The original OP is narrowed to high-end speakers, but the answer applies to business in general.
1) Businesses require time, resources, effort to run in a non-fixed market conditions (changes over time). What sold well this year may not be the same as the next
2) High-end audio is a small niche market heavily influenced by advances in technology/performance. 3) if a manufacturer came out with a new product consumers expect it to be an improvement over the previous model all else being equal (similar prices) or better if it cost more. Notable exceptions are speakers “within their price point” remain competitive even with minimum/no further innovations (efficient Klipsch Heresy/Cornwall/Klipschhorns, Ohm Walsh). Speaker designers often keep bringing new/improved versions into the market to stay relevant (Elac, Magico, etc)
4) initially speaker design/manufacturing is a labor of love- few/nobody gets rich. 5) Speaker designers/manufacturers have different ability and/or interest in growing a business which in any business is no easy cakewalk. 6) if the speaker designer/manufacturer doesn’t pass along his knowledge before he exits the market the company will disappear
7) if the speaker designer/manufacturer is successful in passing along his knowledge & delegate his responsibilities & people running the company is competent & has the resources to keep running the company & that there is a continued demand for his products & people in the company successfully meet the market innovation demands & the market demands his products (profitable enough), then the company has a chance to continue beyond the founding speaker designer/manufacturer
1) Businesses require time, resources, effort to run in a non-fixed market conditions (changes over time). What sold well this year may not be the same as the next
2) High-end audio is a small niche market heavily influenced by advances in technology/performance. 3) if a manufacturer came out with a new product consumers expect it to be an improvement over the previous model all else being equal (similar prices) or better if it cost more. Notable exceptions are speakers “within their price point” remain competitive even with minimum/no further innovations (efficient Klipsch Heresy/Cornwall/Klipschhorns, Ohm Walsh). Speaker designers often keep bringing new/improved versions into the market to stay relevant (Elac, Magico, etc)
4) initially speaker design/manufacturing is a labor of love- few/nobody gets rich. 5) Speaker designers/manufacturers have different ability and/or interest in growing a business which in any business is no easy cakewalk. 6) if the speaker designer/manufacturer doesn’t pass along his knowledge before he exits the market the company will disappear
7) if the speaker designer/manufacturer is successful in passing along his knowledge & delegate his responsibilities & people running the company is competent & has the resources to keep running the company & that there is a continued demand for his products & people in the company successfully meet the market innovation demands & the market demands his products (profitable enough), then the company has a chance to continue beyond the founding speaker designer/manufacturer