This is what is referred to as 'painting with broad strokes'.
There aren't "a lot of people ...that do not like Babolat". Most people do not have feelings either way for a particular company in general. In fact, from what I've seen at my club, USTA tournaments & leagues, and local high schools, Babolat is one of the most popular frames.
However, there are a very vocal group of people on TT that long for "the good 'ol days" of heavy, thin beam, midsized racquets, and blame Babolat for today's power game (and as such, the demise of serve & volley tennis). But the irony of it is that Wilson, the company most Babolat haters worship, revolutionized the power game with the Profile 2.7 25 years ago. Babolat just seems to have capitalized on it by developing a couple of good frames (PD/APD) and sponsoring players who appeal to the younger crowd.
I must agree with McLovin.
At a recent ITF juniors tournament here in Atlanta Babolat frames were everywhere. Wilson was a close second in popularity. Prince was an extremely distant and rapidly fading third. And beyond that you wouldn't think there was another racquet manufacturer out there. I saw a few Yonex and one Dunlop.
I see the same thing at our club. Among hardcore, higher level male players I see lots of Babolat. Same for hardcore ladies. Beyond that I see a mishmash of old Princes and old Wilsons among older players returning to the sport.
Here on TT it seems almost chic to diss Babolat, perhaps since it IS so popular, especially the APD and PD.
Personally, I'm neutral towards Babolat. I do find their Pure Drive and APD lines too harsh. And their manufacturing standards are lacking compared to companies such as Dunlop. A while back I used the PSLGT and it was a nightmare trying to find two that were anywhere close to one another in spec (Head and Wilson have similar problems).
When I bought my current three Pure Storm GTs one was warped and had to be returned to TW (also had a warped Head frame once). I didn't even bother trying to buy matched frames this time as I knew I'd be modding them with enough slack to get them matched and didn't want the headaches. Happily they turned out pretty close to each other.
They do seem to be smart business people. Their latest ad campaign and website are perfect for the 360/PS3 generation. They know pros often set their frame preferences as juniors. Capture a ton of junior players and you might snag the next Nadal, Federer, or Djoker which will enable you to sell even more frames to rec players. They're definitely taking the long view. And it won't hurt to appeal to the youthful fantasies of we middle aged players. I see lots of middle aged guys with love handles wielding their APDs like Nadal-wannabes.