Hattons New Store Development

[Andy Y]

Hatton's - Store Development Project

“In September 2015 we relocated our Contact Centre to the Hatton’s Hub near Widnes, as part of a longer-term plan to improve the store. However, due to the current condition of the building at 364 Smithdown Road, this plan has been revised and the decision has been made to relocate our store to the Hatton’s Hub at 17 Montague Road, WA8 8FZ.
A temporary shop will be set up at the Hatton’s Hub from Thursday 21st of January, with unchanged opening hours. The 364 Smithdown Road store closes on Wednesday 20th January at 5pm.

During the next 3 months we will be introducing a new and modern store at the Hatton’s Hub that will have its official opening in April of this year, enabling us to provide the following benefits:

Dedicated customer parking
Full stock inventory accessible for immediate purchase over the counter
Click-and-collect within 30 minutes
DCC fitting on site (both standard and sound)
Pre-owned trade-in and sales fully accessible
Major road links straight from motorways from all over the North West making us more accessible
Space for demonstrations and social meet-ups
All staff on site and available for help with questions

Our phone number will continue to be 0151 733 3655 and all other services will be maintained as usual.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you to our new store from Thursday 21st of January at 9am.”



If you have any more questions then please check out our FAQ at ehattons.com/store. Alternatively you can contact us over the phone or via info@ehattons.com

[Andy Y]

Now in public domain.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Irresistible to comment that 'Hatton's Hub' = centre of RTR model railway universe.

[Free At Last]

Well that spells the end of my visits to my local model shop just for a browse and impulse purchase that I have been doing since the '70s. 

I have always collected my online orders over the counter too, looking forward to the train and bus journey using my travel pass.

The end of an era.

[gismorail]

Wow thats news indeed no Hattons in Smithdown Road . From a personal view point its good news as the site of the new 'hub' it is a very easy place to get too, having said that it will be once the new Mersey Gateway has been completed.  I have called into the shop a couple of times before Christmas and very impressed with the changes that had been made and very helpful staff .

[darrel]

Visited the Smithdown road shop many times, as a Beatles fan it's always great to wander round penny lane, lots of Beatles related places there. Apart from the obvious bank, barbers and shelter in the middle of the roundabout. There is St Barnabas church where Paul was a choir boy, and 9 Newcastle road where John lived.

The current shop is great I remember going to the old small shop further up the road. The staff have always been very pleasant and helpful.

 

How do you get to the new shop by public transport? Nearest bus stop? Etc

[APOLLO]

I too will miss the old shop, especially rummaging through the (recent) "tat" in the cabinets and finding the odd gem (to me !!).

 

I wonder if they will have the cabinets in their new shop - have to wait and see.

 

Yes, without a car it's in the middle of nowhere, not really in Widnes. Hattons state the nearest railway station is Hunt's Cross, with a taxi rank outside.

 

http://www.ehattons.com/store

 

I don't think any buses run near, though may be wrong but I can't find any easy info - it's a small newish industrial estate off a busy dual c/way with no footpaths. Dead easy in a car though.

 

Brit15

[cromptonnut]

Wow thats news indeed no Hattons in Smithdown Road . From a personal view point its good news as the site of the new 'hub' it is a very easy place to get to

 

Not by public transport it isn't easy to get to.  In fact, impossible.

[Peter Beckett]

I visited the "old" shop in the seventies when working in Liverpool and the "new" shop in 2012. The end of an era. I looked up where the new place is using google street and its in the middle of nowhere.I won't be visiting when in Liverpool this year as I am relying on trains for transport.

I wonder if Smiffdown is Heritage listed? 

 

Peter

[tarifa]

Maybe Hattons are not bothered about the location, relying for most of their trade on mail order, that being the hub of their business

 

Mike.

[sammyboy]

I know that Hatton's is not anywhere near my local model shop - I am lucky to have one just down my road in Chesterfield, (Quick plug for WD Models!) but I have looked at the location of this new shop and found that there is a railway running right past it.

