yep -but the undeniable parallel is there -Harley tried like Starbucks and Gibson, etc etc and so many other companies that take on a corporate structure to move beyond their primary market, history and expertise in order to grow verticals and often things that can't even be considered verticals -just their name slapped on something -ultimately it debases the core customer and loyalty and devalues the brand. Starbucks had to close 1000 stores and remove the food odor to get their coffee business profitable again.
I'll use Mike Pedulla as an example of responsible and noble guitar/bass company -Mike hand built basses and guitars since the 70s and expanded slowly adding help and eventually having some things built for him overseas -maintaining his reputation all the way until some of the product outsourced didn't meet his standards, so he shrunk the company back to within his total manufacturing control to avoid ever not being able to be proud to put his name on it.
-Today he's down to building a few hundred instruments a year again (probably in his garage) and still making the living he desires and never compromising -he didn't need to own the world, he didn't need to own the bass market, he didn't need to do more than what was responsible for maintaining the highest standards. Hell, I beg him and his wife to build me another guitar about once every year..... but that's not his thing any more (hasn't done a guitar run since about 1980) so he politely declines every year.
We need more companies like that -smaller operations serving the public and the mom and pop shops, and less guitar factories trying to swallow up every other company until we are left with 3 choices.
