Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
General
We are a leading provider of outdoor products and accessories encompassing hunting, fishing, camping, shooting, and personal security and defense products for rugged outdoor enthusiasts. We conceive, design, produce or source, and sell products and accessories, including shooting supplies, rests, vaults, and other related accessories; lifestyle products such as premium sportsman knives and tools for fishing and hunting; land management tools for hunting preparedness; harvesting products for post-hunt or post-fishing activities; electro-optical devices, including hunting optics, firearm aiming devices, flashlights, and laser grips; reloading, gunsmithing, and firearm cleaning supplies; and survival, camping, and emergency preparedness products. We develop and market our products at our facility in Columbia, Missouri and contract for the manufacture and assembly of most of our products with third-parties located in Asia. We also manufacture some of our electro-optics products at our facility in Wilsonville, Oregon.
We focus on our brands and the establishment of product categories in which we believe our brands will resonate strongly with the activities and passions of consumers and enable us to capture an increasing share of our overall addressable markets. Our owned brands include Caldwell, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Hooyman, BOG, MEAT!, Uncle Henry, Old Timer, Imperial, Crimson Trace, LaserLyte, Lockdown, ust, BUBBA, and Schrade, and we license for use in association with certain products we sell additional brands, including M&P, Smith & Wesson, Performance Center by Smith & Wesson, and Thompson/Center Arms. In focusing on the growth of our brands, we organize our creative, product development, sourcing, and e-commerce teams into four brand lanes, each of which focuses on one of four distinct consumer verticals – Marksman, Defender, Harvester, and Adventurer – with each of our brands included in one of the brand lanes.
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Our Marksman brands address product needs arising from consumer activities that take place primarily at the shooting range and where firearms are cleaned, maintained, and worked on.
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Our Defender brands include products that help consumers aim their firearms more accurately, including situations that require self-defense, and products that help safely secure and store, as well as maintain connectivity to those possessions that many consumers consider to be high value or high consequence.
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Our Harvester brands focus on the activities hunters typically engage in, including the activities to prepare for the hunt, the hunt itself, and the activities that follow a hunt, such as meat processing.
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Our Adventurer brands include products that help enhance consumers’ fishing and camping experiences.
Our sales activities are focused and measured on how we go to market within the e-commerce and traditional distribution channels. These two channels involve distinct strategies in order to increase revenue and enhance market share. Our sales team is organized by customer groups, which we refer to as classes of trade, within the e-commerce and traditional channels and sells our products from all brands across all four of our brand lanes. We measure our success through sales performance in these distribution channels against prior results and our own expectations.
Our objective is to enhance our position as a leading provider of high-quality and innovative outdoor products and accessories for the hunting, fishing, camping, shooting, personal security and defense, and other rugged outdoor markets and to expand our addressable market into carefully selected new product arenas.
Key elements of our strategy to achieve this objective and deliver long-term stockholder value are as follows:
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introduce a continuing stream of innovative new and differentiated rugged outdoor products and product extensions that appeal to consumers and achieve market acceptance and drive customer satisfaction and loyalty;
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expand the size of our addressable market by appealing to new and larger consumer audiences in new product categories outside the rugged outdoor market;
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cultivate and enhance direct-to-consumer relationships through our digital platforms;
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expand and enhance our supply chain; and
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pursue acquisitions that financially and strategically complement our current business.
Throughout our history, we believe that we have been able to utilize our understanding of consumer needs to develop and introduce innovative new disruptive products with strong intellectual property protection that have continually increased our market share in their product categories, such as our BUBBA Electric Filet Knife, which we believe represents a substantial portion of the market share in the electric filet knife category. We have enhanced our product development capabilities, developed a multi-faceted marketing approach, improved our multi-channel distribution platform, and expanded and diversified our business through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
Our net sales were $276.7 million for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021; $167.4 million, for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020; and $177.4 million, for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019. Results reported include net sales related to acquisitions for the period subsequent to their respective acquisition dates. Our gross profit for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019
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totaled $ 126. 8 million, $71.0 million, and $83.5 million, respectively. Total assets were $ 341.3 million as of April 30, 2021 and $248.8 million as of April 30, 2020.
Spin-Off Transaction
On August 24, 2020, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., or our former parent company, completed the spin-off of its outdoor products and accessories business to us, or the Separation. The Separation was effected through the transfer of all of the assets and legal entities, subject to any related liabilities, associated with its outdoor products and accessories business to us, or the Transfer, and the distribution of all the outstanding shares of our common stock to the holders of the common stock of our former parent company, or the Distribution, as of the close of business on August 10, 2020, the record date for the Distribution, or the Record Date.
In connection with the Separation, we entered into a Separation and Distribution Agreement and several other agreements with our former parent company to effect the Separation and provide a framework for our relationship with our former parent company after the Separation. These agreements provided for the allocation between us and our subsidiaries, on the one hand, and our former parent company and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, of the assets, liabilities, legal entities, and obligations associated with the outdoor products and accessories business, on the one hand, and the firearm business, on the other hand, and govern the relationship between our company and our subsidiaries, on the one hand, and our former parent company and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, subsequent to the Separation. In addition to the Separation and Distribution Agreement, the other principal agreements entered into with our former parent company include a Tax Matters Agreement, a Transition Services Agreement, an Employee Matters Agreement, a Trademark License Agreement, a Sublease, and certain commercial agreements.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Delaware on January 28, 2020 as a holding company for the various entities that conduct our outdoor products and accessories business. We maintain our principal executive offices at 1800 North Route Z, Suite A, Columbia, Missouri 65202. Our telephone number is (800) 338-9585. Our website is located at www.AOB.com . Through our website, we make available free of charge our annual reports on Form 10-K, our proxy statements, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to any of these documents filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. These documents are available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with the SEC. We also post on our website the charters of our Audit, Compensation, and Nominations and Corporate Governance Committees; our Corporate Governance Guidelines, our Code of Conduct, and any amendments or waivers thereto; and any other corporate governance materials contemplated by the regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq. These documents are also available in print by contacting our corporate secretary at our executive offices. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto is not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Market Opportunity
Our primary target customers are outdoor-oriented consumers who enjoy active lifestyles with a focus on outdoor activities. The primary users of our products consist of a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts, including those who engage in recreational target shooting, personal security and defense, hunting, archery, fishing, camping, and hiking.
