I am reprinting the following post by Ernest Emerson from Emerson Knives, Inc. I think it provides great insight into how a knifemaker enters into a collaboration with a large(r) company, what with the many considerations of branding, business models, and motivations…
Wilson
“Well, I guess the cat is now well out of the bag. Most of you have now
become aware of the Emerson Kershaw Knives. Due to a family emergency
we (the Emerson family) were not able to attend the SHOT show or
participate in the pomp and circumstance of the debut of the
Emerson-Kershaw partnership. But it looks like everybody did our job
for us in lieu of our absence. Thank you.
“At the BLADE show in June 2013, we had a meeting with Craig and Thomas
of Kershaw knives. Over the last two decades the name Emerson has
grown from the simple name of a knife company into the most coveted of
categories, a “Lifestyle Brand.” As such, that put us into a category
alongside of names like Harley Davidson, Body Glove, Jack Daniels,
etc. where the name no longer represents just a product, but a much
broader category, a lifestyle that people identify with. When a
company brand achieves that status, the brand itself becomes a symbol
of status much as wearing a Rolex watch became the symbol of personal
success. When a brand gains such respect and value, many opportunities
manifest that are not available to the status quo. Over the years, as
the name Emerson developed this cache, we were approached by a number
of companies interested in purchasing our company outright. Some of
these came from within the Cutlery Industry, some from the Tactical
Industry and several from interests completely outside of “our world.”
The amounts have been tempting, in fact big on a scale that my Great
Grandchildren would never need to work. But, as a family we all felt
we were not done yet, so we kept our company. Continue reading
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