Re: Leupold's New CEO
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Longshotbml</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> "Leupold’s board of directors is confident that this same team, working under the leadership of Calvin Johnston, will take the company to new levels of growth and profitability."
Make more, cheaper, faster. That's the way of American business today. So expect more off shore builds, not less. It seems to be that Leupold is content to let others fill the niche needs in the tactical market. I wish they would adopt a Sierra model and be "The Scopesmiths", ever trying to improve the product not just push it out the door at a higher margin.
</div></div>
Make more, cheaper, faster has always been the way of business. If it weren't, the personal computer you wrote this post on would have cost you $5M. As you point out, the tactical crowd is a niche market, so there's little need for a large vendor like Leupold to worry about it - it's already well served by the boutique vendors like NF or USO, and there's not that much money there in the first place. Honda is Honda, and Ferrari is Ferrari, and never the twain shall meet.
Also, if Leupold really wanted to own the high-end market, they would just write a check and buy a boutique vendor - at those price points, the brand is as important, if not more important, than the actual product, so it makes more sense to let someone else do all the hard work and then just write a check.
I think it's more important for Leupold to continue revitalizing the Redfield line and capture more of the budget market than it is to try and capture the $3K superscope segment.
EDIT: I should add that I agree completely with those who raise concerns about Leupold's quality control of late. I do hope they invest more in QC in the coming years as it would be a shame to have an iconic brand like Leupold fade away.