[ShipWreck]

Walther USA needs to do a better job advertising. They should do a range day like Beretta just finished doing. They already missed the boat, compared to the XD and Glock. But, if they pushed theP99 like Springfield has been pushing the XD, sales would be much better.

 

[MLB]

With the price of the Walther's being quite a bit higher than similar models, it might be a tough sell. I'd agree that they could do a much better job though. At least they finally got an improved web site thanks to S&W.

 

[spud]

Supply and Demand.

 

[Nocturnal]

The only benefit of more P99s on the market would be wider availabilit of accessories/addons. Other than that I don't really care. You see the same types of discussions on car sites. People will argue that 'their' manufacturer is not marketing 'their' car properly.

Now if Walther was interested in selling more P99s they could indeed improve their advertising. Perhaps they are content with current sales numbers

 

[RickJZ]

historically, Walther never marketed heavily to the North American market. It really is ashame, since their firearms are every bit as good or better than the competition. The main market for Walther has predominately been the European market. Walther is currently producing a very large order of P99 pistols to satisfy a European law enforcement order. No shortages of Walther orders overseas. Those of us in the 'know' here in America, as far as quality of Walther is concerned, really do not have to be marketed to. Traditionally, the name Walther has always seemed to have a 'cult-like' following.

 

[ShipWreck]

Well, I think it would help - look at all the hell to get a new A/S recently - with the stopping of the importation. We might even see more colors, like the tan frame, in A/S and in 9mm, if it were more popular. and, more accessories as well. So, I do wish the gun had a bigger market.

 

[Nocturnal]

You are right, it would be nice if the full line was available and I agree that would be more likely if more guns were sold.

 

[madecov]

The more you sell, the less they cost to manufacture per unit. The less they cost the lower the price, then you sell more..........Kinda becomes a circle. Sell enough of em and you recoup your development costs and the rest becomes profit.

ya gotta advertise to sell.

 

[Jake Starr]

Umarex is big enough it isn't worried about recouping costs...they are more concerned about lawsuits brought on by trail lawyers that go after gun companies. They have more at stake here than most.

I don't think S&W/Walther America is really going to push advertising. They don't really want the competition for their SW99 or the New M&P. This way they can have their cake and eat it too. Make good on US sales for their pistols and also take a cut from the Walther imports. And as long as their customer service is good, it keeps us here happy and not too many will make a fuss over lack of marketing and other goodies.

 

[Boskie]

yeah, it would be great to see more advertising on the P99. I think Jake Star is correct. S&W wants to focus sales on their own M&P. Springfield Armory did one hell of a marketing job with the Croatian made XD. Springfield Armory apparently had a void in the their product line and felt the XD was the perfect fit. S&W imports the P99 because they know there is a market for it and they can sell a lot of 'em without much effort. Think of the P99 as S&W's red headed step child. We love him, but he's not mine!

 

[ShipWreck]

Well, the M&P isn't the whole story - that is new... What about all this past time...... I think they just don't care...

 

[E.T.]

I agree that Walther's commercial department can learn a lot from Glock's, Beretta's or Springfield's dept.  but one can ask himself if Walther is interested in larger orders ? I've got a strong feeling that their company policy rather emphasizes on small bore target guns and they consider big bore LE guns not their primary target. In the past they had some bad experiences where they lost out from various competitors like Beretta, SIG and H&K on the LE market (cfr. the  P5 and P88 pistols, the WA 2000 sniper rifle and the MP submachine gun). On the other hand they sure keep low profile because few people know which countries adopted the P99. Just two weeks ago I was surprised to see the cops in Spain carrying a P99 on their hips. About a year ago I saw the same in Portugal. As for the other European countries :

Poland : might have adopted the P99 (gonna check it out in the fall when I'm going to Poland)
Germany : till now I never saw a German police officer carrying a P99
UK : adopted by undercover LE officers ?
The Netherlands : their might be talks going on between the Dutch LE community and Walther in view of the upcoming replacement of their P5s. The Dutch military adopted the Glock tough.

If anybody can add some info about the P99 on duty (in the US or Canada), please keep us posted !

As for the civilian European market : on 1 single occasion I saw a fellow shooter using a P99, that's all.  

 

[jwb]

The park rangers where I live in Tn carry the SW99 in 40. Not a P99, I know, but I haven't even seen many of them being carried either.