Being around for close to a half-century, I've seen a lot of products come and go over the years.
I have noticed a pattern that repeats itself across all product types. Someone comes up with a product, and that product becomes popular. Then, others see what's going on and they jump on the bandwagon, and pretty soon seemingly everybody and their brother is selling the product in question. The competition heats up, and then...
Shakeout!
Those who jumped in with both feet to make a quick buck, and did not properly R&D and specify the product, didn't do market research and test their products in the real world, cut corners on specs, and in general react to rather than anticipate problems, eventually find themselves kicked to the curb as word gets around that their product is not up to the task. The product falls out of favor, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, and the company folds up.
Those who took the time to do things right, to properly R&D the product, research the market to make sure the product is what is desired by the end user, pay attention to keeping failure rates low, make the product easy to use, comply with applicable standards, strive to inprove and update their product, and provide good customer service and support, tend to incrementally gain market share seemingly without effort, because the word "on the street" is that their product is the one to use and the company can be relied upon.
The product that proves itself in the merciless, uncaring and largely ignorant consumer market, is the one that survives.
Eventually a few "legacy" companies end up with the lion's share of the market, with a scattering of smaller ones vying for the scraps or filling niches the big ones don't, or won't.
I think that with the advent of relatively inexpensive personal and bench lasers in the class IIIb range and their rather sudden popularity, a shakeout is or will soon be happening which will determine the companies that will be around ten or twenty years from now, and those who will only be memories.
I have noticed a pattern that repeats itself across all product types. Someone comes up with a product, and that product becomes popular. Then, others see what's going on and they jump on the bandwagon, and pretty soon seemingly everybody and their brother is selling the product in question. The competition heats up, and then...
Shakeout!
Those who jumped in with both feet to make a quick buck, and did not properly R&D and specify the product, didn't do market research and test their products in the real world, cut corners on specs, and in general react to rather than anticipate problems, eventually find themselves kicked to the curb as word gets around that their product is not up to the task. The product falls out of favor, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, and the company folds up.
Those who took the time to do things right, to properly R&D the product, research the market to make sure the product is what is desired by the end user, pay attention to keeping failure rates low, make the product easy to use, comply with applicable standards, strive to inprove and update their product, and provide good customer service and support, tend to incrementally gain market share seemingly without effort, because the word "on the street" is that their product is the one to use and the company can be relied upon.
The product that proves itself in the merciless, uncaring and largely ignorant consumer market, is the one that survives.
Eventually a few "legacy" companies end up with the lion's share of the market, with a scattering of smaller ones vying for the scraps or filling niches the big ones don't, or won't.
I think that with the advent of relatively inexpensive personal and bench lasers in the class IIIb range and their rather sudden popularity, a shakeout is or will soon be happening which will determine the companies that will be around ten or twenty years from now, and those who will only be memories.