Are Maglite a vanishing brand?

[Chicken Drumstick]

I've commented on here before, on how hard it is to find Maglites in the UK. Ok, there are some online retailers, but they have pretty much vanished from the shelves of most shops in the UK. And if you ever do see them, they are usually old models and hugely expensive.


However I was on holiday (vacation ) in Florida last month. So I thought it'd be ideal opportunity to top up on some of the newer Mag offerings.

On my hit list were:

-AAA Mini Mag LED
-XL200
-ML25LT

And maybe a ML300L.


But I was met with huge disappointment

I went in at least 7-8 stores, including a couple of Lowes, Target, Home Depot and Walmart. From Sarasota to Orlando.

And some had no Maglites at all and some only a few, but none of the ones I wanted.

I found some:

-incan Mini Mags
-Mini Mag Pro LED (but not the Pro+)
-Solitaire LED
-a couple of XL50's
-and some incan C cell twsities but not the LED ones with 2 cell, only 3


Some stores had loads of flashlights too, massive Coast displays and others. But seems, at least in Florida and the UK that Maglites are hard to come by.


This was the biggest Maglite display I found in any of the stores.


Out of shot to the left the flashlight display was maybe six times what you can see in the picture.



In the end I bought myself a 2AA Mini Mag Pro, just so I got something. It's actually a really nice torch too.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Mag's counter space is somewhat stable as I've seen them make a comeback in several stores with some of their new offerings (C cell LED lights, etc). I don't think Mag's presence will shrink too much more unless they go out of business because they aren't selling enough lights to make a profit. About 10 years ago Mag had more space to their lights than any other brand did and they even had separate pegs for separate color selections of the same model too. Now the color selection has shrunk and they no longer separate the colors but put them all in the same slot.

Personally I think it is possible in the next 5-10 years Mag will go under or go Chinese on us either making all their lights in China or bought out by an Asian company as they have shown to us that they aren't able to compete well in the market. Back in the incan days they were the top dog but LEDs have pretty much been their undoing as they have struggled to keep up with technology and still do.

 

[bykfixer]

Mainly what I see are 2D Mags, 2aa mini mags and Solitaires all in LED. I suppose they are the bread n butter of the lineup in my area.
ML25's are showing up in 2C at WalMarts. 3C's at Home Depot (w/ no 2C).

I figure the online stuff will keep them going. Yet with all of those lights coming from over seas Mag shelf space will be like Wise potato chips shelf space. Once the biggest, but now crowded out by the competition.

I do not see Mag going under, and definitely do not see Tony Magleca doing what Streamlight did... selling mostly China built lights. When he dies, well the family may.

 

[CelticCross74]

Maglite is in no way vanishing. Here in the Virginia/Maryland region they are everywhere. All the Wal Marts have XL50's Minis, last gen LED as well as the black 3rd Gen 3 D cell. All the Home Depots always have a rack of Mags incans to LED's even Target has them. The MLLX knurled finish 3rd Gens I have yet to see in stores and has been an online thing only so far. My local HD has the 200 lumen XL50 AAA its actually really good. Its odd they wouldnt be found in Fla.

 

[torchsarecool]

I work for a large diy retailer in the UK. I remember about 3 years ago we cleared out all the maglites and started stocking Ap pro flashlights as our premium range.
Having just spent a week in the Lake District and doing the usual gadget hunting in all the outdoor shops all you find stocked now are either led lenser or coast. Where as growing up in the 90's I remember all those same shops displaying maglites in the glass rotating display cabinets.
It does seem like they're disappearing from our market

 

[biggman15]

Here in Mid Missouri, they are still pretty common. At both of our local Walmart's, Mag has a fairly decent selection. But they are eclipsed by Bushnell. Lowe's still keeps large aisle displays of them in multiple colors. Although for all I know they could be old stock. I usually skip Lowe's flashlight selection because everything else is cheap-o.

 

[LeanBurn]

I don't get the point of the ML25LT..the Minimag Pro beats it on almost every point except throw.

