In a frankly-worded mea culpa, Remington Outdoor Company has admitted it broke faith with its customers by releasing a problem-ridden pistol last year and pooched the purchase of Marlin in 2007. The statement comes as the company announced it would rebrand sister company Para USA — another problem-ridden acquisition — and fold those arms under the Remington name.
"Most of ROC’s new product launches and acquisitions have gone well, but they aren’t always perfect and, candidly, we did a poor job with the Marlin factory relocation and the R51 launch," Remington said in a statement obtained by Shooting Sports Retailer. "These were expensive but valuable lessons."
In its move to resuscitate Para, ROC says it will relocate Para from its Pineville, North Carolina, headquarters to Remington's new "firearms center of excellence" in Huntsville, Alabama. The company admitted Para had been suffering "quality control issues" before Remington bought it in 2012, but has since seen "a steep decline in warranty claims."
"We have learned from our mistakes, listened to our customers, and have a clear plan to smoothly integrate Para," Remington said. "This includes keeping popular Para products, characteristics, and names such as the 'Warthog,' while improving quality with state-of-the art machining and engineering in Huntsville."
Remington began transitioning many of its brands, including Bushmaster, AAC and DPMS to its new Huntsville location last year and has delayed some new releases until production ramped up.
The company is reeling from recent news of a settlement agreement to replace problem-ridden triggers on its most popular Model 700 rifle line, and it suffered a major hit on its reputation after the failed release — and eventual voluntary product recall — of its R51 handgun. And storied lever gun maker Marlin has battled bad PR with poor quality guns after moving manufacturing to Illion, New York.
Remington believes it has its act together with the move and consolidation of some of its sister brands to Huntsville; and so far the products they've put out (and will release soon) are promising. The company vows to maintain Para's unique design concept and maintain faith with its loyal following of 1911 shooters.
"Para’s products have a strong following due to their key technical and performance features, which are different than many 1911s, including Remington’s own R1 line," the company says. "ROC intends to keep these features and benefits that our customers have come to trust, while transferring Para’s operations to Huntsville and rebranding Para to Remington."