The most recent report issued in 2017 by the Outdoor Industry Association, a leading trade organization for the outdoor industry, estimates that the annual U.S. domestic hunting and shooting market is approximately $16 billion, while the annual U.S. domestic outdoor recreation market is approximately $90 billion to $100 billion, which includes hunting and shooting, as well as camping, fishing, trail sports, and wildlife watching.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor recreation consumer participation trends have increased. According to various industry studies published by the Outdoor Industry Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, or NSSF, Southwick Associates, and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, participation has increased in hunting, camping, and fishing activities. In addition, strong participation in firearm ownership led to approximately eight million new entrants to shooting sports in calendar 2020, according to the NSSF.
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Competitive Strengths
Portfolio of Leading Brands and Products Focused on the Rugged Outdoor Market
We currently sell our products under 20 distinct brands that we believe focus on the desires of our consumers and have a reputation for superior quality and product innovation. We believe we have built loyalty and brand recognition over our history by understanding our core consumers and delivering innovative products that they desire.
Four Brand Lanes with Significant Runway for Growth
Our brands are organized into four brand lanes focused on specific consumer verticals that are based on consumer behaviors and desires. This structure organizes our business in a manner intended to deploy specific resources dedicated to designing and marketing products directed at these respective consumer verticals. We have developed our “Dock and Unlock” formula, where we take an existing brand and apply the proper strategy and these dedicated brand lane resources to unlock the brand’s potential value. We use the defined methodologies to determine the types of products desired by that specific consumer and then design products in both existing and new categories that meet those desires. We believe this helps us drive growth from opportunities in new product categories and expand our footprint in existing categories.
Repeatable Process for Innovating and Rejuvenating Mature Product Categories
Our designers and engineers come from diverse industry backgrounds, including professional sporting goods, medical and laboratory equipment, architecture, defense, home goods, and automotive, which fosters unconventional methods and perspectives to innovate within traditionally mature rugged outdoor product categories. In addition, because we have such a wide breadth of products that span 20 brands, our product development teams can leverage our products to “cross-pollinate” technology across brand lanes and bring new insights into mature product categories. An example of this ‘cross-pollination’ can be found in our Bubba® Electric Fillet Knife (EFK), which we launched in 2019 and which incorporates technology or design from products that are situated across all four brand lanes. The Bubba EFK incorporates lithium-ion technology, battery meter technology and recharging circuitry from our M&P flashlight products (Defender); motor and drivetrain technology from our Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler products (Marksman); patented Bubba-Rubba non-slip grip technology from our Bubba Fillet Knife products (Adventurer); and blade design and material expertise from our Hooyman line of land management tools (Harvester).
Leverageable Platform for Acquisitions with Demonstrated Acquisition Execution
We believe our brand lanes and sales organization provide us with a leverageable platform from which to integrate acquisitions quickly, achieve cost savings, provide immediate brand support, and add sales expertise to drive brand penetration within our customer base. In addition, our senior management team brings significant acquisition experience, having completed a total of 23 transactions over the last 15 years, ranging from $1 million to approximately $1 billion in enterprise value. In conjunction with reviewing potential acquisition candidates, we believe that our long-standing industry relationships will facilitate the identification of future potential acquisition targets.
Experienced, Entrepreneurial Management Team
Our senior management team has substantial knowledge and experience in the rugged outdoor industry. This team is responsible for defining and executing our business strategies with a “brand-first” orientation supported by our brand lanes. We strive to promote a collaborative and supportive environment for our employees. This approach allows employees within our brand lanes to pursue new ideas and experimentations, leading to a highly entrepreneurial culture.
Strategy
Introduce a Continuing Stream of New and Differentiated High-Quality Rugged Outdoor Products that Drive Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
We plan to continue conceiving, designing, producing or sourcing, and marketing in a timely manner a continuing stream of innovative new and differentiated high-quality rugged outdoor products and product extensions that appeal to consumers, achieve market acceptance, and drive customer satisfaction and loyalty to our product groups. Our tradition of innovation and our ongoing research and development, product engineering, product and component sourcing, marketing, and distribution activities are critical components of our ability to continue to offer successful products and bolster our market share in the product categories in which we participate.
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We believe our track record of understanding consumer desires, introducing flagship products in our core product categories, and then strategically expanding within those categories will enable us to continue to expand our existing product offerings. We recently received the following awards:
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Golden Bullseye Award 2021 Shooting Illustrated Accessory of the Year – Lockdown Puck;
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Guns and Ammo 2020 Technology of the Year – Lockdown Puck;
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Gold Predator Xtreme Readers’ Choice Award for the Laser Sight Category – Crimson Trace;
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Shooting Sports Retailer Choice Award Gold, Laser Sight Category – Crimson Trace; and
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Tactical Retailer Choice Award Gold, Laser Sight Category – Crimson Trace.
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Popular Mechanics’ “The Best Camping Tents for Your Next Weekend Away 2021” – ust; and
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Field & Stream “10 Best Fishing Accessories of the Year” – BUBBA.
We also plan to devote significant time and energy to expand the reach of our brands into targeted new rugged outdoor markets that are aligned with the positioning of our brands. We also plan to utilize or “cross pollinate” technologies across brands, such as transporting the non-slip grip from our BUBBA fishing products onto the handles of Hooyman’s new line of hand-held land management tools to provide further product differentiation.
Expand Our Addressable Market by Appealing to New and Larger Audiences in New Product Categories Outside the Rugged Outdoor Market
We plan to expand the size of our addressable market beyond the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor markets and thereby enlarge our customer base and customer relationships through entry into new large product categories outside the rugged outdoor market. We believe the expansion of our Lockdown brand from its original firearm safety application to applications such as monitoring jewelry compartments and liquor cabinets and controlling the humidity of humidors and wine cellars will enable us to gain an organic entry into the very large home security market. Expanding our addressable market will reduce our dependence on a small group of customers and increase our revenue.
