They’re Always After Me Lucky Charms…
As has already been reported by everyone, McDermott has been bought and sold once again (once again proving that I’m a simply awful source for news in this industry). The company was bought out by Greg Knight and some of the existing management. Apparently though the company who renamed themselves Billiard Brands, Inc. is no longer going under that name. Many of the BBI logos are gone, but they haven’t quite finished the cleanup, as there are still a number of links on their sites to the BBI information page which now looks like this:
To give you a brief history of the company, the company was founded in 1975 by Jim McDermott. The company was sold in 2001 to Prospect Partners LLC and now its in the hands of a new investor and some of the management team.
I find this company really interesting. This is one of the best known “brands” for pool cues out there, but over the past few years they’ve made a number of somewhat questionable moves. The company who once routinely tooted their own horn about their products being Made in the USA, now farms out a significant portion of their manufacturing to the land of the PRC.
Personally, I have no problem with Chinese cues. They fill a market need and a price point. They’re not going to be the same quality as a custom cue, but they’re not supposed to be. I do have a problem with companies charging custom cue prices for Chinese cues, but for the most part, they are what they are.
