Supplier gets shot of old name to trade on history
It was perhaps little surprise when, precisely a year after buying Webley & Scott, shooting supplier Airgunsport decided to trade on its acquisition by changing its name to Webley. But what else can the trade look forward to from the West Midlands firm?
WHEN Airgunsport stepped in to save the ailing firm of Webley & Scott a little over 12 months ago it was doing more than just keeping alive a gunmaking tradition dating back more than 200 years.
The Willenhall-based gun and accessory distributor also secured the rights to two of the best-known names in the industry and has already launched a range of shotguns under the Webley & Scott brand.
With Webley itself not only being the airgun marque but the overall company name, it is clear that the firm intends to use its British appeal to win over customers both here and overseas.
On the day the name-change was announced, T&G caught up with managing director Jeff Cooper to discuss the strategy in more detail and find out what else the company had in store for the future.
T&G: So, you have a new name that is actually an old name, as it were. Why the change?
Jeff Cooper: Airgunsport was really an umbrella organisation that covered distribution of products like the Logun pre-charged airguns, the exclusive deal with Crosman for its CO2 pistols and rifles, AGS scopes and accessories.
We saw some great opportunities when Webley became available and it meant we could add its range of spring-powered airguns and an awful lot of history, not to mention important contacts with many, many Registered Firearms Dealers who had been known to Webley & Scott when it last did shotguns many years ago.
With the advent of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill it became clear that we would probably need to be dealing with RFDs in some shape or form even if we remained as airgun suppliers.
But in fact we decided to use the Webley & Scott name to launch a new collection of shotguns – the first since the 1970s – and this has really helped relight many of those relationships.
There is no doubt there is a huge amount of history in the Webley name and it is one that is well-respected across the world. Clearly, if we want to grow our exports, especially in European and American markets, we would be foolish to ignore the power of that name.
So it made sense to rebrand ourselves as Webley Ltd, with two main strands – Webley airguns and Webley & Scott shotguns.
Retailers can order shotguns, airguns or accessories and deal with just one invoicing centre, one port of call. It will sort out any confusion and make life easier for everyone. We are undoubtedly one of the top shooting suppliers in the country and that is important for all of us.
T&G: Where does that leave the other brands like Crosman and Logun?
JC: Well, our exclusive distribution deal with Crosman is continuing but it is likely that any new airgun offerings will be developed under the Webley name rather than, say Logun. It will be a softly, softly approach though – nothing will happen overnight but it is possible a few guns, as they get updated or revamped, will turn into Webley models rather than Loguns.
T&G: We couldn’t help noticing when looking at your list of brands for the future that Simmons was no longer there. What’s the story with that?
JC: Very observant! As you know, there had been some discussion about the future of Simmons’ distribution in the UK and it had been coming in via both us and through Binoculars UK. Both sides have had a meeting with the owners and the upshot is that Binoculars UK will be the official channel for the range. However, we will be continuing with the Whitetail collection of scopes.
T&G: It is no secret that you have taken production of your airguns to Turkey. How’s that going?
JC: Very well, actually. Turkey is extremely keen to learn off us, especially on the pre-charged side of things. Tony Hall and Paul Garrity have been working with them in the development of the Raider 10.
We decided not to go down the China route, preferring to keep the manufacturing base as (broadly) European as we can. We are aiming to be as cost-effective as possible but still offer the quality that Webley is renowned for, using British understanding and design skills.
We have also just unveiled our Webley Typhoon semi recoilless pistol, the first new Webley air pistol for a decade. And there is much more to come.
T&G: The shotgun side of things looks good too…
JC: To be honest with you, we are delighted. We now have semi-automatics, over and unders and the Junior 410 – every sale of which contributes something to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation to get more young people into shooting.
Export is crucial to the growth of this company. We have room to grow in the UK through these guns but they also give us some great sales opportunities overseas.
Webley & Scott recently secured a six-figure single shipment export order so things are going in the right direction!
We are aiming for an increase in UK market share but we know there are some extremely well-established brands out there already but we see Webley & Scott as giving us credibility there. And we have some exciting plans for other launches, too.
For example, we will be unveiling an Italian side-by-side collection called the 700 series and the 1000 series of over and unders.
The aim with Webley & Scott is to offer good quality and good customer service, building on the tradition of the name but offering affordable prices at the same time.
If we can get the support of the dealers I know they will sell through and there is no reason why retailers won’t back us – they will be making between 30 and 35 per cent on our products.
Of course, moving forward, the Webley & Scott name is also likely to find itself on other items such as shotgun accessories too – there is so much we can do.
T&G: And you are offering a lifetime warranty on these guns too. What made you go down that route?
JC: If I am honest, it took a while for me to be convinced it was the way forward but we do it with our PCP air rifles so why not.
We don’t necessarily need to do it but it is just another little pus point that will help sales still further and the reaction has been good.
Things are all very positive and we will be looking to build on that as the weeks, months and years go by – Webley, in all its guises, is just going to get better and better. |
