Handgun Manufacturer GLOCK, Inc. Announces their Mid-Year Guidance Concerning the Sales Efforts

Handgun Manufacturer GLOCK, Inc. Announces their Mid-Year Guidance Concerning the Sales Efforts for U.S. Law Enforcement, Commercial and Federal/Military Markets

With more than half a year in the books, handgun manufacturer, GLOCK, Inc. announced today industry guidance on the firearms market and the success of the company for the fiscal year. Coming off of five years of record sales both in the Civilian, Law Enforcement and the Federal/Military segments of their business, the U.S. based manufacturer revealed that demand for their product has been unprecedented. With the downturned economy and the jump in sales activity for sport shooting and personal defense, the company is making plans to expand for future sales similar to the ones generated at the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) show.

Despite GLOCK Inc.'s good fortune, other manufacturers are falling on hard times. "We are seeing that certain categories of the firearms industry are severely depressed, and the companies who lack sales in those specific categories are finding their bottom line adversely affected and are not maximizing owner profitability," commented Gary Fletcher, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Over the last couple of years we saw a certain amount of consolidation in the industry, yet we also witnessed more and more companies expand their product line on the weight of their brand and take on tremendous amounts of debt. And in certain cases we saw companies do both. As in any industry, companies that incurred massive debt, especially in the last few years, who are expanding based on their brand are now seeing that debt as an anchor. They fail to have the necessary capital to invest and make their product more valuable and it further impinges on their bottom line. And the folly of this management style is showing, as the competition has been forced to offer costly incentives, which are difficult to fulfill, so they can boost their unit sales at the expense of their bottom line. To further degrade their profit margin and brand, many of these same companies will take losses against their more popular and profitable products to gain market share based on price rather than product capabilities, which in turn forces them to record Unit Sale increases while taking Gross Margin decreases. All of this further weakens their economic viability in this tight credit market."

But as other companies struggle with incremental gains, GLOCK, Inc., with over 65% of Law Enforcement using their handguns featuring the highly regarded "Safe Action System" continues to set a blistering pace in agency conversions. More and more agencies are determining that rock solid reliability and world class customer service combined with an economical price tag win out over marketing and pricing schemes dreamed up to move excess inventory. In the last eighteen months GLOCK, Inc. has converted over eighty (80) agencies in the United States from a single competitor. This success has carried over to the conversions of agencies from other competitors as well.

Not to be outdone, the Federal Law Enforcement and Military segments continue to gain market share to put GLOCKs into the hands of U.S. Government forces serving domestically and overseas. Unlike some competitors, GLOCK, Inc.'s focus has been and will remain on those who go in harm's way to protect and serve. They use a bottom-up end user compared to a top-down business model. "This sales strategy is proving itself on a daily basis as GLOCK replaces other manufacturer's pistols as their respective pistol of choice," commented Joshua Dorsey, Vice President of Operations and Federal/Military Sales. "We have worked diligently with our contacts to make sure that the units that are outfitted with our product have the best equipment configured in the manner they specifically request. We stand ready to not only meet U.S. Government requirements, but to exceed them."

The Commercial segment remains GLOCK Inc.'s focal point as made evident at NASGW. Having been the past recipient of the 2005 Manufacturer of the Year and the 2006 Chairman's Award, the highest award given at the show, GLOCK, Inc. once again took high honors in 2008 with its second Chairman's Award. "The NASGW award system is based upon certain criteria that wholesalers in the Sporting Goods industry define as crucial," stated Craig Dutton, Director of Commercial and Law Enforcement Sales. "Being the recipient of this award is a culmination of the hard work and effort of the entire organization. Our employees are honored to be the recipient of this award that is voted on, and presented by, our customers."

The Firearms Industry expects that economic uncertainty will remain for some time and GLOCK, Inc. is prepared for growth. Being privately owned, and with no debt on their books, GLOCK, Inc. will soon break ground and expand its manufacturing capabilities beyond its current state. As businesses flourish and flounder, the survivors will be those companies that practice sound, conservative business practices, leveraging their ability to delight customers beyond their desired expectations. GLOCK, Inc. has been perfecting that practice for the past 22 years and envisions even better days ahead.

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