Glock Perfection
Scott Turner
King University

Glock Perfection
Background
In the early 1980’s, in the small town of Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, Gaston Glock set out on a business venture in to the firearms market. Gaston Glock had never produced a firearm before, (Grant, 2012) instead his background was in plastic and steel products and commercial appliances. He did, however, have a decade’s worth of experience in the production of knives, entrenching tools, and grenades for the Austrian Army.
With the Austrian Army looking to replace the current sidearm in its arsenal, Glock spent six months developing his first semi-automatic 9mm firearm. His introduction into the firearm market was designed specifically to the requirements of the Austrian Army. With the Glock Model 17 prototype, Glock beat out all the other competitors and won the contract for the Austrian Army. With the initial order of 30,000 units in 1983, Glock was now a full fledge firearm manufacturer. ("Glock Ges.m.b.H.," 2014) What made the Glock Model 17 so different from other firearm manufacturers of the time was the material Gaston Glock used for the frame. Instead of a metal alloy, Glock borrowed from his expertise with high strength, injection molded ‘space-age’ polymers. This was very important for several reasons; ease of maintenance, corrosion resistance, 40% lighter than other comparable firearms, and fewer parts which lead to lower assembly cost. ("Glock Ges.m.b.H.," 2014) Along with the advanced, or next generation, polymer frame, Glock firearms also used a hardening coating known as tenifer to all the metal surfaces. This coating allowed Glocks to be carried and fired underwater by scuba divers. With Glock’s expansion into the global market, subsidiaries were opened in 1985 in Smyrna, Georgia, 1988 in Hong Kong, China, Uruguay in 1990, and Glock France S.A., was created in 1992 to handle sales to France. Also a second factory was opened in Ferlach, Austria, in 1987 to keep up with the increasing demand for the ‘hot’ new polymer firearm. In 1999, Glock produced its two millionth pistol. Glock still to this day remains a powerful global force in the firearms market.
Product Variable Details One of Glock biggest selling points is the pistols quality and ease of use. During one of the first introductions in the United States, Gaston Glock would drop a Glock Model 17 from a helicopter from heights as high as 100 feet. Glock would pick up the pistol, and without chambering a round because the gun was already cambered and loaded, would fire the pistol at a target. This was a test of not only the high quality of the pistol, but to also demonstrate Glock’s Safe Action safety feature. The Safe Action feature is a unique safety device for Glock because Glock’s are a striker fired pistol, meaning there is not a hammer. The appearance of Glock pistols incites very polar reactions among consumers and critics alike. Because of the squared off slide and double stack magazine, some customers refer to Glocks as ‘blocks’. The double stack magazine means that rather than single, in line bullets in the magazine, Glocks stagger the layouts of bullets. This mean Glocks have a higher bullet capacity than revolvers and single stack semi-automatic pistols, such as the venerable 1911, but also makes the grip and frame of Glocks wider than other pistols. Other customers prefer the appearance of Glocks because of the simplicity of design, which leads the pistols functionality. Glocks are well known among shooters for their durability and reliability. In 1984 Glock had to pass a NATO test of 10,000 bullets fired in five hours without malfunction before Norway would adopt the pistol as their sidearm of choice. ("Glock Ges.m.b.H.," 2014) This test pales in comparison to other torture test people have put Glocks through to prove their durability. Firing 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 or more rounds without cleaning the pistol with no malfunctions. Some test involved freezing the pistol, burying the pistols in sand and just brushing off the sand and not re-oiling before proving the pistol can still function, and firing thousands of rounds without lubrication, just to name a few of the tests. Glock supplies a firearm industry standard limited one year warranty on parts and service. With the extensive durability and reliability test, the warranty offered could be looked upon as more of a formality than a necessity. Glock also offers several ways customers can contact for service and support. The ease of maintenance and operation lend Glocks to be serviced readily by competent gunsmiths. Even novice gun owners can perform upgrades and customizations to their Glocks relatively easily. All of the aforementioned attributes about Glock contributed to the success of the brand that is Glock. Glock’s current motto is simply “Glock Perfection” which also boasts to the image that Glock wishes to portray.
