They are going the way of the IBM. They are not in PC business anymore... They are still in the IT, but very different kind.
Just because those two companies aren't competing for your business in the cutthroat buttons and lights hobby/semi-pro level market doesn't mean that they've retreated from the sector entirely, just the opposite. IBM has their own processors, which I believe are the fastest in existence, although they aren't sold at Best Buy and you won't find a reviewer running GeekBench on them to compare them. Fluke has the most accurate reference DMM ever made, as well as a slew of specialty products. Both of these companies have very long product cycles and very long product lifetimes. They don't make products-du-jour with previous iterations forgotten like yesterday's newspaper.
And that is exactly what I said. Anybody that buys stuff with it's own money (privately or small business) has nothing to buy from IBM. Banks and governments buy from IBM. They stopped selling anything for other markets..
You're funny.. You presumed I'm not professional because I don't use Fluke..
I do this for a living. It feeds my family. But I'm not Siemens, or Lockheed Martin. Equipment I buy comes from my lost profit... If I can buy 2 high end Brymens for price of entry level Fluke meter, my choice will be clear.
Same is with many small companies.
It's hoby users, makers, and such that will buy overpriced equipment with pedigree because they don't buy it rationally. They buy toys to treat themselves to snobbish luxury items. Those are treats, not tools. In business, you need to make a business case that will prove you will make, not lose money if you buy expensive tool.
We are actually NOT TALKING about those Fluke specialist products, but specifically about low end products in their offering, mass market multimeters. They mainly live from large contracts from many, many industries where they sell well because they keep making same stuff for years. That makes it easy for customers to use same certifications, procedures, safety standards etc. That is benefit on those markets. I just hope they don't end up like Boeing, keeping certifications and model numbers and changing product slowly inside for larger profit margins.. Those market don't even buy it because it's best, but because they have established ecosystem and tons of paperwork already in place..
In the open market they are not competitive anymore. They run purely on fame, and good safety record, that in cases when needed is worth the money. But, most of us in the electronics business don't even work in CAT III environment.. So yeah, Fluke is not what it used to be, and in time, like IBM, they will stop selling stuff that is not targeted at large industrial customers directly.