Quote:
Originally Posted by plehrke
Change is not good if you can't make money at it. There are also plenty of example of companies going out of business because they changed to things outside of their strengths. Just looking at product, McDonald's no longer sells the McLean, Lockheed no longer makes commercial airliners, Ford no longer makes garden tractors.
But will sonex ever sell enough to recoup development cost? Vans is a business that is unwilling to increase prices (for customers benefit) of existing products to fund the risk of some they do not think will make them dollars. Remember they are the masters of a very thin margin and therefore can not afford very much risk.
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How do you know what Van's accounting is like? Are you their CPA?
I would hazard a guess, that Vans offering a high wing kit or two, would be a nice addition to round out their lineup of aircraft. Certainly the demand is there for high wing planes.
Rans introduced the S19 low wing kit not long ago. Why would they do such a crazy thing? After all, Vans has the market cornered with low wing kits. Oh wait there is that other company called Zenith too. So it would be futile for anyone else in experimental aviation to think about offering a low wing kit right?. NOT!
With that logic, we as consumers would have a very pathetic selection of items to choose from at any retail location.
Why in the world did Lowes hardware open up? Surely the bankers laughed them out of the building, while pointing to Home Depot down the street.
Burger King? You have to be kidding. McDonalds has the market on hamburgers. Forget that idea. Wendys? Get out of here, never going to work. Just go to McDonalds.
No, not all product introductions are successful. No, not all businesses are wisely managed. But simply saying Van's can't or shouldn't do a high wing is ridiculous.
Van or his successor will ultimately decide, since they are the ones who will know the numbers and where they want the business to go and what they want to tackle.
If it ever comes to pass that Vans does offer a high wing kit, it would not surprise me in the least that they grabbed a whole new lineup of customers sending checks their way.