There’s much competition in flashlights, in case you haven’t noticed.
Anthony Maglica came up with a new idea, and patented it in 1981. For a while he was flying high with his new product. Then foreign competition creeped in and obtained a market share. At the turn of the century, when LED bulbs entered the arena, foreign LED flashlights really became a cheap alternative to the home-grown Maglite Flashlights.
A couple years ago I bought a package of LED flashlights at Home Depot. There were 8-10 torches in the bag, for about $10 total. You can’t beat that price. The batteries were not included. I had to put 3 AAA batteries in them. They work fine, but…..
The selling point of Maglite Flashlights is their country of origin. They have always been made in the USA. Anthony intends to keep it that way. Enough buyers still believe in supporting the American worker, and continue to buy Maglites.