For what it's worth, I'm beginning to lose interest in Cold Steel products, and I have been a loyal customer since the 1980's.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I'm not quite to that point yet, primarily because I still find Cold Steel's products far more interesting than those of most other knife companies. But I agree that my enthusiasm definitely is waning.
I realize that it's not easy developing fresh ideas every year and keeping apace with changing market trends. It's a fine line between meeting customer expectations and chasing fads. A good balance of established models and new ideas is healthy, yet hard to maintain.
But I take issue with change for change's sake. For instance, who thought it was a good idea to go from this
to this?
Did the replacement of the company's thirty-five-year-old logo generate a lot of new business for Cold Steel? Were there scads of people complaining that they'd buy more Cold Steel knives if it weren't for that scary "World's Strongest, Sharpest Knives" motto?
Likewise, was Cold Steel losing money by producing "Proof" DVDs and paper catalogs? In one of his editorials long ago, Lynn Thompson said that he was redirecting the money Cold Steel previously had spent on advertising in knife magazines that refused to give the company's products any press into the production and distribution of the "Proof" videos. He said that "Proof" DVDs and the catalog would serve to advertise for Cold Steel.
Well, now there are no print ads, "Proof" DVDs, or paper catalogs. The subforum moderator told us that the Special Projects Web site (which also used to be supported by a paper catalog) required "too much maintenance" to keep up. Now there are no Special Projects catalogs or Web site left, either.
Since so many outrageously expensive and burdensome customer niceties have been eliminated to make Cold Steel run much smoother and more efficiently, where exactly are all those advertising dollars going these days? Snappy employee uniforms bearing the new logo? Higher bandwidth for all the new Twitter followers?
See my point, Cold Steel? I'm not here to criticize and tell you how to run your company. I'm just a guy who loves knives, particularly Cold Steel's. But as a lifelong knife aficionado and an admirer of Cold Steel since the beginning, I will tell you this:
Corporate changes that benefit the company but not the loyal buyer will end up hurting the company in the long run.
-Steve