On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 09:19:08 GMT, mike wrote:

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:


As long as you haven't prostituted your
organisation to the large retailers and have maintained a quality
position and service to your customers, I think that you can have a
bright future. On the other hand, if you are dancing to the tune of
B&Q, Screwfix, Home Depot and all the rest, what will you use to
differentiate yourselves from the volume factories in China?

So, Andy, which manufacturers do you think haven't prostituted
themselves?

All of them have to one degree or another.

It's a case of separating the marketing crap from the value.

For example, if I were in tha market for a digger, I might look at
JCB, but their toy planers are not interesting.

Makita make excellent cordless drills but have sets of drill bits in
boxes which are total tat.


As I've pointed out repeatedly, one has to look carefully.



Bosch who bought Skil so they had a brand they could sell cheaply, but
who now sell their own brand drills through Argos for the same price as
Power Devil?

Black and Decker, who were never taken serioulsy in the pro tool market,
bought De Walt, and then ruined their reputation by selling B&D crud in
yellow cases?

Makita who are currently flogging Maktec drills for £25?


All of the above, with the possible exception of Skil, who do have a
good range of vanilla but respectable tools like circular saws.

One has to look at the individual tool and tool type, as I've said.


However, my experience is that when one looks at product labels (they
aren't proper brands) like Ryobi and PPPoo, the majority of products
are junk and it is exceptional to find something decent.



--

..andy

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