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Sheldon, although Marklin is not a publicly traded company, they have to publish their annual results. Their annual report is available in the Internet, and so is Kader´s. The same applies for Roco, who owns Fleischmann since a few years now. Model railroading is a much wider spread hobby in Europe than in the US, where it appears to be a niche hobby, mostly belittled by non-hobbyists. At least this is what I gather from comments here, including those dreadful "The  hobby is dying" outbursts. I think the reason why Europeans seem to be more into model railroading is the fact, that trains are much more apparent in every day life than in your country. I live within earshot of the mainline from the industrial hub area in the west of Germany to the port of Hamburg. On that line, railfanning during the weak is like following the flight of a tennis ball in a match. There are way over 250 trains a day during daylight hours alone! Also, places like "Miniatur Wunderland" have done a marvelous job in promoting the hobby. Shows like the famous "Ontraxs!" exhibition in the Dutch National Railway Museum in Utrecht draw growing crowds each year, boosting public awareness. Brawa used to make accessories, but since a good 20 years now, they have entered the market of premium locomotives and cars, mainly of German prototype. Lovely models, but way toooo expensive for me! You are right in stating that the US market is probably driven by a different set of factors and maybe these factors allow for Bachmann EZ App being established in the US market much quicker - or much slower. On a global basis, chances are quite different, though. Even in the UK, where Bachmann has established itsel to be the market leader, it will be quite difficult to successfully market the EZ App unless they are equipped with a standard NEM plug and fit into the space now occupied by a decoder. I doubt that a lot of people will rip out the decoder that comes with the loco to replace it with the EZ App device,  though. As I also lack the ability to foresee the future, I may be totally wrong, but looking at how long it took to establish DCC I have my doubts that I will live to see Bachmann´s gadget to take its place.
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