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Hi All,
Interesting thread.
Without entering the debate or commenting one way or the other on their 'scopes and other related customer issues, speculation has been rife for some time about Meade and what the future holds for them and the announcement really only confirms what many have suspected for quite a while. There has been a steady, quiet contraction of a lot of what they do going on for a few years -- no doubt to shore-up their bottom line in the face of Chinese (etc) made competition.
But, will Meade disappear?
Nah! -- not on your life I'd reckon.
Some interesting times are ahead no doubt but I'd be very, very surprised if it disappears as a major manufacturer of 'scopes. They, like so many others are finding it very difficult (impossible) to compete with labour costs as they are in the U.S. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of Australian manufacturers have moved their factories overseas for the same reason -- Meade are far from alone. Maybe there will be some change in ownership -- who knows but I doubt that too.
One only has to look at Fender (U.S guitar manufacturer) for example as a similar situation. They made simply great, iconic guitars in the 50s and 60s. They were bought out by CBS in the late 60s who introduced a number of "innovations" to cut costs etc but in the end the badge name lost credo. One of their other (main) difficulties was that there were so many Asian and other knock-offs of Fender designs that were being sold at 1/5th the price of a genuine U.S Stratocaster or Telecaster. Sure they weren't as good as the real-deal, but the price-tag was a killer.
What did Fender do?
The employees eventually bought the company back from CBS (in the 80s I think) To compete, they knocked themselves off! They made "Fender Squire" Strats in Asia (Japan, Korea, Indonesia) that were good but not quite a real Fender but, they were 1/4 the price of a genuine Fender and still had a Fender badge on them (to some extent). Then, later on they began their own lines of genuine "Fender" knock-offs -- manufacturing genuine Tele's and Strat's in Japan, and Mexico. In many cases virtually as good as a genuine US Strat and at less than 1/2 the price (Some even reckon the Jap strats are better than the US ones)! Fender were back in business big time! You can still buy a U.S made Strat or Tele -- expect a hefty premium on the tag though. Meanwhile, Fender are not only back, they're bigger than ever.
There is a saying about Fender that their Mexican Strats are made in Mexico by skilled Mexican craftsmen, while their US Strats are made in the US by skilled Mexican craftsmen -- in fact the two factories in the US and Mexico are only a short distance apart. I've got a Fender Mexican standard Strat (Black, Maple neck and fretboard, Fat HSS setup -- for those interested) and it is virtually indistinguishable in sound quality and appearance from a US made Strat.
Meade, in a similar way will find a way to re-invent themselves and I think there is little doubt that they will once again be financially successful. As others have noted above, the most important thing to do is to put the customer first -- same as any business. That done the shareholders will reap the returns.
I do however wonder what this bodes for the outcome of the law-suit over the R/C issue with R/C optical and Star Instruments etc?
Looking forward to a long-weekend away up-bush with the 'scope next weekend. Hope the weather improves!
Best,
Les D
Contributing Editor
AS&T
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