Same-store sales including e-commerce rose 10.5% in the second quarter after 7.5% growth in the first quarter, Chief Operating Officer Pat Maciariello told analysts on a conference call in July.
The “increased preparedness mindset” is one reason 5.11 Tactical is potentially “transformational,” Maciariello said.
More evidence of a maturing industry: Buyers connect in online forums to discuss the best gear, compare prices and complain when companies rip them off. Megan Squire, a professor at North Carolina’s Elon University, has monitored extremist-group members who lay ballistic vests flat and post pictures, like so-called unboxing videos popular on YouTube. In one post, she said, an enthusiast mocked another user for buying armor that didn’t adequately cover his vital organs.
The 500,000-member U.S. Concealed Carry Association, which says it is “dedicated to helping responsibly armed Americans prepare for the before, during, and after of a self-defense incident,” has seen membership explode. The group is signing up members four times faster than a year ago, said Tim Schmidt, the president. For his part, he recommends against buying ballistic vests.
“You’re preparing yourself for a situation you shouldn’t be in,” Schmidt said. “There’s no reason to actively insert yourself into a violent situation.”
Tactical-gear companies are benefiting from a rush of citizens joining armed groups, some tied to anti-government or White supremacist factions.
“We’ve seen a large increase since April -- it’s only getting bigger,” said Josh Ellis, owner of MyMilitia.com, which allows users to find groups near them. The fastest-growing, four-month-old Angry Viking, has signed up 1,500 members and has “thousands” waiting to join, according to leader Dylan Stevens, a 41-year-old from Houston who was a personal trainer until Covid-19 hit.
In September, when social-justice protesters converged on the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Stevens wore a black bulletproof vest, slung a semi-automatic rifle across his chest and joined others from his group. He said he’s told members that at the polls Nov. 3, they should wear civilian clothes and report suspicious activity to the police -- unless an innocent person is getting attacked; then they’re allowed to “engage.”
MyMilitia.com is full of posts from newcomers seeking advice, with lengthy forums dissecting the pros and cons of tactical gear. “PREP FOR WAR THIS NOVEMBER,” one poster says, linking to DamascusGear, which sells body armor.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, has featured in the advertising of various brands. A gun enthusiast raising what he called an “Army for Trump” to watch polls, Trump Jr. drew criticism for appearing in July promotions for a Utah rifle maker owned by a member of The Order, a polygamist sect deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Trump Jr. later said, “I barely even know them.”)
Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric, have hunted and fished at the Montana lodge of the former owner of 5.11 Tactical, Dan Costa. An entrepreneur from Modesto, California, Costa owned the company when it went from selling a single pant worn by FBI trainees to becoming the first national “tactical apparel” brand. Costa sold a majority stake in 2007.
His new company, First Tactical, which merged with a Florida maker of body armor, Point Blank Enterprises, expects sales of more than $20 million this year, up from $9 million last year.
“It’s wear and tear,” Costa said. “The police are busy right now.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.