26 May 2017

Are ICOM and Yaesu struggling?

I am beginning to wonder if some of the large Japanese companies are getting tired of amateur radio.

When ICOM introduced the IC7300, Yaesu looked like they reacted and quickly brought out the FT991A. Yaesu seems to have "gone off the boil" in recent years. System Fusion is being pushed, but years after DSTAR. Most of us remember Betamax, VHS and Video 8. The last thing we want is a standards war.

There were no new products launched at Dayton, at least nothing was reported. I am beginning to think the Japanese have decided to introduce fewer amateur radio products. Perhaps they see a dwindling market with less profits in the coming years?

As for an FT817 successor - I think this is never happening.

2 comments:

DaveL said...

According to the guy at our local Gigaparts store, Yaesu is the best selling gear, closely followed by Icom, with Kenwood a distant third place. I personally think cheap chinese stuff maybe stealing some of the market share from these guys.

DaveL
KF7JAF

Roger G3XBM said...

Dave, you may be right. Within 20 years I fear ICOM, Yaesu and Kenwood will be out of this market as the people in the hobby age and numbers fall away. I wish I was wrong.