Bushnell Corporation, also known as Bushnell Outdoor Products, is an American company specializing in optics and imaging, and a subsidiary of Vista Outdoor. Bushnell's products include binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, night vision equipment, GPS devices, laser rangefinders, riflescopes, holographic weapon sights, game cameras and other high-end optical equipment. The company also sells Bollé Performance Eyewear ski goggles and sunglasses (which includes the H2O Optix sunglasses brand), and Serengeti Eyewear all-purpose sunglasses.
Company history
The company was founded in 1948 by David P. Bushnell when he returned to California from his honeymoon in Japan with two crates of binoculars and sold them by mail order. Bushnell made precision binoculars affordable to middle-class Americans for the first time through a strategy of importing from manufacturers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan who provided optics to his patented specifications. Bushnell eventually expanded his business to include rifle scopes and spotting scopes. In 1971, Bushnell sold the company to Bausch & Lomb and it was renamed Bushnell Performance Optics. Three years later, Bushnell retired as vice-president of Bausch & Lomb.
In 1999, Bushnell Performance Optics was acquired from Bausch & Lomb by the private equity firm Wind Point Partners through a recapitalization of Bushnell's then parent company, Worldwide Sports & Recreation.
In 2001, Bushnell acquired the Bollé and Serengeti eyewear brands and the Moonlight line of night vision products.
In 2002, Bushnell bought Tasco, a sports optics company. Tasco is a major international distributor of telescopes. The company's line of products mainly target amateur astronomers but has grown to include many products besides telescopes. Tasco's other products include terrestrial spotting scopes, microscopes, binoculars, and telescopic sights and other rifle accessories. Tasco sells through specialty outlets, catalogues, and online vendors.
In 2005, Bushnell acquired Michael’s of Oregon. Michael's sold holsters, scope covers, cleaning kits, and other gun accessories under and along the brands Hoppe’s, Butler Creek, Stoney Point, and Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement. At the time of its purchase by Bushnell, Michael's earned about $60 million per year in profit. Michael's of Oregon was based in Oregon City. The deal was closed with debt and cash.
In 2007, Bushnell was acquired by MidOcean Partners, another private equity firm, which acquired it in a leveraged recapitalization. The same year, Bushnell acquired the Final Approach and Kolpin Hunting brands from Facilitator Capital Funds, a Wisconsin-based private equity firm. Both brands are well known among duck hunters.
In June 2008, Bushnell acquired the assets of Simmons Outdoor Corporation from Meade Instruments. Simmons manufactured optical goods such as binoculars and riflescopes. Simmons was Bushnell's seventh acquisition since 2001.
On Sept. 5, 2013, Alliant Techsystems announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bushnell. Under the terms of the transaction, ATK paid $985 million in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments.
Brands
Bushnell Outdoor Products is the parent company of these brands:
Products
Optics
- Rifle scopes: Bushnell makes variety of rifle scopes and won an Editors Choice award in 2007 for their Elite 4200 6-24x40 scope from Outdoor Life magazine.
- Binoculars: Bushnell sells a wide variety of binoculars and was awarded the Best Buy award from Outdoor Life magazine in 2005 for their Browning Sports Optics binoculars and in 2006 for their Legend binoculars.
- Microscopes
- Telescopes
- Spotting scopes
- Game cameras
- Night vision
- Simmons Optics, a line of rifle scopes, binoculars, and other optical products.
- Rangefinder
The company also has Holosight, a non-magnifying holographic weapon sight. It produces an illuminated crosshair that appears to be in front of the gun in perfect alignment.
Outdoor
Bushnell produces WeatherFX personal weather stations for hikers, campers, and others who can use it to keep informed of potentially hazardous weather issues while away from home.
Bushnell created two GPS products in 2006 that are the first such devices to integrate aerial and satellite imagery into the display. They also have integrated XM radio to provide real-time weather data and can overlay weather maps and weather radar info. In 2007 the Onix 400 GPS unit won the "Best of the Best" award from Field & Stream magazine.
Bushnell also has a line of simple GPS devices called Backtrack. They allow users to set up to five locations (depending on the model) and forget about the device until they have to return. The device then uses a digital compass and basic GPS technology to return to the set location.
Bushnell sells SolarWrap and SolarBook solar-cell charging stations for small electronic devices. The SolarWrap wraps around a battery like a scroll when in storage and is unrolled when in use. The SolarBook flips out like the page of an open book.
References
External links
- Official website
- Official website (Europe)
- Golf website
- Golf website (Europe)