Place Variable Details Not only was having an advanced and superior product on Glocks side upon entering the market, Glock also had a very well laid out marketing and advertising plan. The intention was to introduce the firearms to meet the rigid requirements of military, police, and combat usage. From there the plan was to market the firearms to the civilian and shooting sport customers with the high recommendations and endorsements from the military and police customers. Not to mention involving Hollywood to use Glocks as the new ‘go to’ firearm for both movie villains and good guys, soon everyone knew and wanted a Glock. In the early 2000’s Glock choose as their spokesman R. Lee Ermy who is a well-known actor but also a prior United States Marine Corps. Gunnery Sargent. (Glock Perfection website, 2014) With subsidiaries across the globe, Glock positioned itself to have locations accessible for the largest markets. This Price Variable Details proved useful not only to maintain the manufacturing of 70,000 firearms a week to keep up with the almost 500,000 unit backorder, but also for service, parts and training. When Glock was first introduced to the law enforcement officers here in the United States, Glock provided very detailed, in-depth training because the pistol was so different from service revolvers currently in use. Since the pistols are so easy to maintain and service, official Glock armories are continentally located throughout the United States to handle repairs, service, and technical training.
Price Variable Details With military and law enforcement procurements based on contract pricing compared to civilian pricing based on the current market, comparing the prices of the two markets is not unlike comparing apples to oranges. That being said, in 1985 a Glock model 17 could be purchased by anyone for around the $400.00 mark, which made this pistol affordable but not inexpensive. Although highly sought after on the black market with prices reaching three times current market value, the pricing of Glocks has stayed affordable to the general public. Current pricing for the same Glock Model 17 is under $600.00, which still is a 50% increase in price, but that is over a 30 year period. Discounts to distributors is based on volume of sales, but also highly dependent of the geographic market. A distributor in a large metropolitan city may not sell more volume of pistols due to local legislation but may have more competition in their market so the individual dealer has to compromise their margin to stay competitive.
Promotion Variable Details As mentioned with the media coverage under the Place Variable, the advertising campaign of Glock was a two-fold event. Starting with the military and law enforcement market then moving to the private market, Glocks advertising was well founded in both markets. Not only with the media exposure in movies and television but with the hip-hop and rap music industry. With the rise of ‘gangster rap’, Glocks were a staple in lyrics due to fact the pistols were highly prized in the black market and by gang members, (Washburn, 2012) for many of the same reasons Glocks are favored by military and police. Glock also choose to promote the brand with its motto of ‘Glock Perfection’, a simple, yet, powerful phrase to set Glock above other firearm manufacturers. Glock was without some troubles and difficulties on its road from meager beginnings to its current powerhouse status in the firearms markets. There was legal trouble in 1997 in New Orleans, Louisiana when Glocks local distributor Keisler’s Police Supply Co. An arrangement between Glock, Keisler’s and the New Orleans police department for a trade in of 8,000 older guns for 1,700 new Glocks. Some of the firearms that were turned in were firearms that were confiscated in previous murder arrests, while others were semiautomatic assault rifles. This has since lead to the city of New Orleans to destroy all confiscated firearms. ("Glock Ges.m.b.H.," 2014) There were also allegations of embezzlement by Gaston Glock’s former business associate Charles Marie Joseph Ewert. Ewert was convicted and sentenced to prison in Luxembourg in 2003 for contracting to have Gaston Glock murdered. The attempt failed. Glock produced 2.5 million pistols between 1985 and 1999. It had a more than 50% market share in the law enforcement market and a 5 to 7 percent share of the consumer market. In 2009 the market share was up to 65% with a staggering 71% market increase in the consumer market. (Grow, Ewing, & Barrett, 2009)
Summary/Conclusion
Glocks rise from a plastic and steel manufacturer to the majority market share holder in the firearms industry in only 14 years is a tale of legends. The fact that Glocks choose to enter into the firearms market without previous firearms experience only adds to the impressive story. Gaston Glock had the vision to produce firearms according to the strict needs and requirements of the military and law enforcement practitioners. After proving their products to probably the most critical customer base known for firearms, Glock also continued its dominance in the consumer market. It is a very simple concept; build the customer the product that they want and exceed the customer’s quality expectations.

References
Glock Ges.m.b.H. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Glock Ges.m.b.H. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/84/Glock-Ges-m-b-H.html
Glock Perfection website. (2014). http://us.glock.com/
Grant, M. (2012). Influencing the Influencers... With a Glock: Paul Barrett Talks About America’s Gun on Marketing Smarts. Retrieved from http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2012/7174/influencing-the-influencers-with-a-glock-paul-barrett-talks-about-americas-gun-on-marketing-smarts-podcast
Grow, B., Ewing, J., & Barrett, P. M. (2009). Glock’s Secret Path to Profits. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_38/b4147036107809.htm
Washburn, M. (2012). Our Favorite Weapon. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/books/review/glock-the-rise-of-americas-gun-by-paul-m-barrett-book-review.html?_r=2&