Harley, and to some affect Indian, are "the cruiser motorcycles". Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki are a few well known brands that all sell knock off Harleys. Sure at this point it's known as "the cruiser" but all these brands traded off Harleys innovation and designs, regardless if they directly stole anything or not. While maybe not as blatant as the HF vs Knipex I'm trying to draw similarities and comparisons.
The main one of which is that unless you're just made of cash you're probably buying knock offs of stuff. Could be a boot design, could be pots and pans, could be a bunch of things. My point is that not everyone is looking for "the original" or "the best" in every single item. Some people just are looking for something that solves a problem, and there isn't anything wrong with that.
I think HF is actually working on expanding beyond their current "basement bin pricing and quality" into a bit more upmarket option. Look at their Icon line as an example. Time will tell how long that line sticks around but it seems to be selling really well, and they continue to update their product line either to fix products (flex head 3/8 ratchet) or make updates/improvements (socket updates). I don't know if that will save them, or even if HF intends to keep Icon around that long but from everything I see all signs point to this being a long term plan.
Frankly, I think Icon looks to be the modern day Craftsman in a lot of ways, at least in terms of in store purchases. If you can find GearWrench in store thats also an option, and Tekton is supposedly coming to Lowes, but at least near me that isn't the case.
Anyway, I think what put Harbor Freight on the map isn't going to be what gets them to the next level. This is something that is completely common in the business world. A young energetic founder starts a company, and after an initial huge launch drives it into the ground. Why? Because "what got you here won't get you there". HF is at a point where they have made their market as a cheap "disposable" tool company, but all signs point to them wanting to be a player at the mid tier level.
All that said, my point around the other items is that not everyone wants or can afford Snap-On. I would love a snap on box, with all the snap on tools, but I don't use them enough to justify the cost (ie. I don't earn a living with them), I can't spend the time hunting around for used options, and/or refinishing something, so it's not an option. Knipex is a similar, but not the same, boat. I'm probably not going to spend $60-70 on a single pair of pliers. I may drop $30, because I hear great things, and try it out. Again, everyone is different here. Some people only buy Levis, some people buy whatever walmart has, some people spend $400 on lucky or whatever the hotness in jeans is now. My point is that unless you're pulling in millions a year you can't be the guy that buys snap on, and harleys, and lucky jeans, and red wing boots, and all-clad pots, and… well you catch my drift.
