todaler said:
I work for one of these brands. We are doing well but the more options there are can have a negative affect on all other brands, it is just a numbers game.
I think what will matter most here is the size of the market. If you've got a larger market (ie a bigger customer base) and you start out saying that all the businesses in the market are "doing ok", as in somewhere between "making ends meet" and "doing really well", and a new seller enters, it lowers everyone's sales a little bit, and most of the established businesses will be ok.
But if the market is small, and you've got a smaller number of customers spread between a smaller number of stores, and someone else steps in, the results can be quite different. One more seller will shrink everyone's customer base in a noticeable way, and that may drive some people out of business, or push them into "I wonder if this is really worth it or if I should move on to something else because this just isn't worth the effort anymore" mode.
As a new startup, you really need to look at your market closely and decide if there's a big enough surplus of customers before taking the plunge. Not everyone does that, and it can be to everyone's detrement if the market is small and fragile. It's a bit like climbing onto a raft... if the raft is small and barely floating, one more person climbing on can flip it over, and not everyone is going to be able to climb back on after the new guy sinks. One person trying to enter a small saturated market is likely to fail AND take one or more others down with them. And that's what I hope we avoid here.
Don't get me wrong, I really love the variety, innovation, and low prices we're seeing more of recently, but I also don't want to see it end badly for the providers. Even from a purely selfish point of view, losing any of the good new small startups like Snuggies would be bad for the customers too. Everyone is just too unique right now, anyone we lose will be missed. So I hope that anyone looking to enter this market does their research and makes sure it can support their weight before climbing onboard.