If you didn't look into it yet, it hardly indicates you know nothing about business. Randomly picking companies to examine further is a perfectly reasonable way of trying to find investments (and what stops you following the crowd).
In my OPINION GoPro's problem is that they haven't diversified in any significant way. Here's a list of products GoPro sells: GoPros (and accessories). That's it.
But this area has hardly been standing still. We've seen drone-cameras take off, including the ingenius ones which follow you (e.g. Lily), we've seen those throw-up 360 degree cameras, smaller versions (e.g. Mokacam), and a near constant stream of less expensive generics which do 90% of what a GoPro can do (and can even use GoPro's accessories).
GoPro had a MASSIVE market lead and still does, but they're squandered much of it on reproducing the same product over and over until the market is saturated.
This. How many people get dropped off by a helicopter for skiing or fly around in wing suits? Not enough to support a camera maker. GoPro is marketing a lifestyle, and it's a heavily idealized lifestyle.
Meh, so is Red Bull marketing a lifestyle. But you have to be good at it. A couple years ago it seemed like every pre-teen snowboarder had one on their helmet. They failed to maintain their momentum.
To be fair I don't think any of the cheaper knock-off products come anywhere close to the quality that GoPro produces, both in terms of solidness and image quality?
They're almost all standard CMOS camera sensors, so depending on what you're wanting to do (action images, streaming video, etc.) you should compare on those features.
The built-in waterproofing is a big deal. As is the sturdiness of the case. Doesn't matter if I'm biking, swimming, diving, snowshoeing, I can always have my GoPro with me and I know it will always be available to take a video at a couple seconds' notice.
I can't imagine I'd have the same confidence in a cheaper camera with a waterproof case add-on that I do in my GoPro. Also, the $130 I paid for the entry-level model was a good price.
We've seen drone-cameras take off, including the
ingenius ones which follow you (e.g. Lily)
Literally have not seen Lily take off. It doesn't ship until summer.
GoPro is of course trying to diversify. The question is, what will their selling point be as the marketplace gets crowded? Will brand+distribution be enough?
Haven't used it myself, but the Xiaomi (http://amzn.to/1UPTQNl) is a popular GoPro clone that sells for cheap and has been reviewed surprisingly well. Low light is probably still in the GoPro's favor, but check out some YouTube comparisons -- they're not far off.
IMO, GoPro's biggest issue is usability, and it's an area where they could fight back against cheap knockoffs. GoPro cameras are frustrating to use, and editing hours of footage is not something most people enjoy doing. A commenter above suggested most owners use the GoPro a few times and then forget about it. Usability is, IMO, why.
In my OPINION GoPro's problem is that they haven't diversified in any significant way. Here's a list of products GoPro sells: GoPros (and accessories). That's it.
But this area has hardly been standing still. We've seen drone-cameras take off, including the ingenius ones which follow you (e.g. Lily), we've seen those throw-up 360 degree cameras, smaller versions (e.g. Mokacam), and a near constant stream of less expensive generics which do 90% of what a GoPro can do (and can even use GoPro's accessories).
GoPro had a MASSIVE market lead and still does, but they're squandered much of it on reproducing the same product over and over until the market is saturated.