Hi Flood. Sounds like you want to get a little heavy here? Peel back the onion? I can't say there there is a "grand marketing plan", but I can tell you how it happened.
The "small knife" concept is based on the fact that I see several large trends in knives occuring in many parts of the world. People are travelling more and more, much of it done on airplanes. People in general are perceiving knives to be a "weapon" if it is over a certain length. There exists a market and a need for small knives that are easily carried anywhere with little concern for offending people or breaking laws.
IMO, most "small knives" have insufficient purchase or strength to carry out big knife chores. Cutting up a dozen boxes can be diffiult to do with a Swiss army knife. With the goal to design and produce a BIG little knife, The CoPilot was first. That was about 1985. By 1996, I felt I could improve on the design concept. The Navigator pattern took hundreds of hours to develop. It is IMO a large 2" long (blade) knife with enough purchase and control to efficiently and effectively perform tasks equal to a much larger knife. And yet it is still a relatively small package. Carried as a money clip on airlines, it offends no one and still gives one a fairly large amount of cutting power and control.
The first model, a G10 handle version of the Navigator pattern didn't get the response that the pattern deserved, IMO. So we tried the Almite version, then the slotted almite version. The Pegasus was a variation of the same pattern that I felt needed a test in the market. Ultimately, the slotted almite version proved to have the best reception. It is a very classy lockback that is more of a high line gents knife (for the knowledgable knife user). It is light, strong, has a VG-10 blade and has never drawn a negative glance. OTOH, it is expensive for many.
The Meerkat is a lower end version with a novel twist. It still provides the reliable high perforfmance cutting attitude but at a more reasonable price and has the added feature of providing some fun for the knife user and their friends.
I might add that there is yet another version of this same pattern on the horizon that we are currently calling the "World" knife, although I don't think that will be the ultimate name. And it also has some interesting features. One of which is the fact that it is a non locking one hand open folder. In many countries, locking blades are frowned upon or are illegal. It is also a simple and convenient model to use, and at an inexpensive price point, but still a good quality piece.
I've even considered a short run of a carbon fiber version.
Hope that helps. Marketing 103 for the day.
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