Is Case being influenced by GEC?

[22-rimfire]

....This is one huge reason that I've never purchased a GEC product. I've spent my entire life as a consumer trying to resist "impulse buying": doing research, reading reviews and consumer satisfaction reports, comparing prices, listing pros and cons, and finally making a purchase long after the "initial hype" for a product is over. But GEC's current "business model" seems built on impulse buying. That model seems to be working well for them, and they don't need my "slow-on-the-draw" purchases, nor do I need their product on those terms. Irreconcilable philosophical differences, I guess. )

You ought to give one a try. With knives, I enjoy impulse buying. Makes it fun. I think my only impulse GEC purchase was a Northwoods Madison Barlow (several actually) simply because I liked the size and Barlows in particular. I refuse to pre-order a GEC knife. If I want a particular knife and can't get it from a dealer when I am ready to buy, I don't worry about it. There is always another one. Life is too short to worry about such things. Most of my GEC's haven't even been used to open a letter.... tell me I need another one? I am not a knife collector.

I don't think GEC's business model is built around impulse buying. I do think their limited production runs focus on a potential collector market.

Case taps the collector market too, as did Canal Street.

 

[joeradza]

If you've seen GEC's "factory" you know they couldn't produce much more unless they expanded significantly. At the present time they are a boutique company.

I don't want anyone to think that I was criticizing GEC because I purchase their knives and I appreciate them. Since both Case and GEC are private companies it Is hard to definitively determine their sales figures. GEC does list their numbers and Case is estimated to produce over one million knives per year. Going on those numbers GEC has only 2-3% of the numbers that Case does.

There are many business models including high gross sales numbers with low margins all along the spectrum to low sales with high margins. An analogy might be McDonald's vs. Tiffany or Ford vs. Calloway Corvette. Both are viable and in today's economy both are one bad decision away from bankruptcy.

A good business person who ignores trends big or small is not the one I want running my company.

 

[supratentorial]

I believe it was the dealer who used Tony's name, NOT GEC!!
Small but important point!!

I didn't see your post previously. Yes, it was KSF. I suppose it is important since GEC doesn't want to get sued by Case or Tony. I don't have background in law but at the very least it violated the "right of publicity". As far as I understand, it is the right of a person to control and make money from the commercial use of his identity.