Compared to Mitutoyo ?
IMHO, Starrett are doomed - like so many US and UK manufacturing companies. No, I don't know an answer, this is just an observation. But when I can buy a $100 Starrett tool for $5 from Lucky Golden Hedgehog (and it's rubbish) or for $50 from Mitutoyo and it's as good if not better than Starrett's, then why _should_ I buy the US version?
You can talk about "loyalty" all you like, but sometimes that just becomes an excuse for a stupid buying decision. HP's printers have been rubbish for some years, and this is the company that gave us the LaserJet (my 15 year old LaserJet is still running, my 2 year old inkjet is scrap)
More importantly, you can't run a company on loyalty alone. Even if some of your customers still buy "for old times sake", the majority of them are fickle and will move away.