Cultivate and Enhance Direct-to-Consumer Relationships through Our Digital Platforms
We plan to cultivate and enhance our direct relationships with consumers by addressing the growing desire of consumers to deal directly with the product and brand source and by recognizing the changing retail landscape and the trend to two-day or next-day delivery. In this regard, we have made significant investments in building both our creative teams and new e-commerce platforms, positioning us to create and distribute our products directly to consumers. We have established dedicated websites for nearly all of our brands, and each of our brand lanes has a dedicated creative and e-commerce team that works to support online marketing and delivery methods that foster direct-to-consumer efforts. We also expect that our direct-to-consumer efforts will generate pull-through for our products at retail locations for those who prefer a traditional retail approach rather than purchasing directly from our online platform. Our new e-commerce platform and digital systems also provide opportunities to support the launch of entirely new brands and products to meet the needs of our consumers. For example, we leveraged our new e-commerce platform and digital ecosystem to organically enter the new market of meat processing with our MEAT! brand that includes grinders, mixers, vacuum sealers, sausage stuffers, dehydrators, and slicers. We sell these products direct to consumers through our MEAT! website.
Expand and Enhance Our Supply Chain
We plan to expand and enhance our supply chain by identifying, qualifying, attracting, and maintaining qualified contract manufacturers and other suppliers of finished products and product components made to our specifications and the raw materials needed for products and product components that meet our efficiency, quality, cost, delivery, and other requirements. Qualifying additional suppliers will reduce our dependence on any one or small group of suppliers and protect us against supplier financial, operational, performance, or capacity issues.
Pursue Acquisitions that Financially and Strategically Complement our Current Business
We intend to continue to complement our organic growth initiatives by pursuing strategic acquisitions that will enable us to expand our product offerings, add new brands, penetrate adjacent and complementary markets, increase our customer base, expand our supply chain, increase our marketing and distribution capabilities, and enhance our operating results through improved acquired company performance, especially when we believe we can improve the performance and profitability of an acquired company through the implementation of our operating methods, strategies, and services. We believe the architecture of our brand lanes and sales organization provide us with a leverageable platform from which to integrate acquisitions quickly, achieve cost savings, provide immediate brand support, and add sales expertise to drive brand penetration within our existing customer base. During the last six fiscal years, we have spent nearly $232.9 million (exclusive of our $133.6 million purchase price) on acquiring companies and brands
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to support our growth in the outdoor products and accessories market. We believe we have succeeded in integrating our acquired companies into our brand lanes and sales structure. Consolidation of these brands into our platform has improved overall efficiency in areas like marketing and product development, while giving us entry into new, larger rugged outdoor market segments.
Product Design and Development
To be successful as a leading provider of outdoor products and accessories, we must continue to conceive, design, produce or source, and market a continuing stream of innovative new products and product extensions that appeal to consumers and achieve market acceptance and drive customer satisfaction and loyalty to our brands and product groups.
We believe that we will drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by offering high-quality, innovative products on a timely and cost-effective basis, as well as providing world-class customer service, training, and support. We regard our high-quality, innovative products as the most important aspect of our customer satisfaction and loyalty, but we also offer customer service and support with various programs, such as customer support numbers, e-mail customer question and answer communications, broad service policies, and product warranties. We have developed unique brand-specific content on our websites to help maximize the consumers’ experience with our products.
Through our research and development personnel, we conceive, design, and develop potential products that we believe will be attractive to our customers and help address the needs, wants, and desires of our target consumer base. In so doing, we must seek to anticipate and respond to trends and shifts in consumer preferences by continually adjusting our product mix with innovative features and designs and marketing them in an effective manner. Prior to introducing any product, we assess its cost of production and delivery, estimate its potential sales volume and margin, and conduct vigorous prototype and production-quality sample testing.
As noted previously, our products include shooting supplies, rests, vaults, and other related accessories; premium sportsmen knives and tools for fishing and hunting; land management tools for hunting preparedness; harvesting products for post-hunt or post-fishing activities; electro-optical devices, including hunting optics, firearm aiming devices, flashlights, and laser grips; reloading, gunsmithing, and firearm cleaning supplies; and survival, camping, and emergency preparedness products.
We typically launch over 250 new outdoor products and accessories SKUs each year. We generally strive to bring a new product from concept to market within 6 to 12 months, depending on product complexity and other matters. Since 2015, we have introduced over 1,200 variations of outdoor products and accessories products, including the products introduced by the companies we acquired. Our extensive product portfolio includes highly regarded brands, such as the Caldwell line of shooting and range supplies, which we believe has been a leading brand within shooting sports for more than 20 years, Crimson Trace, which has provided aiming solution systems for over 25 years, and Schrade, which has provided innovative cutlery and tools for over 115 years.
We have 34 employees dedicated to research and development activities. In fiscal 2021, 2020, and 2019, our gross spending on research and development activities relating to the development of new products was $5.4 million, $5.0 million, and $4.9 million, respectively. We expense research and development costs as incurred.
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Our Brands
We currently sell our products under 20 distinct brands organized under four brand lanes.
Marksman Brands
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Caldwell – shooting range and marksman products
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Frankford Arsenal – ammunition reloading products
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Tipton – firearm cleaning and maintenance products
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Wheeler – gunsmithing tools
Defender Brands
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Crimson Trace – firearm aiming solutions
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LaserLyte – firearm training systems
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Lockdown – security and storage solutions
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M&P Accessories – cutlery, flashlights, and various firearm accessories licensed from our former parent company
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Performance Center by Smith & Wesson – cutlery, cleaning kits, and various firearm accessories licensed from our former parent company
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Smith & Wesson Accessories – knives, flashlights, shooting glasses and cases, cleaning kits, and hearing protection products licensed from our former parent company
Harvester Brands
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BOG – hunting accessories
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Hooyman – land management tools
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MEAT! – meat processing equipment
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Old Timer – cutlery and tools
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Thompson/Center Accessories – firearm scopes, black powder barrels, speed loaders, magazines, and cleaning and maintenance products licensed from our former parent company
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Uncle Henry – hunting knives and tools
Adventurer Brands
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BUBBA – fishing tools and knives
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Imperial – cutlery and tools
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Schrade – rugged outdoor cutlery and tools
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ust – camping and survival products
We own all of our brands with the exception of those brands and trademarks that we license from our former parent company, including the Smith & Wesson logo, the script “Smith & Wesson,” the “M&P” logo, the script “Thompson/Center Arms,” and the script “Performance Center,” which are well-known and have a reputation for quality, value, and trustworthiness in the accessories industry.
