(Story starts & 60) ~ probably runs third with about $30-million in annual sales. e Depression =‘Troubles—Winchester and Remington both went through the wringer in the Great Depression, when all recreational spending suffered the same way. Both were rescued by chemical companies that had a stake in supporting the sale of ammunition. In 1931, a predecessor of what is Mew REMINGTON “WoonemacTen” from +124.195" Model 740 tn—— 30-06 caliber now Olin Mathieson, took Winchester out of receiver’s hands for $8.1-million. The gun maker was then attached to the Western ammunition division. In 1933, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., bought control of Remington for similar reasons. Du Pont holds 99% of Remington’s preferred stock, 60% of. the common, has four seats on Rem- speak of shotguns ... ~+» hey agree... when performance, beauty craftsmanship, and vide ‘of ownershi are everything ... the Winchester Model 21 is the only selection possible. No dorid ‘can match it—on an : Het fuMATHS Beet REMINGTON’S advertising plugs down-to-earth features of price and performance— nothing fancy. Ads run chiefly in magazines for outdoorsmen, farmers, boys, dealers. ington’s nine-man board of directors. Both companies were devoted wholly to military work during the war, of course, and both benefited from the huge market expansion after the war (boomed by former GI’s). Despite Korea's diversion of some production into military contracts once more, the two companies grew side by side in the civilian market. e New Chief Executives—In this ex- panding market, production was the key concern of management. That’s one reason why both companies tapped production men for the highest posts two years ago. Warden, with a genius for manufacturing engineering, had designed Remington’s high-speed production processes; at Olin’s Western ammunition division, Hurley had set pro- duction featectad (hE His marks that haven’t been matched since. Hurley’s assignment was to speed the development of Winchester gun designs, get them into production, keep closer control of costs. UlusirGied is o Gyatem Bult Atecdal 21. Aedes! 21 4cs O fe ynished in Field, Macrum. trap or Skeet styles @ ee 21 Has Mechanically intertan me Ga frels .. eflek rigger, igh spel tees! i te: mer and Sr: 212 plece af Winchester Prost ichror iemolvbdanun) Steel, WINCHESTER’S advertising stresses prestige of owning a Winchester, with a bow to quality of workmanship and no emphasis on the retail price. 62 Management In today’s competition, sales have become an equally pressing problem, and both Warden and Hurley have only recently backstopped themselves with marketing specialists at high levels. e Parental Relationship—As part of a division, Winchester stands closer to its parent company than Remington does with du Pont. In fact, Warden is quick to point out that Remington is an independent company. As proof, he says Remington buys more powder for its ammunition from a competitor of du Pont than from du Pont itself. “And, -he-adds:= af swe want: research from du Pont, we have to buy it.” Winchester, on the other hand, highly integrated with Olin Mathiesen. This has some advantages. Olin makes powder and brass for cartridges and has timber to provide wood for gunstocks, though Winchester also buys a lot of walnut on the open market. e Product Lines—Despite their opposite-pole viewpoints, the two companies take pains not to miss each other’s tricks. When Remington went into the powder-actuated tool business a few years ago (these tools use a small cartridge to fire fasteners into concrete and other materials), Winchester responded by buying a company that made a competitive line. Winchester claims its line of guns contains 35% more models than that of Remington, but it admits that many of these are slow sellers. “The price of leadership,” groans Winchester. In the hotter sales numbers, the two companies” have equivalent product lines. Remington has no _ lever-action rifle but Winchester still sells thousands of its Model 94 carbine and its modifications. Remington has a slide-action high-powered rifle that Waunchester hasn’t. But these are exceptions. In ammunition, which accounts for two out of three sales dellars, Wainchester has been swinging more and more to shorter and lighter, high- velocity hunting cartridges. It has just introduced including three of these, a .243-caliber as well as the new NATO size, .308-caliber. Remington wasn’t caught napping. Hearing of what was going on, caliber cartridge it announced at a new almost the .244same time as Winchester’s .243. Actually, Remington doesn’t quite share Winchester’s enthusiasm for the lighter bullets, which get their killing power from velocity rather than mass. But gun writers have been beating the drum for them for some time, and Remington takes no chances. e Market Strategy—Both BUSINESS WEEK companies e¢ Noy. 19, 1955