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Description
The News About Neo-Military Surplus No government surplus? No problem!
BY HOWARD PROSNITZ
By creating private label, OEM and milspec military goods, the industry once again successfully adapts to changing times.
When army and navy stores sprung up after World War I, they sold government surplus.
Some ninety years later that tradition is slowing down. With a dwindling supply of U.S. surplus available, distributors are contracting with factories in Asia to manufacture their own imitations and look-alikes, often to mil-spec standards and, in some cases, exceeding them.
Shortages of U.S. surplus became pronounced at the beginning of the Iraq War and, for a time, surplus was withdrawn from the market altogether, recalls Bret Kimmel of Military Outdoor Clothing in Greenville, Texas.
Surplus came back, although in smaller quantities. But MOC had already begun manufacturing its own imitations.
Then in the spring of 2007, the government abruptly withdrew all camo surplus from the market.
"We got a letter, and it just stopped appearing at the auctions," said Kimmel, who speculates that the reason for the withdrawal may be an attempt to prevent terrorists from impersonating officers on a base.
Although most of Kimmel's imported camo is sold to commercial distributors, at the beginning of the Iraq War, he sold a large quantity of three-colored... |
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