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Brand Lanes
Our Brand Lanes are the foundation for our distinctive creative, product development, sourcing, and e-commerce functions. Our brand-first approach is combined with passionate personnel to deliver authentic experiences to our consumers. Our knowledgeable employees develop a deep understanding of our brands and understand precisely what our customers and consumers desire most in new products. Dedicated management, marketing, creative, digital support, and engineering teams assigned to each brand lane allow us to strategically and efficiently approach our development roadmap and marketing efforts. We currently market our products under 20 distinct brands, organized into four brand lanes aligned with our specific consumer verticals:
Marksmen are shooters, from the beginner to the skilled competitor. Whether at the workbench, in the workshop, in the field, or on the range, and no matter the choice of handgun, rifle, shotgun, or archery, a Marksman’s success is measured in hours of trigger time, the smell of burnt powder, and bullseyes.
For the Defender , security is above all else. It starts with the peace of mind that comes with confidently knowing your belongings are safe, and becomes complete with determination to train and prepare yourself for life’s biggest adversaries. The Defender protects – it makes up the fabric of their DNA
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To the Harvester , it’s not a job. It’s not about killing or mounting a trophy. It’s a passion to create, to grow, to conserve, and to ensure that the hunger to hunt and experience the most inaccessible terrain is passed down for future generations. Being a Harvester is not about taking, it’s about giving back.
The Adventurer is at home when away from home. Whether conquering a mountain, navigating the open ocean, trekking through a valley, or taking on any other outdoor escapade, the Adventurer’s thrill is the comfort zone. It is more than a connection with the outdoors; it is about being a part of it.
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Marketing
We deploy a multi-faceted strategy to engage with consumers and to deliver positive consumer experiences. Our marketing approach begins with our team utilizing television, print, and other advertising media to assure that our customers and consumers connect with our brands and to the products we offer.
In order to help convert at the point of purchase, increase the likelihood of loyal consumer relationships, and build advocacy with our consumer base, we market our products to consumers using focused campaigns that align with each brand’s core characteristics. In this regard, we utilize what we believe are the most impactful mediums, such as in-store retail merchandising, online merchandising, grassroots events, digital advertising campaigns, influencer marketing that includes over 500 brand influencers, and robust distribution of content across most social media channels, to encourage enthusiasts to continue exploring our brand offerings and ultimately lead to purchases. Our influencers participate on a variety of social media platforms, regularly posting brand imagery, lifestyle content, instructional material, and detailed reviews of our products to help promote our brands. To further our message, we frequently participate in various earned media across a full spectrum of digital and print publications, which drives authenticity back to our consumer base as they read about the latest information regarding our suite of new products. This multifaceted approach is intertwined with the brand lane structure that we believe differentiates us from our competition and offer a significant advantage in efficiency.
For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, advertising and promotion expenses were $14.4 million, $14.5 million, and $10.4 million, respectively, excluding the cost of rebates and promotions reflected in gross profit.
Original Content
We utilize content as the engine to drive our strategic approach to marketing. In the past year, we continued to emphasize the enhancement of our internal content capture and edit capabilities. Our team of producers has provided an accessible outlet for regularly distributed fresh content for each of our brands. The deployment of this content assists us in positioning our brands, garnering the attention of our customers, establishing a lifestyle connection with those discovering our brands for the first time, and educating our consumer base about the features and benefits of the products that fall within each brand. By owning the development and distribution of our content, we are able to ensure that each message is consistent with the brand’s positioning and strategy.
Our Digital Platform
We believe social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, are effective in enabling us to showcase content, educate our customer base about our products, and generate enthusiasm for most of our brands. Our direct-to-consumer e-mail marketing helps us to further engage our consumers and communicate the value of our brands. We continue to invest in new digital marketing capabilities designed by our e-commerce and marketing teams to provide favorable customer experiences. Utilizing our digital platform, we operate branded e-commerce websites designed to inform, inspire, and prepare our customers for the rugged outdoors. We believe our digital platform supports our core business and facilitates future sales growth and profitability.
We utilize our websites, including www.AOB .com , www.BUBBA.com , www.SCHRADE.com , www.ustgear.com , www.BOGhunt.com , www.Hooyman.com , www.OldTimerKnives.com , www.MEATyourmaker.com , www.CaldwellShooting.com , www.FrankfordArsenal.com , www.WheelerTools.com , www.TiptonClean.com , www.CrimsonTrace.com , www.Lockdown.com , www.Laserlyte.com , www.store.smith-wesson.com , and www.accessories.tcarms.com , to market our products and to provide a wide range of information regarding our company to customers, consumers, dealers, distributors, investors, and government agencies.
Industry and Consumer Events
We sponsor a number of events and organizations in support of outdoor activities that our consumers enjoy. We typically attend various trade shows, such as the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show; Archery Trade Association Show (ATA Show); Outdoor Retailer (OR Show); the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers Show (NASGW); the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST); the IWA Outdoor Classics Show in Europe; and various distributor, buying group, and consumer shows. As a result of COVID-19 related restrictions, most of these events in fiscal 2021 were either cancelled or held virtually. We also seek to establish relationships with professionals and influencers for each of our brands to help evaluate, promote, and establish product performances and authenticity with customers and consumers.
