As unlikely as it seems, they must have taken off in some way otherwise the original would have sunk without trace, instead of spawning its hideous Strat and Jazzmaster offspring.
I think you must be right, however much they invested in the R&D, I don’t think Andy Mooney is the kind of bloke who’d fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy and keep plugging away if they weren’t selling well.
As unlikely as it seems, they must have taken off in some way otherwise the original would have sunk without trace, instead of spawning its hideous Strat and Jazzmaster offspring.