With their slow start and mining tax devs wanted to do something to favor investors and prevent advantage of early adopters at the same time.
But they failed to realize it will make Zcash less interesting for everyone else. And ZCL is just a copy and like all clone coins it might go down very quickly.
Do not forget that Ethereum Classic was a copycat too, and look at its success now.
Good classical versions do have capability to be successful.
ZCL will eventually be added to Poloniex and it'd be the first big success of it.
So if price 10x less that original is a success for you then yes, I suppose Zcash Classic can repeat this as well.
Prices and values do not determine the success and failure of an altcoin. They can vary time to time. Look at its volume in last 24 hours, it is among the top ten. This is its one of initial successes. With all its potential, it can cross much bigger values in upcoming years.
Reason making classics are good, IMO. ZCash has the 20% founder's fee, which is way too much. Very clear that its nothing but a scam. The value of ZEC is going downhill since its start, which clearly shows that the founder is not willing to invest even a single percent of that huge percentage. A classic version is a must in conditions like this one.