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Distribution Channels and Customers
We distribute our products through e-commerce and traditional distribution channels. Our e-commerce channels include net sales from customers that do not traditionally operate a physical brick and mortar store but rather generate the majority of their revenues from consumer purchases from their retail websites. This also includes our own e-commerce platform, including our websites. Our traditional channels include net sales from customers that primarily operate out of physical brick and mortar stores and generate the large majority of revenues from consumer purchases inside their brick and mortar locations. These traditional distribution channels include sports specialty stores, sporting goods stores, dealers and distributors, mass market, home and auto retailers, and original equipment manufacturers. Our go-to-market strategies for these two channels are tailored very differently, with e-commerce initiatives focused on digital advertising and consumer awareness, while traditional channel initiatives include in-store displays, focused advertising, and tailored promotional programs. Our three largest customers accounted for an aggregate of 41.7% and 42.2% of our net sales for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The world’s largest e-commerce retailer, through its very extensive customer base and consumer-driven product offering, accounted for 27.6% and 22.7% of our net sales for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively, and a very large national sporting specialty chain, accounted for 7.9% and 10.5% of our net sales for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively, through its retail locations. In addition, in fiscal 2021, another large online retailer accounted for 6.2% of our net sales. In fiscal 2021, net sales to our former parent company was not among our top three customers, however, in fiscal 2020, our former parent company accounted for 9.0% of our net sales, primarily through license agreements. The increase in e-commerce channel sales were a result of certain factors, that we believe relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a shift in consumer preference to online purchases during the current period and increased sales in our own direct-to-consumer business . Our customers generally focus on profitability, product innovation, quality, reliability, on-time delivery, brand awareness, and effective marketing programs. The information for fiscal year 2019 can be found within “Distribution Channels and Customers” included in our Registration Statement on Form 10 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 filed with the SEC on July 2, 2020, as amended by Amendment No.1, filed on July 13, 2020.
Our sales team is built around the two distribution channels and is organized into customer groups, or classes of trade, or COTs, with dedicated individuals within each COT team that focus on brand lanes or sometimes specific brands. Each COT team sells products from all of our brand lanes. We believe the structure of our sales organization allows us to accomplish four very important goals. First, it gives us the ability to consistently focus on the unique needs and requirements of each customer group. Second, it allows us to bring brand expertise and awareness for these customer groups. Third, and most importantly, it allows us to develop and execute strategic plans based on how each customer group conducts business as well as how it targets its primary and secondary consumers. Finally, our sales organization is designed to be able to adapt to acquisitions and the expansion of our brands into new categories without having to alter our sales structure. We believe this will allow us to integrate new categories into our teams with minimal disruption to our existing business and, more importantly, allow us to quickly begin leveraging our size and scope with the new additions.
Although we have long established relationships with many of our customers, we generally do not have long-term supply or binding contracts or guaranties of minimum purchase arrangements with our customers. Instead, our customers generally purchase from us through individual purchase orders. As a result, these customers may cancel their orders, change purchase quantities from forecasted volumes, delay purchases for a number of reasons, or change other terms of our business relationship. We grant payment terms to most commercial customers ranging from 30 to 90 days. However, in some instances, we provide longer payment terms.
The retail industry is undergoing change with the continuing expansion of e-commerce and retailer consolidation. Certain factors, that we believe relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, have created a shift in consumer preference toward online purchases. As a result, traditional brick and mortar retail stores are evolving to remain competitive. Traditional brick and mortar retailers have also been expanding their own e-commerce retail platforms, assortment of products, as well as expanding their online advertising and promotional programs.
Retailers are reducing lead time for product delivery and reducing their inventory levels, and in certain circumstances, require suppliers to ship orders directly to consumers for purchases on their e-commerce platforms.
The ultimate users of our products consist of outdoor enthusiasts, including shooting and hunting enthusiasts, fishing enthusiasts, campers, hikers, and other sports enthusiasts.
Service and Support
In order to provide consumers with positive experiences involving our products, we maintain a dedicated team of trained customer support representatives who seek to successfully address customer questions or issues that may arise across our product offerings. We utilize a customer service number to answer questions and resolve issues. We stand behind the quality of our products by offering a variety of warranties, ranging from limited lifetime, three-year, or one-year warranty programs, depending on the
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product. We also will repair or replace with an item of equivalent value, at our option, certain products or parts that are found to be defective under normal use and service, without charge during the warranty period.
Sourcing, Assembly, and Production
Except for laser aiming and tactical lighting systems that we assemble at our Wilsonville, Oregon facility, we generally utilize third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers for our finished products and product components. Third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers provide finished products and product components to us in accordance with our product and component specifications. Third parties also supply us and our contract manufacturers with the raw materials used in our products and product components, including steel, plastic, aluminum, copper, lead, and packaging materials. Most of our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers are in Asia, primarily China, and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan and Japan. We perform some very minor assembly of products at our Columbia, Missouri facility.
We generally provide these suppliers with short-term advance forecasts of our production requirements, however, when we anticipate delays in our supply chain or congestion at shipping ports, we will order in advance to mitigate supply chain risk. Our suppliers must meet our quality and other standards and have the ability to produce our finished products and product components and supply our raw materials in a timely and efficient manner. We continue to expand our supply base to maintain competitive pricing and quality standards and to be in a position to respond rapidly to changes in customer demand and market trends to mitigate supply chain risk. For certain products and components, we utilize a dual sourcing supply chain to mitigate risks associated with sourcing key components from only one supplier.
We do not have long-term contractual arrangements with any of our suppliers that guarantee us production capacity, prices, lead times, or delivery schedules. Our reliance on these independent parties exposes us to vulnerability because of our dependence on a few sources of supply. We believe, however, that other sources of supply are available. In addition, we continually strive to develop relationships with other sources of supply in order to reduce our dependence on any one source of supply. As a result, we believe that our current and other available suppliers will ensure that we obtain a sufficient supply of goods built to our specifications in a timely manner and on satisfactory economic terms.
