Naah,
I try to see the humor in everything.
I have just lived and watched long enough to see SOOOOOOOO many companies at the top of their game make one little mistake, or fail to see a change in consumer wants get their lunch handed to them by companies that were good enough, or lucky enough to do the right thing at the right time.
I remember in the 60s when Homelite and McCulloch were considered untouchable.
And then the undisputed "Kings of the Woods" rested on their laurels while Stihl came in and stole a little of the marketshare. Just a little at first, no big deal. The Kings had the dealer network sewed up with golden thread, you couldn't get parts for those "german" saws, and who in hell in their right mind would buy one of those things after all of the "boys" the Germans killed for us in WWII.
But the Stihls were lighter, started LOTS easier, required LOTS less maintainence, had faster chain speeds and had "power to weight" ratios that the Kings could only dream about. Most importantly tho' they made it EASY to be a dealer for them.
Everyone said it was just a "fad" and that the design flaws that made them lighter would start to show up in the "long run".
Every couple of years Stihl would come up with something to gain a little more marketshare and by the time the Kings realized that the threat was real......it was too late.
Oh they tried to reclaim the market but it was too little too late.
Where are the Kings now???
Relegated to selling "homeowner" saws in Wal-mart and Lowes.
This is not the first time I've seen this happen and it won't be the last.
Don't ever think that Stihl can't be next. All it takes is one or two bad decisions in some corporate boardroom and the buzzards will be circling.
Husky is on its way out right now and they don't even realize it.
If there were one more MAJOR player in the OPE market the death knell would have already sounded for them.
Maybe they can reverse some of their stupid business decisions before they are eased out of second place by Makita/Dolmar................but I doubt it!
Mike