When I can buy a box of 9mm for $12 of any brand, any type, any day of the week I'll be happy.
This is welcome news.
The feverish level of gun sales following a public and legislative outcry for more gun control after a series of tragic mass shootings last year may be subsiding.
That’s the takeaway from the earnings report of one publicly-traded sporting goods retailer, at least.
Cabela’s, which generated almost half of its $3.1 billion in sales through hunting equipment last year, says its sees gun demand assuming “a new normal.” In business speak, what that means is that Cabela’s thinks it won’t be able to match the 10.5% growth in comparable store sales it reported for the second quarter, which itself was down from the 24% gain it recorded in the first quarter. In layman’s terms, what that means is that Cabela’s think it isn’t going to sell as many guns over the next year as the memory of last year’s tragedies in Newtown, Conn. and Aurora, Colo. fade and gun control lobbying efforts lose steam.
“The gun business is settling to what I would probably assume to be a new normal, which is elevated above history but not at the fever level that we saw recently, and that’s a good thing,” Chief Executive Officer Tommy Millner said today on a conference call with analysts.
