Ruger's New Pistol Launch--Is It Too Late?
If you haven’t heard about the new Ruger SR9 pistol launch then you must have been lost in a grouse covey for the past few days or your internet connection failed. Finally an American gun brand is embracing online and using the media for more than a glorified product catalogue. Benelli has been using online for years. In fact they just recieved an award for excellence in the categories of Video Graphics and Viral Videos at the 2007 W³ Awards presentation. (Is there anything those Italians aren't good at?) The marketing hucksterism of Ruger’s SR9 microsite would have Sam Colt kicking up his heels, since Colt was about making a good product and marketing it to the hilt. What better way to spread the word than the internet. Ruger is creating awareness by actually showing the pistol in action; beats the hell out of a print article.
By the time the gun review is published the buzz about the new product is more of a yawn. Offline ads and print articles still draw eyeballs, but online is where products come to life and where users can interact with the brand. I congratulate Ruger for taking a leap into the realm of 1s and 0s. Welcome to the 21st century. Let us know if you have experience with new SR9, we’d love hear what you think. We are partial to Glocks, by the way.
On another Ruger note, the Q3 report hit the street and when the CEO starts off the report with "very disappointing" you can be sure the news is not good. The company's stock plummeted late last week to nearly 40% as share price fell from $17.10 to $10.65. Should you unload your Ruger stock? (Sorry for the pun but you knew it was coming.) I think not. Look at your 401Ks and you'll see them riding the wave just like the housing market. What Ruger needs to do is what is does best: Knock-off classic gun designs by making them better. The SR9 is yet another competitor in striker-fire pistol market. A striker-fire pistol is almost mandatory for a seat at the pistol-manufacturing table. The market is also hot for AR-15 type rifles. Even Remington is getting into the black rifle game since Cerberus bought Remington and Bushmaster. Remington is launching the R-15, not exactly a black rifle but more of a camo rifle. The R-15 will have a full camo finish. Another hot segment that's not yet saturated is the 1911 market. Ruger knocked-off Colt's six-shooter, why not its 1911?
