American Outdoor Brands Corporation

American Outdoor Brands Corporation is an American manufacturer of firearms and sporting goods and recreation products. Until 2016, the company was named Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. It owns 18 brands. Its principal brand is Smith & Wesson firearms. P. James Debney is the chief executive officer (CEO) and president.

Quotes

 * There was some fear-based buying that would take place from time to time. There is no fear-based buying right now.
 * P. James Debney, chief executive officer and president, in investor conference call, December 2017.


 * The Company’s reputation as a strong defender of the Second Amendment is not worth risking for a vague goal of improving the Company’s reputation among non-customers or special interest groups with an anti-Second Amendment agenda.... To summarize, AOBC’s reputation among firearm buyers and Second Amendment supporters is more critical to the success of the Company and the enhancement of shareholder value than its reputation among industry detractors and special interest groups with a political agenda. In fact, efforts to improve the Company’s reputation among its critics would not only be futile but would hurt the Company’s business as it did 19 years ago.


 * The solution is not to take a politically motivated action that has an adverse impact on our company, our employees, our industry, our shareholders, the economies we support and, significantly, the rights of our law abiding customers, but results in no increase in public safety.
 * March 7, 2018

Quotes about American Outdoor Brands Corporation

 * ... we are all seeking solutions to the epidemic of gun violence in our country....The majority of guns used in crimes in major U.S. cities are AOBC guns. AOBC’s AR-15 style rifle was used in mass shootings in Parkland, Florida, San Bernardino, California and Aurora, Colorado. These are only a few of the most recent and highest profile violent incidents involving AOBC products that present grave financial and reputational risks. Each event brings new threats of lawsuits, boycotts, divestment and demonstrations - and along with them, a wave of damaging news stories about gun companies and their inability to make their products safer for civilians, and most critically, to help prevent their misuse by children....we are all looking for solutions to gun violence. The shareholders who filed this proposal believe that, as a company directly implicated in these events, American Outdoor Brands is obligated to help find them. These solutions could help save many lives, and AOBC’s long-term business prospects in the process.
 * Sister Judy Byron, Adrian Dominican Sisters, director of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investments, addressing the American Outdoor Brands Corporation annual shareholders meeting, September 25, 2018


 * A quick Google search shows that P. James Debney is the CEO and president of American Outdoor Brands, which until last year was named Smith & Wesson. By whatever name, the company Debney heads manufactured the AR-15 assault rifle that Cruz used to kill 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and three staff members.... Debney kept selling assault rifles as if he were just selling more plastic after a madman with a Smith & Wesson assault rifle murdered 12 people in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater....The company’s profits came to include the sale of the M&P15 that was used in the 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino. Fifteen were murdered.... Smith & Wesson did experience a modest bump after a madman used one of its M&P15s to murder 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Valentine’s Day.


 * Are they doing everything they can to be part of the solution? Personally, I didn't find that they were.... We as responsible shareholders will continue to attempt to engage American Outdoor Brands and move them to really accept responsibility for the safety of their products.
 * Sister Judy Byron, Adrian Dominican Sisters, director of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investments, and American Outdoor Brands Corporation shareholder


 * Responsible business policies and practices are critical to firearms manufacturers' long-term prospects. We will continue to engage with these companies to further understand their business policies and practices in order to protect our clients' investments in them.
 * BlackRock, the leading investor in American Outdoor Brands Corporation, March 7, 2018