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It appears that the financial woes that plagued Acusport and ultimately lead to their undoing roughly 1 year ago have followed them into United Sporting Company (USC). As of June 11th, USC has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware. USC is most notably comprised of Ellett Brothers, formerly Acusport, and Jerry’s Sports Distributors.
USC, according to the court filings, had been servicing 20,000 independent retailers/gun shops in all 50 states. They also employed 321 full-time, temporary, and part-time employees throughout their company. USC was making attempts to sell their company to 55 potential buyers, but since no one was willing to purchase them they are now forced to liquidate everything and; thus, the filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. As they navigate this process they will be allowed to:
- Continue their operations as debtors in possession with as little disruption and loss of
productivity as possible - Maintain the confidence and support of the Debtors’ employees,
customers, vendors, and other key constituencies during these Chapter 11 Cases - Establish procedures for the smooth and efficient administration of these Chapter 11 Cases
Debtors Organizational Chart according to court filings in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware
Some people may be surprised that this has happened to USC considering that the firearms industry has been normalized for a few years now. The reason why everything has come to this is a combination of unresolved problems and lingering effects from former record-breaking sales years. In the court documents, USC listed the following events leading to the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing:
- Industry-Wide Decline Due to an Uncertain Political Climate
- Excess Inventory Led to Discounting, Which Eroded the Debtors’
Margins - The Debtors’ Over-Leveraged Capital Structure Further Eroded
the Debtors’ Margins - Significant Disruptions in the Industry Eroded the Debtors’
Channel Sales - Disruptions Caused by Natural Disasters
If you wish to read the complete court filings that document can be found HERE. With USC having employed 321 people and dealing with some 20,000 different firearm-related retailers there must be some people in our reading audience who dealt with Ellett Brothers, Jerry’s Sports, formerly Acusport, and/or United Sporting Company. What do you make of all of this? Had you foreseen this happening? Is this surprising news to you? Let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