If anything the increased competition evens out the choices more....Mag steps up their game to compete....consumer wins.

 

[Going_Supernova]

First of all, thanks for spending your holiday money here in the USA! We appreciate it! Please encourage more of your Brit friends to holiday here (it will help make it up to us for Piers Morgan).

Florida gets a lot of foreign imports, and is clear across the continent from Kalifornia, where MAG is located, so the cheap foreign lights would be prolific there, and the cross-country freight from Kalifornia would make the cost of a MAG that much more expensive, and difficult to compete with on price. IMO. As you know, the internet has turned retail marketing on it's head, making life very difficult for brick and mortar stores to compete. It could be MAG is focusing their marketing on internet dealers, rather than b&m stores, but I don't know. It has been quite some time since I've shopped my local Walmart (aka Chinamart) flashlight aisle, so I'm not sure what is stocked locally. But last I knew, Walmart was now stocking some Surefire lights and batteries, so I expect MAG should still be well-stocked. Next time I go to WM, I'll try to check things out.

Too bad about your bad luck not finding what you were looking for, so, come back soon, and look again! Be sure to bring lots of money with you! Ha! I expect that if the Republicans win the presidency, there will be a surge in US made goods, and less foreign made goods, so I think things would look better for MAG should that happen. If the Dems win the presidency, then look for your US made lights to become valuable collectables as they disappear from the market.

 

[xxo]

Between home depot, walmart, target and lowes, you can get the 3 cell ML50 and ML300, 2 and 3 cell ML25 LEDs, ML25 incandescent (at target), XL50, Mini Mag Pro LED, and the solitaire LED. Incandescents seem to be drying up but there is still a few to be found (I was surprised that Mag brought out a incan version of the ML25 and even more surprised that target is carrying them.

Mag Tacs, Mag Chargers, XL200's, 2 cell ML50/ML300's + the LX versions seem to be mostly sold on line. I think Mag's are still selling well, but there is a lot more competition now....most of the big box stores are pushing there own brand of Chinese made LEDs that are usually not much if any less expensive than Mags and not as well made. I sure these store brands are more profitable for the retailer, but for the consumer, Mags are generally a better value.

As for sales in Europe, I am sure its hard for Mag being made in the USA to compete on price with the Chinese brands. And the cost of shipping from California to Europe + the VAT and import duties pretty much guarantees higher prices on Mags sold in Europe.

 

[torchsarecool]

Good point. Wonder if UK leaving Europe will have a positive impact on trade with the US. Id dream of seeing surefires, maglites etc lined up down my local Asda store!!

 

[bykfixer]

I think one thing Mag has going against it vs the $8 Defiants and $16 Rayovacs etc... durability.
It is not uncommon to see 25+ year old Maglites in peoples homes. Repeat customers are an issue when your product out lives the customer.

I suppose another thing working against them is style. A 2D Maglite from Home Depot today looks pretty close to a 1979 2D. Coasts, LED Lensers etc are keeping up with fashion. Tony is keeping with tradition. That is fine, but the market wants tacti-cool. They are making brighter lights these days, but they still look like granpas old light. Todays Hells Accountant types with their facial piercings and "body art" want something that looks like Satan himself would use, not some old 1980's look.

So even though the market share of Maglite is shrinking they still sell a whole buncha flashlights every year.

It sounds like they have decided to avoid the UK market though. That is a shame. I'm sure they have their reasons though.

Frankly I was surprised that the ML25 had an incan version. I was glad though. I guess the idea there is an incan mini mag with more throw and bigger fuel tanks.

I like the XL50 and its simple hi/lo operation. Unless you do a really rapid click you get on off. Plus it is round with a removable anti roll and/or pocket clip. Plenty bright for most with an optional 50+/- lumen low... $20.
I'll be giving those away this Christmas.

 

[Capolini]

Plenty of Maglites in the Philadelphia[PA./USA] area. Sears/walmart/K-mart/Lowes/Home depot ect.!

