Premier Reticles (PR) is currently using a company named Armament Technology Inc. (ATI) as their master distributor, a company that we have been doing business with for over 5 years and their approach to business has been among the best I have ever dealt with.  We started off selling the ELCAN line and now we are attaining the Premier line from ATI (we were getting our Premier Scopes directly from Premier from 2008-2010). In my 5 years working with ATI they have not only been extremely professional but also very supportive and flexible. We strongly believe in the Premier Scopes to be one of the best on the market and we see them continually advancing their product line.

Looking into the accusations against PH and ATI and comparing them with my own experiences, I’ve concluded there is a lot of misinformation that may affect people's decision making process on how to view PR and ATI. An important note: the main source of misinformation is an unhappy dealer who has been recently warned then temporarily suspended from selling Premiers.

As a dealer for PR/ATI we have received several letters/emails from PR/ATI; the same letter/emails that all of the other dealers received about maintaining our agreement with them. ATI will also follow-up with the occasional phone call to talk about these things. Make note this was an agreement WE as dealers WILLINGLY entered into, an agreement that make us a partner to a company, and like any other agreements, if I uphold my end they will uphold their end.

A common complaint or theme I see is, “Once a dealer buys the product they should be able to do what they would like with that product”. Yes and No. We have entered into an agreement to represent THEIR company and THEIR product and serve as an EXTENSION OF THEM.  In other words, if we do not represent them as they see fit they have the right, not sell to us as per our agreement (This is how the Free Market works for the manufacturer/distributor).

We know how some people feel about MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) and their perception is that it is a bad business practice. Some feel MAP hurts the Little Guy and that it is Price Fixing but MAP is not Price Fixing (There is not a group of Scope Makers or Dealers getting together to fix a set price on scopes. Link To Price Fixing Definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing ).  Most of the items we sell have a strict MAP policy like Premier/ATI, such as Hensoldt, Schmidt & Bender, Trijicon, Vortex, and Nightforce. Again we’re an extension of their company so we have to uphold their standards.  

Here is how a lot of manufacturers look at MAP: MAP is NOT the best thing for the END USER but it helps protect the Little Guys  (LG) and their investment from the Big Guy Warehouse  (BG) that can buy at a High Volume discount. It also protects the value of the products they distribute, making it more enticing for investors (AKA Capitalism).

Example:

LG buy item X at $90
BG buy item X at $80
MAP is $100

This means BG can sell item X for $90 and still make a profit but LG will not be able to make a profit if he sells item X at $90.00.  LG will NOT be able to continue to sell item X or he goes out of business. So companies come up with a MAP to protect all their dealers especially the Little Shops that cannot buy at a deeper discount. A lot of guys say that they are for the Little guy but then that would mean you would be in favor of MAP.  

By the way, the shop that was in violation says he is the Little Guy but was buying at the Big Guy Warehouse discounted price and the price they were selling them for was in direct competition with the other Little Guys that could not afford to buy at the discount rate. So in this case, the Little Guy became the Big Guy.  

I have not found any unethical business practices with Premier/ATI, nor have my experiences with them been much different than any other manufacturer/distributor. If people have issue with their business practices, then they have issue with many other manufacturers and distributors in the industry. Just like every other brand we carry and represent, Premier and ATI have our stamp of approval as quality companies that provide excellent products to our customers.

I know many PH Dealers are feeling financial pressure as a result of the misinformation being posted on various forums but are also afraid of negative backlash if they speak up. I hope this post will encourage customers not to punish ATI, PH or their Dealers over internet rumors.

We see room for disagreement on what we have posted but in short we do our best for the customers & our vendors.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.