New Retailers on board

[Howbi]

Good to hear of some new model railway stockists opening for a change..........Fenwicks of Newcastle and Bentalls of Kingston both have Hobbyist departments now stocking a reasonable selection of Hornby & Bachmann products..........HB

[Fazy]

 Fenwicks of Leicester was going to stock Hornby too. But has now closed down. 

[The son of Triangman]

Sadly there's not enough new ones coming through to replace those closing or those that have closed in the last three years.

 

There was a time when every small town had a retailer.

We had a shop in Wells-Next-The-Sea years ago now the whole norfolk coast from the outskirts of hunstanton to the outskirts of cromer and miles inland is devoid of a proper model shop.

 

Hunstanton has a shop as does Cromer, but in between is a massive area without a shop and is by no means unique in the UK today.

 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

I think the trouble is with small model shop businesses, is that they need to get their shop and name well known. Can be quite difficult I their shop is not in a well known location, does not help.

 

They need to sell their items quite cheap too. Have prices similar to Hatton's or Rails of Sheffield'a prices, but if they do not stock and take delivery of the products at the right prices, there's no point selling them cheap, as they will be losing money, for every ptoduct that does sell!  😆

 

Also, the model shop having it's own website or eBay account to also sell products always helps too.

 

I feel sad hearing of a model shop close down. One less around. I remember going on holiday to a small village. Went for a walk in the town centre. Saw a closed down empty shop. The name of the shop sign had been removed, but could see a Hornby logo poster in the window. That told me it was a model shop.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[Howbi]

@GNR-Gordon..........I'm sure all the Model shop proprietors know exactly how to run their business.......... 😀...........HB

[Augustus Caesar]

Fenwick store in Newcastle has been selling Hornby product for years until the concessions were closed recently by Hornby themselves.

The store took the decision to stock Hornby as part of their own retail structure after concerns by regular customers like myself who passed those on to the young gent, whom I've known for many years, employed by Fenwick on that particular department.

As HB stated above they now stock Hornby and Bachmann items but also Peco track and other accessories. He wishes to expand the stock further and is awaiting orders coming through so with any luck the stock will remain as part of the Fenwick business for many years again. He asked for advice on which stock to carry re Peco and those are in now with others to follow.

It's always a shame when businesses fold or cannot keep up with larger companies who put profit first and the customer on the back burner. But at least there is a little choice still with the web and other ways of getting items we desire.

My wish is that it becomes illegal for corporate business to own more than one brand and get involved in too many different areas of business full stop. E.g. a business owner starts up selling clocks and watches then buys a hotel, then buys a car dealership and lumps each business under the heading of a group name... like "The Clock Hotel Car Group" and then goes belly up and whole lot go at once leaving customers standing around like lemons knowing the product they were to be delivered is no longer coming. Refunds are not given as already big business owners are legally there first. This is all too real and sad.

But hey... Hornby are still with us and still getting stock out and so are many others in this field so let's keep it going and buy all their stock tomorrow!

Ah... problem... not enough funds in my accounts for the banks to bankroll me.

Anyway... let's hope business picks up and more independants open up to keep this wonderful hobby alive and kicking well into the next set of decades etc.

[VESPA]

Although model railways are still popular, it is mainly the older age group that are the ones interested. Hornby messed retailers around a few years back and many closed because of their minimum order rates at that time. Yesterday Hornby shares dropped by 11% due to slow business. How much is slow and why? I suspect that even the older brigade are now pulling in purse strings due to the massive hikes in prices over the past couple of years. I see new stock arrive at say £17 for a shunters truck and I left them on the shelf. I got a Bachmann version recently for £7.60 that was bordering £17 at first. The pricing structure is all up the swanee river with some coaches at £17 and others over £40, totally ridiculous! Another eason that shops are shutting down is that the interest in modelling has waned and the younger generation want computer games and not trains. I wonder how many youngsters have actually been on a train? Thomas the Tank Engine inspires mum and dad when Johnny Choo Choo is a toddler but they more often than not move on very quickly. I have also noticed that the collector section are now abandoning Hornby Dublo with secondhand prices massively lower than around 10 years back. Probably because most have died. Have a nice day I am off to play around with my car.

[2e0dtoeric]

Kingston - is that the one in Jamaica? Rather a long way to go for a discount!  😛

'Local' shops are becoming a thing consigned to history, because a small corner shop simply cannot carry a stock of all the small bits and pieces, as well as older stock, AND new items. They simply do not have the space or the turnover to justifiy it.

Caiptean mentioned model aircraft - another of my hobbies - BUT my nearest shop for spares and materiels is a 30 minutes each way drive - AND it is wise to phone up first to see if they actually have one in!

So, for things that get broken easily, like propellers, (and there are MANY sizes!) I have to carry my own stock, to make sure I have one available.

[The son of Triangman]

Another big issue is that one time the manufacturers sold to the trade only. It caused a lot of anger in the trade when the likes of Hornby started selling direct to the public. It also affected sales for the little shops in a downward direction.

 

A small shop cannot compete with the discounts the big boys get either. A lot here go to the cheapest place and that's usually the big box shifters, and rightly so as we all love a bargain. However it affects small shop sales, the little shops tend to only get sales from those wanting the odd small item or something they cannot get elsewhere.

 

Small shops as a rule cannot stock everything but modellers expect them to. People get cross when you don't have thst obscure 1/9000 grub screw for a model made in 1934. I used to order stuff in for people and keep a few spare ones in stock at the same time should they need more at a later date. It meant being stuck with slow moving stock but you had some if they came in again.

 

As a small retailer you have to stock a range that suits your local market. I used to stock 72 locos, 144 wagons, 48 coaches, track, accessories, scenics, paints, tools and a smattering of buildings and kits, it suited my loyal local customer base.

[Nictor]

Heard in my local model shop recently.........'Ok, thanks, just wanted to have a close look at one. I'll buy on line,  cheaper'.

Can't think of a better way to irritate a shop keeper bar shop lifting!

[The son of Triangman]

It can indeed be indeed, you get the model out of it's packaging sometimes a job in itself, then run the loco for the customer only for them to say "xyz does it cheaper online" Grrrrrr/. Meanwhile a regular customer is waiting to spend some good money with you and you are left with a loco that has been test run sitting out of it's packing.

[The son of Triangman]

It's good to see people like Caiptean using their small model shops for more than a packet of fishplates, well done. I just wish others would too so that more could survive. It's very much a case of use it or loose it for model shops today. Use them for more than a packet of fishplates once a year and they survive, don't use them and they close.