I also wonder if it is a smaller pie. The younger crowd may not be interested in having a mechanical/analog binocular. If it can not be done on a smart phone, it may not be worth doing to them.
Also, I have noticed more and more birders only using a camera. If they want to observe a bird, they take a quick ID shot and then immediately look at the image on the LED screen. Many I have talked with have no interest in having a binocular. I noticed more often when at the local riparian that I am the only one with a binocular and all the others just have cameras. That is not good for binocular sales.
The hunting market may be different and I suspect rifle scopes are the larger part of the business in the US.
I figured Alpen was an established player so I am surprised they shut things down. They had some major accounts with Sportsman's Warehouse and even Costco. They also had outlets with some of the notable online sellers. Too bad because they did have some good products for the price. I have an Alpen Apex 12X50 that does a good job for a nice low price.
This pity is bigger than you think. In their first year, Tim and his corporate partner showed up at Captain’s and I was impressed. THEY DIDN’T KNOW ME FROM ADAM, BUT AT NO TIME DID THEY START WITH THE PIE IN THE SKY, OPTICAL SHUCK-N-JIVE! They told me what they had, showed me some of their samples, and humbly asked if I thought I might have room for some of their binos in my inventory. Almost all the others played that truth twisting/money grubbing game.
They showed me some in the TASCO, Bushnell, Jason league. They showed me some in the Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica league. All priced 1/2-2/3rds below the competition. And when I had a problem (rarely), it was solved as fast as the UPS driver could pedal.
Other companies had much more by way of money, but most have fallen short by way of that level of integrity. Yes, consumer optics is a cutthroat business. But, when the good guys get cut, we all bleed. I wish they would have brought me onboard to handle marketing; I feel confident I could have turned the tide without twisting the truth.
Tim Gardner, I salute you. And, if you had had better advertising many others would be saluting you, too. You are one of the main reasons I counsel folks that it’s better to look to the importer than the product. :cat:
Bill