Facilities and Distribution
We sub-lease approximately 361,000 square feet of office and warehouse space in a Columbia, Missouri facility that was recently constructed by our former parent company in a sale/leaseback transaction. We also lease 50,000 square-feet of warehouse and office space in Wilsonville, Oregon, 5,000 square feet of office space in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and 2,500 square feet of office space in Shenzhen, Peoples Republic of China .
Our Missouri facility includes our principal executive, administrative, financial, sales, marketing, R&D, assembly, and distribution operations. Our Oregon facility houses production, assembly, and warehousing operations for our laser sighting and tactical lighting systems. Our Massachusetts facility houses certain administrative and finance staff. Our China facility houses certain R&D staff.
Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
We recognize the importance of innovation and protecting our intellectual property. We currently have more than 300 patents and patents pending and have registered and unregistered trademarks related to our products. We apply for patents whenever we develop innovative new products, unique designs, or processes of commercial importance and seek trademark protection when we believe they provide a marketing advantage. We do not believe that our business is materially dependent on any single patent or trademark.
We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, trade dress, customer records, monitoring, brand protection services, confidentiality agreements, and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property.
Because of the significance of our brand names, our trademarks, service marks, trade dress, and copyrights are also important to our business. We have an active global program of trademark registration, monitoring, and enforcement. We market our products and accessories under 20 distinct brands, including outdoor products and accessories sold under a license agreement with our former parent company.
We intend to vigorously pursue and challenge infringements of our patents, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, and copyrights, as we believe the goodwill associated with them is a cornerstone of our branding strategy.
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Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we can become involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations, and proceedings, including those relating to product liability, intellectual property, commercial relationships, employment issues, and governmental matters. Litigation, regardless of the merits, can be expensive, time consuming, and divert the time and attention of management personnel, and unfavorable outcomes and prolonged litigation can harm our business. We actively monitor the status of litigation and, depending on the circumstances, intend to vigorously defend claims and assert all appropriate defenses to litigation against us.
Information Systems
Our information systems utilize leading software enterprise resource platforms, including procurement, inventory management, receivables management, and accounting. We utilize SAP as our ERP system, which is administered by our former parent company through the Transition Services Agreement noted above. We believe our current information systems infrastructure supports our minimum business requirements.
Before the Transition Services Agreement expires, we are planning to implement an information technologies infrastructure, including a new ERP system that will utilize leading software enterprise resource platforms, including procurement, inventory management, receivables management, and accounting. Implementing a new platform like this can be costly and may require significant resources and refinement to fully realize the expected benefits of the system. We believe our new information systems infrastructure will support our growth strategy in the future.
Acquisitions
As noted above, we have built our business both organically and inorganically. We were originally purchased by our former parent company in fiscal 2015 as a leading provider of hunting and shooting accessories. In fiscal 2017, we expanded our portfolio into the laser sighting market with the stock acquisition of Crimson Trace Corporation, a Wilsonville, Oregon-based leader in laser sighting and tactical lighting systems and an important supplier to the firearm industry. In addition, in fiscal 2017, we expanded our product portfolio by acquiring the net assets of Taylor Brands, LLC, a leading provider of high-quality knives, specialty tools, and accessories; and Ultimate Survival Technologies, Inc., a provider of high-quality survival and camping equipment, including LED lights, all-weather fire starters, unbreakable signal mirrors, premium outdoor cutting tools, first aid kits, survival kits, and camp kitchen products. In fiscal 2018, we purchased the Bubba Blade-branded business, a provider of premium branded sports knives and tools for fishing and hunting. In fiscal 2019, we further expanded our product portfolio by acquiring LaserLyte branded products, which includes laser training and sighting products for the consumer market. Between fiscal 2015 and 2016, we also acquired the Hooyman brand, a maker of tree saws for hunting preparedness, and have since focused that brand on similar categories, and the brands distributed by PowerTech, Inc., a flashlight provider selling Smith & Wesson-branded products.
The following table sets forth information regarding the brands and products added to our operations through acquisitions in the fiscal years indicated:
Name, Original
Location, and Developments
Type of Acquisition
Fiscal Year
Product Brands
Produced Products
Hooyman, LLC, Appleton, Wisconsin (operated out of our Columbia, Missouri facility)
Asset
2015
Hooyman
Extendable tree saws for the hunting and outdoor industry
PowerTech, Inc., Collierville, Tennessee (operated out of our Columbia, Missouri facility)
Asset
2016
Smith & Wesson, M&P
Tactical flashlights, universal LED lights, and pocket lights
Taylor Brands, LLC, operated as BTI Tools, LLC, or BTI Tools, Kingsport, Tennessee (subsequently relocated operations to our Columbia, Missouri facility in fiscal 2018)
Asset
2017
Smith & Wesson, M&P, Schrade, Uncle Henry, Old Timer
High-quality knives, specialty tools, and accessories
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Name, Original
Location, and Developments
Type of Acquisition
Fiscal Year
Product Brands
Produced Products
Crimson Trace Corporation, or Crimson Trace, Wilsonville, Oregon
Stock
2017
Crimson Trace
Laser sighting and tactical lighting systems
Ultimate Survival Technologies, Inc., currently operating as Ultimate Survival Technologies, LLC, or UST, Jacksonville, Florida (subsequently relocated operations to our Columbia, Missouri facility in fiscal 2019)
Asset
2017
UST
High quality survival and camping equipment, including LED lights, all weather fire starting kits, unbreakable signal mirrors, premium outdoor cutting tools, first aid kits, survival kits, and camping products
Fish Tales, LLC, Tucson, Arizona (operated out of our Columbia, Missouri facility)
Asset
2018
BUBBA
Premium sporting knives and tools for fishing and hunting, including Bubba Blade branded products (subsequently rebranded as BUBBA)
P&L Industries, Inc., Cottonwood, Arizona (subsequently relocated operations to our Wilsonville, Oregon facility in fiscal 2019)
Asset
2019
LaserLyte
Laser training and sighting products for the consumer market, including LaserLyte branded products
Competition
We operate in a highly competitive market and encounter competition from both domestic and foreign participants. We believe we can effectively compete with all of our present competitors. We compete primarily based upon innovation, performance, price, quality, reliability, durability, consumer brand awareness, and customer service and support. Our competitors include Vista Outdoor Inc. and a large number of private companies that directly compete with a number of our brands. Certain of our competitors may have more established brand names and stronger distribution channels than we do and have, or have through their owners, access to financial and marketing resources that are greater than we possess that may afford them the ability to invest more than we can in product development, intellectual property, and marketing. In addition, we compete with many other sporting and recreational products and activities companies for discretionary spending of consumers.
