Well, If you look at it this way it makes sense all the fuss!
Competitors see Gardiners as a batch producer ( misunderstanding the market share and buying power that Gardiners have IMO) and want them to sell their product at a premium. Now what has got up the "others" noses is that by lowering the price of a popular product Gardiners have increased demand and have weakened chances of them gaining a market share by dangling a carrot out by offering the sale, it's called proactive marketing and the only reason that competitors are making a song and dance about it is because they know that it will weaken their chances of gaining said market share, they know this hence the fuss kicked up here, speculation and (even acknowledged by the competitors in previous posts) the fact that the membership of the forum are pro Gardiners.
One gets a feeling that they are following the lead that Gardiners have in the market and may have blown their R&D budget on a product designed to compete with say the SLX but at a price point that leaves the SLX at a higher cost and they can under cut so now while I would call the Gardiners sale as a business savvy move they see it as a shot in the backside!