On 2007-06-30 22:15:34 +0100, ":Jerry:" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-06-30 21:24:33 +0100, ":Jerry:"
said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
snip

Which takes us back to the original point. Kress has no brand
position in the UK.


I think, to a point, that is irrelevant, there was a time when many
of
the high quality non UK brands (in what ever field) had no UK brand
/
market position - that alone doesn't mean the product is rubbish.

No it doesn't, but is an indicator that the company may well have
limited resources. They are very small in this part of the market
(low and mid range) with only 300 employees and 700k units per
annum.

Well by that reckoning many companies must be producing crap...

I didn't say that it was crap, only that this is a very small player in
a very competitive market unable to achieve a brand position.




Contrast this with the major players DeWalt, Makita and Bosch who
each enjoy a 15-18% market share.

They didn't always have that...

Indeed.





Makita produced over 1.2M units *just in the UK* last year mainly
for export.

They didn't always do so...

Indicating that something is being done correctly.




In the part of the market that they are in, and the manufacturing
locations used, I don't see how Kress can have a viable long term
business. Either they will have to move up market or to lower
cost manufacturing.


Your point being what, other than tool / brand snobbery?

It isn't an issue of snobbery, but of sound business principle.

If I were to buy a product at a low end price point, I could take a
view on it and consider that it will be a disposable item after the
warranty runs out in 2 perhaps 3 years. Certainly the retailer won't
be repairing it if there are failures during this time.

I choose not to buy such products, so for me that line of reasoning is
irrelevant.

Instead I buy quality products which I expect to last for a long time
and to give good results and usability. In the unlikely event of a
fault, I will find repairs and spares to be available for many years.

If I buy from a major manufacturer, I can be confident that that will
be the case and that they have the financial resources to deliver on
service. This is worth a price premium in itself.

If I am going to buy a product from a smaller manufacturer, I am going
to look very carefully at their product and business profile and their
business viability. I have done this, for example, with Fein,
Festool and Lamello and satisfied myself on these points.

When I look at Kress, the alarm bells begin to ring for all of the
reasons mentioned above. I am not commenting on whether or not the
make a good product. Clearly they aren't in Festool's league or they
would be competing with innovative rather than me-too products.
OTOH, they don't appear to have the resources of the major players.
Despite comments that spares will be available for ten years, that is
only true as long as the company remains in business. Given the market
sector in which they are trying to operate, which is highly competitive
and with some very large players and that they do not appear to have
any USPs, I begin to have concerns about their viability.

If the pricing was in the throwaway category one could take a view, but
on some items it is not significantly different to something from one
of the major manufacturers.

Given all of that, I don't see that it's interesting to buy their products.