Yeah, it seems like a delicate balancing act they're going to have to do if they plan on staying in this end of the business.
They have a legitimate connection to the history of the Indiana Jones franchise, and at least one example should be in everyone's stable if only for THAT connection.....but exactly where should they fit in the market?
Too high, and as you say, custom jackets make more sense for purchase.....too little, and as we've seen, quality suffers.
I haven't been the least bit impressed with the imports other than those made in the Hong Kong factory...those are amazing! Equal to Shott in eye to detail, but then again, without the 'over the road' history of the Schott products....but that said, if you handed me one of the HK creations with no maker tag, I'd be hard pressed to tell one from the Schott factory. As a matter of fact, I WAS fooled by a prototype in this very matter in the past.
Their other imports have been all over the place....either dead on target, or so far off the mark it's questionable the craftsman even looked at the pattern.
So, if they stay high end, they'll kill their own market due to other better choices of custom jackets in the same price range, and yet if they go on the lower end and stick with the Pakistani offerings that are either top notch or completely wrong, they'll only attract 'entry level' folks or those who just want a beater jacket for little money.
Not a good prospect on either end....so where is the magic 'niche' for the USW Indy jacket. There has to be one, as theirs is the longest history with 'us' as a hobby, and were the first vendor to recognize and back our hobby, even before Wested decided to come on the internet scene.
I'd hate to see them just disappear from the hobby due to low sales, but also understand if the market is killing them, why keep backing a losing horse?
Hummmmm.
Regards! Michaelson
p.s. What's kind of ironic is the Indy jacket in black lambskin used to be their BIGGEST seller, sometimes even rivaling their A2 sales, as they had an annual contract with TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) for this particular jacket for field use. With the government cutbacks, I'm sure the TVA had to drop that contract, so it explains why the Indy line suddenly became a small product line for USW in a matter of a few strokes of a pen on a contract.