Remington, the oldest gun manufacturer in the US, has filed for bankruptcy following slumping sales.
As gun control protests swept the US last weekend, the country’s oldest gun manufacturer, Remington, filed for bankruptcy in the wake of slumping sales.
According to court papers, the firm, founded more than 200 years ago, filed for bankruptcy protection to cut a deal with its creditors. Remington’s Chief Financial Officer declared the company’s sales dropped significantly in the year before its bankruptcy.
The news comes as the Parkland, Florida high school shooting in February has revived the debate on gun control in the US, and saw hundreds of thousands protest across the country Saturday.
Remington Arms Company, best known for its rifles and shotguns, was founded in 1816 in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons.
Industry analysts say that more people in the US were buying guns two years ago because they feared a possible Hillary Clinton presidency could lead to stricter gun control policies.
They argue that gun sales slowed after Donald Trump took office because firearms enthusiasts generally do not fear that a Republican administration will try to deprive them of their constitutional right to bear arms.
Remington recently faced a lawsuit after it emerged that one of their rifles had been used in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
Amid the recent gun control controversy, some US retailers have raised the age limit for certain types of firearms purchases to 21, or stopped stocking semi-automatic weapons.
In court papers filed in Delaware this week, Remington’s Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Jackson, said the company was having difficulty meeting requirements from its lenders as a result of declining sales.
During the bankruptcy process, the company will remain in business.
In most US Chapter 11 bankruptcy processes, the debtor proposes a reorganization plan to maintain its business and pay creditors over a period of time.
