[doodlebugging]

Thanks for the chart. I find myself investigating any company that I have never heard about if only to learn what else they produce.

I think the licensing of a manufacturer name without that manufacturer being involved in production, quality control, or maintenance has probably cost consumers more money than just about any other market change.

There are too many products carrying a brand name associated with quality that are actually entirely produced, sold, and serviced by unrelated entities on licensing agreements. Many of those products are low quality "consumer grade" examples of things like lawn mowers, outdoor grills and kitchen equipment, power tools, yard tools, etc and are sold through stores like Lowes and Home Depot. A consumer buys one of these products thinking they have a high quality item and then later when it fails they find themselves in service limbo since the brand owner has no connection to the product and the manufacturer makes it difficult to reach any customer service information or punts the consumer to the brand owner people.

They have essentially purchased a license to a reputation for their products and have free reign to operate with no intention of maintaining the good will that reputation has among consumers. I don't understand why a company will license their reputation in a situation like this. The money must be great.