XD Talk

Trajan · 09-14-2009, 07:57 PM

This may have been posted already, but if not some may find it interesting.

Quote:

Cover Story
September 10, 2009, 5:00PM EST
Glock's Secret Path to Profits

It's the largest supplier of handguns to law enforcement in the U.S. But behind its success lies a troubling tale of business intrigue
By Paul Barrett, Brian Grow and Jack Ewing

Gaston Glock, an Austrian manufacturer of shovels and knives, had an improbable dream: He would make a fortune selling handguns in America. In the early 1980s, Glock, a self-taught firearm designer, produced an innovative pistol for the Austrian military. He then devised a plan for promoting his invention in the U.S., the world's richest gun market. First, he'd persuade American police they needed a lightweight weapon with more ammunition than traditional revolvers. Then he'd use his law enforcement bona fides to win over private gun buyers.

The strategy succeeded spectacularly. By the late 1980s, major police departments across the U.S. wanted more firepower to combat crack-cocaine violence. Glock had the answer. No less impressed, street gangsters adopted the squared-off Austrian handgun as an emblem of thuggish prestige. Hip-hoppers rapped about Glocks; Hollywood put the pistol in the hands of action heroes.

Gaston Glock shouldered past the storied American brand Smith & Wesson (SWHC) to make his creation the best-known police handgun in the U.S., and probably the world. When American soldiers hauled Saddam Hussein from his underground hideout in 2003, the deposed Iraqi ruler surfaced with a Glock.

Today the company claims 65% of the American law-enforcement market, an amazing accomplishment for a privately held manufacturer based in tiny Ferlach in southern Austria. U.S. fans celebrate "Glockmas," the 80-year-old founder's July 19 birthday. U.S. sales soared 71% in the first quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, largely due to what gun executives call the "Obama stimulus": fear among gun owners that the liberal President plans to curb the marketing of handguns. Gaston Glock played on that anxiety in an open letter to customers in January. "As shooters and gun owners, we must band together with even greater zeal than in the past," he wrote. "We are not going to roll over and have our guns taken away because of some of our misguided neighbors, no matter who they are."

Behind the Glock phenomenon, however, is another story, one rife with intrigue and allegations of wrongdoing. The company's hidden history raises questions about its taxpayer-financed law-and-order franchise. Is this a company that deserves the patronage of America's police? Does Glock merit the lucrative loyalty of private American gun buyers? The Glock tale also underscores the difficulty U.S. regulators have overseeing complex international businesses.

CLAIMS OF SKIMMING

There's more at this link.

Glock's Secret Path to Profits - BusinessWeek

03RangerXLT · 09-14-2009, 08:16 PM

nothing at that link but a bunch of unrelated links...

Spike · 09-14-2009, 08:35 PM

I believe this is the correct link.

Glock's Secret Path to Profits - BusinessWeek

Trajan · 09-14-2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 03RangerXLT

nothing at that link but a bunch of unrelated links...

Sorry about that.

03RangerXLT · 09-14-2009, 11:33 PM

Very interesting article! More so interesting because I live in Cobb Co. and have been to the GLOCK US headquarters.

amishclark · 09-15-2009, 06:37 AM

oh what a tangled web we weave

**Frenchy** · 09-15-2009, 06:44 AM

This has been hinted at for sometime now. There certainly will be more to this story, and could shake the industry to it's foundation.

**SVThuh** · 09-15-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frenchy

This has been hinted at for sometime now. There certainly will be more to this story, and could shake the industry to it's foundation.

I just hope that Glock himself was not involved with this. Could save some face for the industry prevent some of the collateral damage to some of the other companies out there.