Brunton exits binocular business to focus on core categories
Space had grown too competitive for the niche business, officials said. Overall binocular sales are down at outdoor retail.
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Brunton, known best for its portable power products, is exiting its niche binocular business, along with discontinuing its rifle and spotting scopes.
“We have made a strategic decision to pursue our core product ranges and this no longer includes optic products,” Brunton officials stated on the company’s website. “We will continue to support the existing warranty of product purchased prior to Aug. 11, 2014 with a proper receipt showing proof of purchase and purchase date.”
“We were fighting on too many fronts,” Brunton President Erron Sorensen told SNEWS, “and while we had great products, there were just too many competitors in the space.”
Several of those competitors, such as Bushnell, focus largely on optics, whereas for Brunton, it was a niche category. In all, about 25 optic styles are being nixed, minus the brand’s monoculars, where Sorensen said the brand still competes in the lightweight/portable segment.
While Sorensen said the decision was internally motivated, overall binocular sales at outdoor retail are on the decline, falling 24.5 percent from June 2013 to 2014 and down 17.3 percent year-to-date, according to data analyst group Leisure Trends.
The business was so small at Brunton that there were no layoffs associated with recent change, Sorensen said. The resources are being shifted to concentrate on the company’s outdoor portable power, navigation and lighting markets.
–David Clucas
