[First they gobbled up the pro market, and then they went out and dominated the homeowner market.
They have dominated the homeowner market living off thier name, it won't last putting out low quality saws. I have no respect for a lot of companys that used to be good names . Delta, Powermatic, Maytag, Ingersol Rand just to name a few. Stihl and Husky are headed the same way. Steve[/QUOTE]
Steve, a short while back I'd have made the same prediction as you. It seems to make sense doesn't it that if you lower your quality, it's just a matter of time before the roof caves in. Look what happened to Homelite and McCulloch, right?
But this is different. Husky and Stihl haven't lowered their quality on their pro stuff, they have simply entered new markets at lower price points. Homelite and McCulloch completely abandoned the pro and serious user market and put all their eggs in the mass retail basket. Comparing them really doesn't work.
Other than the Poulan based Huskys and a couple of the cheapest Stihls, I disagree that any other company is offering superior saws to homeowners. At best, they might at least equal what Husky and Stihl have to offer, and even then only in the smaller saws. As much as they get kicked around here on the site, 455 ranchers and MS290's are still the best deals out there for a guy who wants to pull a 20" 3/8 chain. Granted, either of those saws are liable to disappoint someone who owned an 028 wood boss for 30 some years. But overall, they are super reliable and will do everything their owners ask of them.
Also, with just a very few exceptions, no other company really has anything that equals the top pro models from Husky and Stihl. And a fair amount of homeowner types do buy the pro models from both companies.
But the final word that is going to seal the fate of the second tier companies is: Technology. Things like Auto-Tune and M-Tronic are being developed by the big boys with big market share and big budgets. Other companies like Dolmar are just now adding cat mufflers and are unfortuately probably going to fall further behind.
Hard to say with Echo though. Although they are not a player in the saw biz, they are a solid player in the blower and trimmer market and have good distribution and a decent dealer network. Certainly big enough to stay in the game here in the US. But as far as saws go, there's just too many headwinds for them to gain anything against Husky or Stihl.
Is this a good thing? Even being a Husky/Jonsered dealer, my sentiments are "Nah, I don't think so." It would all be a lot more interesting if more of these companies were a significant factor in the saw biz. Not to mention all of the names that are no longer with us.
But even for those that remain, their biggest problem is still what it's always been: Themselves. They've all been here 30-40 years or more and have had plenty of time to get their acts together. Whether it's been poor products or poor marketing or both, they've just never gotten it done. It's not likely to change anytime soon.
