CENTERVILLE, Iowa — Record gun sales in 2020 have been attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest over the summer. Now, another trend in personal security is emerging, at least according to Blake Waldrop, CEO of RMA Armament in Centerville.
"Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of new people are entering the market want products that we manufacture that weren’t there previously," said Waldrop.
A veteran Marine and former police officer in both Wyoming and Iowa, Waldrop started his company to make body armor for his fellow law enforcement officers and servicemen and women.
And until March of 2020, 80% of his sales were law enforcement and defense contracts. The rest he said was often to veterans or tactical gear enthusiasts. Those figures are now flipped.
"Over the last year that market has blown doors open to be the common citizen," Waldrop said.
Demand for his products this month has been so high, he already exceeded all of his revenue from all of 2020.
"If you would have sat here two years ago and said this was going to happen, I would have laughed right in your face and said, 'You’re crazy; that’s never going to happen.' But here we are," he said.
Driving this is what he calls a "perfect storm." He believes, "Due to the pandemic, political negativity, economic uncertainty--pile it all together, it created new consumers in the space that wasn’t there previously."
He may be right.
At CrossRoads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Jeff Lang picked up a firearm for the first time in decades.
"I came in here very apprehensive, not knowing what I was getting into," Lang said.
So, what brought him?
"The world is changing; society is changing. It seems to be getting more violent. You hear talk about us losing our rights to carry a gun, so I was kind of concerned about that. I didn’t know if with the change of administration, things were going to change that way," he said.
While Waldrop is happy his business is doing well; he says he'd much rather see the country do well.
"We’re in the business to save lives, and we’re going to continue doing that the best way we know how, and hopefully, with enough prayer, the country can heal," he said.
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