 

[Repsol600rr]

Wisconsin here. My local hardware has icans raging from solitaire up to the 6d along with separate pegs for separate colors of Incan minimags along with bulbs for all of them. I can't remember if it's all of the in cans they make. Theres also a pretty good selection of traditional looking led mags from aaa to d cell as well. None of the xl series but I found those I think at menards or gander mountain. If I remember right gander sells the mag tac rechargeable as well. Lowes, home depot, and others still have some mags on the shelves but you are right there aren't many compared to coasts or their own brands like defiant or utilitech. Target had the ml25it and walmart the ml25lt. For mag chargers there is a couple of police supply places around here that sell them. So I can get most of what mag makes in about a 30 minutes driving circle. Things I cant seem to find are the led d cells greater than 3d, many led c lights or the 3 c twisty in either format.

 

[harro]

They are pretty easy to find, in Aus, in camping/ourdoor stores, hardware, army surplus etc. You have to search a bit harder for some of the fancier versions though. Coast/LL seem to give them a bit of a run for their money. And naturally, there's a plethora of own branded stuff competing for the same dollar.

 

[bykfixer]

Plenty of Maglites in the Philadelphia[PA./USA] area. Sears/walmart/K-mart/Lowes/Home depot ect.!

You still have Kmarts and Sears? Cool.

If you say you still have Radio Shacks too... I might have to squash the urge to be jealous.
We still have a Sears, but from the looks of things that and JC Penny will be gone before too much longer.

 

[Capolini]

You still have Kmarts and Sears? Cool.

If you say you still have Radio Shacks too... I might have to squash the urge to be jealous.
We still have a Sears, but from the looks of things that and JC Penny will be gone before too much longer.

K-mart is still here,do not know how they stay in business,very little traffic flow in stores.

Actually, the Sears is now like an washer/dryer type outlet w/ no more hardware products! I temporarily forgot about that.

Yes,we do have radio shacks,just a limited amount. the one in my town closed but there are some within 10 to 15 miles from me. I actually thought they ALL closed until I did a store finder and called a few.

 

[xxo]

You still have Kmarts and Sears? Cool.

If you say you still have Radio Shacks too... I might have to squash the urge to be jealous.
We still have a Sears, but from the looks of things that and JC Penny will be gone before too much longer.

If anyone still has block buster video stores and radio shacks, I'm pretty sure they are stuck in a time warp vortex.

 

[Capolini]

If anyone still has block buster video stores and radio shacks, I'm pretty sure they are stuck in a time warp vortex.

I guess I am in a time warp!!! lol! We still have some Radio shacks in our area.


check it out for yourself! They are not listing several that are in the northern suburbs where I live.

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...94781,-75133651,5661&tbm=lcl&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:3

 

[Altema22]

We still have Sears, though traffic inside the store is decidedly light and has been for years. I try and go there when I can, as this is the same store I frequented as a kid. Kmart is still around, but I avoid going there (and Walmart) for some reason. Meijer has a good flashlight section (usually two or more sections per store), and they do carry Maglight. ACE hardware sells one or two Mags, but also sells a ton of look-alikes that look huge and have lame outputs. One of the off brands carried six D cells and put out about 300 lumens... or about the same as a AA Energizer, lol. I have to admit that I've never had a modern Maglight; just the older ones. By the time I got into lights again, it seemed like they had just gotten left behind in terms of design and features (and lumens).

 

[ZMZ67]

Sorry you didn't find what you want Chicken Drumstick,really disappointed for you since I know I can usually find at least a two of the lights you wanted. I don't think Mag is going anywhere any time soon since they have finally come out with some respectable LED lights.Mag and U.S. made still have a pretty good following among the average American consumer. Every Wal-mart around here has them as well as other big box stores and virtually every hardware store. I have noticed that the 2C ML25LT has sold out frequently since it hit the shelves at Wal-mart and they don't always restock right away.Maybe there is not as much interest internationally in Mag since there are so many other lights to choose from now. Mag might not be very profitable for UK retailers compared to some of the other brands available.