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Inventory Management
Inventory management is key to the cash flows and operating results of our business. We manage our inventory levels based on supply chain delivery requirements, existing orders, anticipated sales, and the delivery requirements of our customers, which requires close coordination with our customers. For new product introductions, which often require large initial launch shipments, we may commence production before receiving orders for those products. Key areas of focus include added discipline around the purchasing of product, inventory optimization and channel placement, as well as better planning and execution in disposition of excess inventory through our various channels. Our inventory strategy focuses on continuing to meet consumer demand, while improving our inventory efficiency over the long term through the ongoing implementation of inventory optimization tools.
Seasonality
Our business can be seasonal, especially because many of our products are used in outdoor-based activities. Our sales are typically the highest between August and October because of demand relating to prime hunting season, seasonal cutlery promotions, the timing of industry trade shows, and holiday season demand. As a result of seasonal and quarterly operating fluctuations, we do not believe that comparisons between different quarters within a single year are relevant or can be relied upon as indicators of performance for any fiscal year. In fiscal 2021, heightened consumer demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest impacted the sale of our products in the outdoor recreation and personal safety markets in which we participate. This increased demand for our products in the current fiscal year reduced the impact of seasonality and could make comparisons difficult in past or future years. In addition, the sale of our products may also be affected by unseasonal weather conditions.
Government Regulation
Like other manufacturers and distributors of consumer products, we are required to comply with a wide variety of federal, state, and international laws, rules, and regulations, including those related to consumer products and consumer protection, advertising and marketing, labor and employment, data protection and privacy, intellectual property, workplace health and safety, the environment, the import and export of products, and tax matters. Our failure to comply with applicable federal, state, and international laws, rules, and regulations may result in our being subject to claims, lawsuits, fines, and adverse publicity that could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. These laws, rules, and regulations currently impose significant compliance requirements on our business, and more restrictive laws rules, and regulations may be adopted in the future. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, regulates certain of our electro-optical products and meat processing products.
Human Capital
We believe that our employees are our greatest asset, and are critical to our ability to execute our strategy. As such, we are committed to a strong, healthy culture that provides respect for all employees, focuses on creating and sustaining an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation, and rewards team and individual successes. We invest in our people accordingly.
Equal Opportunity & Employment
We are committed to hiring qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other status. This commitment extends to all levels of our organization, including senior management and our Board of Directors. We focus on ensuring that our workforce remains open and welcoming to everyone.
We seek to hire and retain talented personnel to support our business. As of April 30, 2021, we had 317 employees, nearly all of which were located in the United States. None of our employees are represented by a union in collective bargaining with us. We consider relations with our employees to be good.
Health and Safety
We believe the physical and mental health and well-being of our employees is important to our success. Our employee health care benefits are competitive, and include medical insurance, as well as dental and vision care programs. We support the mental well-being of our employees through our employee assistance program, which provides employee assistance for a range of mental health issues including stress and anxiety, as well as chemical dependence, legal questions, parenting matters, financial counseling, and the sourcing of dependent care resources.
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We prioritize the health, safety, and fair treatment of our employees . During the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented a wide range of safety procedures designed to help keep our employees safe, and we modified our compensation and other policies to best support the needs of our employees and to help keep our business running.
Competitive Compensation
We offer competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefit programs to our employees that provide for pay and service recognition, health and wellness, financial well-being, work/life balance, culture and community, and learning and development. Our program includes:
•
a comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plan for our employees and their families, for which we pay approximately 88% of total premium costs,
•
a 401(k) plan with a company provided match of up to 3% of the first 6% contributed by the employee;
•
a profit-sharing plan, paying eligible employees a percentage of their eligible earnings based on company profits;
•
twelve annual holidays, nine of which are scheduled and three of which are designated by the employee;
•
a paid time off program, including paid sick and vacation time;
•
paid and unpaid leaves of absence, including paid family and medical leave;
•
flexible spending and health savings accounts;
•
life and disability insurance coverage;
•
employee stock purchase plan;
•
on-site fitness center;
•
on-site nursing room;
•
Employee Assistance Programs; and
•
product discounts.
We are committed to ensuring that all of our employees are paid a fair wage. To that end, we offer generous wages and benefits to our employees. We base annual pay increases and incentive compensation on merit, which is communicated to employees upon hire and documented through our performance management program. We utilize a variety of external, third-party, market data sources to ensure that our compensation practices remain fair and competitive.
Training & Development
The ability to attract, retain, and develop employees is critical to our success. We offer training and development programs to encourage professional growth and advancement from within, including the following:
•
tuition reimbursement for up to 100% of an employee’s advanced degree;
•
reimbursement for continuing professional education for our professionally licensed employees; and
•
other in-house training to aid with career advancement.
We believe that this training and development leads to more valuable contributions from our employees, while improving their satisfaction within existing roles and positioning them for potential future advancement.
Backlog
We had a backlog of orders for our products totaling $15.2 million and $1.8 million as of April 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our backlog consists of orders for which purchase orders have been received and which are generally scheduled for shipment within six months or subject to capacity constraints, including lack of available product. Although we generally fulfill our order backlog, we allow orders received that have not yet shipped to be cancelled; therefore, our backlog may not be indicative of future sales.
