Hi all. I'm Adam Morehead, the CEO of Legion Firearms. I realize this is a rather lengthy post but I wanted to get it all out on the table. So here it is...
I'll admit we’ve met our share of challenges in Legion’s short time in business so far. First of all, we’ve challenged ourselves to use new techniques and ideas to create the best weapon systems we possibly can. That continues to be our highest priority – bar none. We also challenged ourselves to change what people thought possible when ordering a truly high-quality firearm. That means providing not just a great gun, but also a great customer experience. That includes a level of transparency when we’re facing less positive challenges.
The last year has proven more challenging than anyone could have anticipated. After the tragedy in Connecticut, the landscape of the firearms market changed drastically. As most of you know, more people have been buying semi-automatic weapons than ever before. Dealers have had trouble keeping firearms and ammunition on their shelves.
What many of you may not know is, for those of us in the industry, this increase in demand has created enormous and ongoing challenges. While high-end rifles like Legion’s are not necessarily the primary subject of this purchasing frenzy, our rifles do share many of the parts that mass-produced rifles also require. Larger manufacturers were able to increase production at the expense of smaller manufacturers like Legion Firearms who ended up at the back of the line. We simply can’t compete with the big guys who can place purchase orders for 200,000 or more parts at a time. We’ve done whatever we could to keep shipping rifles and pistols, but we’ve been nowhere near able to keep up with the demand.
To make matters worse, our barrel manufacturer suffered a huge blow as their primary facility was reclaimed by the government, forcing them to move at the worst possible time. Orders we expected in January didn’t arrive until August. After applying our HEX fluting and cryo-treatment to the barrels, we discovered a new problem: this large batch of barrels was not up to Legion’s uncompromising accuracy standards.
This was incredibly demoralizing for us and for many of our customers who had been waiting patiently, some for as long as a year. Some of our staff have suffered physically from the stress of these setbacks. We’ve lost team members that we love. Our communication with customers has suffered, as have many of our business relationships.
These challenges have affected us and our competitors alike. Some companies were forced to shut down completely. Others began shipping products with substandard components. We’re determined to find new ways to rise to the challenge. STAY IN THE FIGHT isn’t just a slogan. It’s our mission. It’s how we approach every challenge we face every day, no matter how large or small. We won’t compromise our ideals or the high standards our customers have come to expect by taking shortcuts to delivery. We will make first-rate products, regardless of how long it takes. That’s what we expect of ourselves. Nothing less than what we promise.
As CEO, it’s up to me to keep that promise and to make Legion Firearms as prepared as it can be for future challenges.
We’ve worked hard with our barrel maker to implement ways to identify and remedy issues before barrels leave the factory floor. In turn, the barrel vendor has worked hard to get us replacements and fix issues with existing units so that we can get back on track as soon as possible.
We've brought in new blood (who some of you know already) with fresh eyes and unwavering dedication to help us deliver products I would have bet my life we would have delivered months ago.
We’re working with new creditors and investors to expand our production and inventory capacity. I’m also proud to announce that we now produce our own uppers and lowers right here in Central Texas. These measures are designed to reduce our overall lead times and afford us a higher level of quality control. Moreover, these are huge steps toward ensuring that challenges like the ones we’ve faced this last year won’t happen again.
It's been a slower process than we'd like but we have been shipping rifles and parts to customers as quick as we can while insuring the quality ya'll deserve.
Over the last month, I’ve taken on a more involved role in the sales department. It’s my goal to talk to as many customers as I can as often as I can. If I haven’t already reached you personally, I want you to feel free to contact me directly. I can be reached at 512.646.2678, ext. 704, or by email at
AdamMorehead@LegionFirearms.com.
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