late last year, long before the Parkland massacre invigorated a corporate backlash against the gun industry.
Vista owns 55 companies in firearms, ammunition and shooting accessories, including Savage Arms, Stevens, Federal Premium, Speer and American Eagle. It also holds brands in the outdoor lifestyle market. In the weeks after taking over Vista last year, chief executive Christopher Metz warned quick, “decisive” action laid ahead in order to stabilize the company amid double digit earnings losses.
He told investors Tuesday “the company grew too fast and beyond its core” since splitting with Orbital ATK in 2015. A downturn in sales post-election only compounded the situation, he added.
Still, the company turned out big at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meeting in Dallas on Friday, with six new Savage firearms on display — including the Rascal Target XP, a micro rimfire single shot rifle designed for kids.
A spokesman told Guns.com

Source: Guns.com