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Information About Our Executive Officers
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers:
Name
Age
Position
Brian D. Murphy
37
President and Chief Executive Officer
H. Andrew Fulmer
46
Chief Financial Officer
Curtis R. Smith
36
Chief Marketing Officer
Brian D. Murphy has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors since the Separation. Mr. Murphy served as Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from January 2020 until the Separation. Mr. Murphy served as President of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from May 2017 to January 2020. From December 2016 until May 2017, he was President of the Outdoor Recreation Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., the activities of which were collapsed into Outdoor Product & Accessories. From February 2015 until December 2016, he was Vice President, Corporate Development of Vista Outdoor Inc., a publicly held designer, manufacturer, and marketer of outdoor sports and recreation products. From April 2013 until February 2015, Mr. Murphy was Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Director of Financial Planning & Analysis for Alliant Techsystems, an aerospace, defense, and outdoor sporting goods company. Mr. Murphy held various management roles at McMaster-Carr Supply Company, a supplier of maintenance, repair, and operations materials to industrial and commercial facilities worldwide, from April 2011 until March 2013. From May 2006 until October 2010 he served as an investment banker with the publicly held firm Houlihan Lokey, where he advised companies in the areas of strategy, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, and restructuring.
H. Andrew Fulmer has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of our company since the Separation. Mr. Fulmer served as Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from 2016 until the Separation. Mr. Fulmer was Senior Director of Financial Planning & Analysis of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from January 2015 until March 2016, Director of Financial Planning & Analysis from October 2011 until January 2015, and Assistant Controller from September 2010 until October 2011. From May 2006 until September 2010, Mr. Fulmer was Controller for Steeltech Building Products, a privately held construction company. From June 1996 until May 2006, Mr. Fulmer held various roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in both audit and tax. Mr. Fulmer is a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Curtis R. Smith has served as our Chief Marketing Officer since April 2021. Mr. Smith previously served as our Vice President of Marketing from the Separation until his appointment to Chief Marketing Officer and as Vice President of Marketing for the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from October 2017 until the Separation. From July 2015 until October 2017, he was a Global Product Lane Director at Vista Outdoor Inc. From February 2012 until June 2015, Mr. Smith served as Director of Global Product Line Management and Global Category Manager at the Coleman Company, Inc., a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of primarily outdoor camping gear. Mr. Smith held various product management roles at Jasco Products LLC, an industry leader in home electronics, from June 2010 until February 2012. Mr. Smith currently serves on the Board of Regents for the American Knife & Tool Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the knife industry and all knife users.
Other Key Employees
The following sets forth information regarding individuals other than our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer who serve as key employees of our company.
Mark A. Reasoner , age 52, has served as our Vice President of Sales since the Separation. Before the Separation, Mr. Reasoner served as Vice President of Sales for the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from September 2018 until the Separation. From September 2015 until July 2018, Mr. Reasoner was Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Drake Waterfowl Systems, a hunting accessory and apparel company. From August 2014 until September 2015, Mr. Reasoner was Senior Vice President of Sales for Eastman Outdoors/Carbon Express, an archery and outdoor recreation company. Mr. Reasoner also held various management roles at Pure Fishing, a fishing tackle and accessory company, from June 2009 until July 2014, including Senior Vice President/General Manager, Americas, Senior Vice President of Sales, North America, and Vice President of Sales, National Accounts. Mr. Reasoner also held various management roles at Russell Athletic, an athletic apparel and equipment company, from May 2004 until May 2009, including Senior Director of Sales, Spalding U.S./Russell Department Stores and Director of Sales, Spalding National Accounts.
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Brent A. Vulgamott , age 3 7 , has served as our Vice President of Operations & Analytics since the Separation. Before the Separation, Mr. Vulgamott served as Vice President of Operations of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from March 2020 until the Separation . From November 2018 to March 2020, Mr. Vulgamott was the Director of Finance for Lockton Companies, a privately held insurance broker. From November 2015 to November 2018, Mr. Vulgamott was Division Controller for the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc . From April 2011 to October 2015, Mr. Vulgamott held finance leadership and management roles at Ford Motor Company and Piston Automotive, a publicly held automotive company and privately held automotive sub-supplier. From August 2007 to March 2011, Mr. Vulgamott held various accounting and FP&A roles with companies, including State Street Bank & Trust Co and Cerner Corporation.
James E. Tayon , age 31, has served as our Vice President of Product Development since the Separation. Before the Separation, Mr. Tayon served as Vice President of Product Development of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from May 2020 until the Separation, Director of Product Development of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from March 2019 to May 2020, Product Engineering Manager of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from July 2017 until March 2019, Engineering Supervisor from August 2016 until July 2017, and a Product Development Engineer since 2012. From 2008 until 2012, Mr. Tayon was a Product Development Engineer for J2 Scientific, a laboratory automation equipment designer and manufacturer, where he worked with Los Alamos National Labs developing custom automation solutions for nuclear sampling.
Elizabeth A. Sharp , age 59, has served as our Vice President of Investor Relations since the Separation. Before the Separation, Ms. Sharp served as Vice President, Investor Relations of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from May 2005 until the Separation. From June 1996 until May 2005, Ms. Sharp was Vice President of Corporate Relations for Three-Five Systems (TFS), Inc., a multi-national company providing a broad range of electronics manufacturing services, where she was responsible for investor relations, public relations, marketing communications, and media relations. From June 1986 until June 1996, Ms. Sharp served in leadership positions in Human Resources, Communications, and Administration.
Douglas V. Brown , age 42, has served as our Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary since the Separation. Before the Separation, Mr. Brown served as Chief Counsel of the Outdoor Products & Accessories Division of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. from May 2020 until the Separation. Mr. Brown previously was Associate General Counsel at Vista Outdoor Inc. from April 2018 to September 2019 and as Senior Counsel from August 2015 to April 2018. Prior to joining Vista Outdoor, Mr. Brown practiced corporate and securities law at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as a Corporate Associate from August 2011 to August 2015 and at the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC as an Attorney Advisor from August 2008 to August 2011.
Kyle M. Carter , age 39, has served as our Corporate Controller and Assistant Secretary since the Separation. Before the Separation, Mr. Carter served as Assistant Corporate Controller of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. from October 2010 until the Separation. Prior to joining Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., Mr. Carter served as Senior Audit Associate at Cherry Bekaert LLP, with a focus on public registrant clients, from May 2006 to September 2010.