So I spoke to a sleep specialist about this, who carried Resmed,...

So I spoke to a sleep specialist about this, who carried Resmed, Fisher and Paykel as well as some other non-name (read Chinese) sleep machines.

He'd be in the field for 2 decades in various roles, finally setting up his own shop to diagnose patients.

For him the broader industry itself was a growing one because:
- People are getting more health conscious. That doesn't mean getting healthier necessarily, it meant people were getting help and being properly diagnosed for things. This is also why you see more people being properly diagnosed with mental health issues or neurodivergence (combination of better understanding of these things and less social stigma. Especially given how much sleep (or lack of) is tied to mental health, this can only mean an increasing customer base.

- Population is growing, and to point one generally growing fatter. As a result you'll have more patients who naturally developing snoring and sleep apnea because of weight related issues. Yes, many will lose weight as a first point of action, but a good chunk won't due to what modern life is like for many people.

- Unlike other health issues, there's no permanent invasive procedures that gives better quality of life. Fundamentally sleep apnea is lack of oxygen passing through the lungs, so unless a person can increase the size of their lungs to accomodate OR increase the amount of air going through there, it's not an issue that can be resolved. With the latter solution, there is a surgery they used to recommend (i.e. cut a hole in your neck to create another airway) but obviously that is a fundamental change to your body and lifestyle that you'll need to live with for the rest of your life.

In terms of Resmed itself, his thoughts were:
- Market leading technology. That is both in terms of size/weight of their machines, and long term maintenance. These machines are very low maintenance and parts that need replacing are easily replaceable. Also competitor machines are either significantly bulkier OR they have not been in the market for as long and thus don't have a reputation for it. RMD also invest heavily in product development, so there is a cycle of potential upgrading if desired.

- Consumables: Resmed machines have parts that need replacing as part of maintenance (masks, filters, pipes, clips etc), they are the sticky element of customers as Resmed produces and sells this themselves along with machines. So it's not as simple as buying a machine and you're set for the rest of your life, there are a few components that'll need replacing at different intervals, which creates repeat customs.

- Product diversity: I feel like Resmed have positioned themselves well with different products to suit different lifestyles and scenarios. I don't personally as I don't have a pressing need, but I can see a scenario where someone buys two machines (a home machine and a travel one).

Disclosure: Obviously I'm an RMD holder, but I'm also a user of their products.