It's a luxury brand. I have been there twice for specialty tools, and while it's not what Hermès has become, they do have an analogous network of craft manufacturers and the core of their business is/was from people who actually do something.
I think the secret to a luxury brand is to take something people love and then imagine and make the perfect version of a tool for it without being constrained by costs. It's the pursuit of an ideal. For that example, it was horse tack with a successful accessories business that took off, for LVMH it was travel trunks for grand tours. For Lee Valley, it was woodworking and gardening. I'd venture that behind every upper tier luxury brand, there is an essential activity that people love, and they don't see the money go in pursuit of it.
I think the secret to a luxury brand is to take something people love and then imagine and make the perfect version of a tool for it without being constrained by costs. It's the pursuit of an ideal. For that example, it was horse tack with a successful accessories business that took off, for LVMH it was travel trunks for grand tours. For Lee Valley, it was woodworking and gardening. I'd venture that behind every upper tier luxury brand, there is an essential activity that people love, and they don't see the money go in pursuit of it.