As a Thiel and ATC owner I too am ;hoping this doesn't happen at ATC. I do think that it has become clear that the people who bought Thiel were very inept. They didn't continue making real Thiel products and run the company similar to how Jim did. Nor did they transform it into something more mainstream that could compete by selling lifestyle products. Rather, they made some me too products that have no reason to exist. First they made the over-priced psb line designed by Mark Mason and then they made over-priced mini wireless speakers. What a bunch of dopes.
What do these executives think is going to happen? They're trying to make the exact same crap as Bose and Harman. They'd have to be able to compete on price but of course they won't be able to because they're much smaller operations. They need to have something that occupies a niche that the large companies can't or don't want. Is this not obvious?
I wish some of these smaller companies could merge and keep the ideas of the founders alive longer. Say Thiel sold everything relating to the Jim Thiel designs to Vandersteen or another smallish manufacturer so Vandersteen could build and sell real Thiels. Both companies have a significant following and different house sounds. I'd think they could be more complementary than direct competitors. I would think that modern manufacturing techniques could facilitate manufacturing a wider variety of products in smaller numbers.
I'm probably just dreaming. I do think ATC has a better chance of surviving the eventual retirement of Billy Woodman. They will have to adapt to the changing market but they have a more traditional engineering approach and sell to a more diverse market since they're so big in pro audio as well as domestic. I hope they can continue on. If they do end up selling I think it's unlikely they'll find investors as dim as the ones that bought Thiel.
