A “HOUSE DIVIDED” Crumbles
Like so many others who have written in, I’ve been following the “storefront vs. basement bandit FFL dealer” debate for some time. I have to say, it’s been disheartening to see business owners throwing barbs at each other’s business models and lamenting their relationships (or lack thereof) with suppliers.
What does the Left have to do to dismantle our relationships if we’re doing that ourselves? A house divided can’t stand — and we need to stand, because who knows how wild things are going to get as another election season kicks in.
I’ll get off my soapbox, but I want to charge Shooting Industry: what are you doing to make this situation better? The infighting needs to stop.
Regardless of whether we’re online-only or have a storefront presence, we need to be in a stronger position to attract new customers, protect our rights and secure our future.
— Kenneth Miller
Pendleton, Ind.
Kenneth, I appreciate your assessment here. Yes, this has been a contentious topic and, to my continued surprise, it has persisted to generate an avalanche of feedback since we published the first “pariah” letter from Matthew Sims in the Jan. 2022 issue.
We’re going to continue exploring this topic, but I couldn’t agree with your sentiment more: Our industry needs to stay unified, as there are plenty of external forces at work seeking to pull us apart.
I’d like to invite others to continue weighing in, and if they’ve found solutions on making their businesses better — either from the brick-and-mortar or online-only retail side — we’ll encourage them to share.
Send me an email, anytime: editor@shootingindustry.com.
— Jade Moldae, Editor