For those who commented above about it being in a bad place for public transport, start a strong campaign for the building of a station!

 

Sam

[iak]

The end of an era?

Mind that new place is closer to me now.

Access is a bit limited mind if we one does not have ones own transport.

Sign of the times methinks? Oh well...

[Stevelewis]

Probably  a very  sensible  move ( it  was  rumoured  that  they  were setting  up  shop in a disused factory? building in Speke a few years ago but that never came to anything)

 

I reckon that  overall   the location will attract more customers visitng in person 

 

As far as the Internet sales are concerned there will  probably be no discernable difference  to the  already  first class  service,

[mpb56125]

I already use the warehouse to collect my pre-orders since November last year as it's only 10 minutes away, Just hope they put a bigger sign on the gate entrance for everyone to find. The first time I went there the only give away was a small sign.

 

Mark

http://www.mark5812.smugmug.com

[gismorail]

Not by public transport it isn't easy to get to.  In fact, impossible.

Yes I do agree with you on that one and I'm fairly certain that the buses don't get around that area. Be interesting to see what Hattons say about the transport situation as they will be the ones that know and must have considered this situation before making this decision. 

[Horsetan]

I visited the "old" shop in the seventies when working in Liverpool and the "new" shop in 2012. The end of an era. ....

I wonder if Smiffdown is Heritage listed? 

 

Just as well I managed to visit it, even if it was only just the once.

[gismorail]

Closed by Railtrack many years ago. The future? Halton Borough Council made this declaration many years ago.

 

Halton Borough Council has protected the site of the station as well as the Halton Curve from development prejudicial to their reuse as part of the rail network; the Council notes that "there is an opportunity for the re-opening of this station, particularly with the possible increase in patronage from major industrial, commercial and housing developments in the area. It may be possible to use the station as a park and ride facility."^[8] The alignment of the "Shell Green Route" which linked Ditton with Widnes South and Warrington is also protected.

 

BUT, I cannot think of any safe way that would enable pedestrians to reach the new shop, even if the station was re-opened. So that appears to be a "No".

Just as an aside work is currently going being undertaken on Halton Curve and from what I have found out the crossing will not being going in for a while I think this plan might come to plan once 'The Bridge' is completed. The whole of Halton Borough Council is obsessed with this bridge scheme which to be honest most local people feel is a total waste of money, but that's another story. 

In the meantime comments about public transport are correct and to be honest it's not the sort of place to visit in the current traffic problems around the area. It took me just under an hour the other week in the wagon to get from the M56 to the approach to the old bridge, if I'd know it would have been quicker to go around via Thelwall and the M6. but I was tipping just the other side in Widnes.  If you are wishing to go I would strongly recommend middle of the day 

[Free At Last]

gismorail, on 20 Jan 2016 - 13:04, said:

Yes I do agree with you on that one and I'm fairly certain that the buses don't get around that area. Be interesting to see what Hattons say about the transport situation as they will be the ones that know and must have considered this situation before making this decision. 

 

They have suggested you can get so far by public transport and the rest of the way by taxi...

 

[Horsetan]

^^
That's going to be one expensive trip, both ways!! 

[JohnR]

^^

That's going to be one expensive trip, both ways!! 

Although to be fair, every trip I've made to Hattons shop has been an expensive trip

[Coryton]

Yes I do agree with you on that one and I'm fairly certain that the buses don't get around that area. Be interesting to see what Hattons say about the transport situation as they will be the ones that know and must have considered this situation before making this decision. 

 

My experience suggests that people who don't use public transport themselves don't always consider the needs of those who do.

 

Given that Hattons is primarily a mail-order company with "counter sales" presumably a small fraction of what they do, it's probably the right move. But not helpful for people who can't drive there.

 

A shame they couldn't have found a site like Gaugemaster/The Engine shed. In the middle of nowhere (and presumably therefore cheap land) but couldn't be closer to a station.

[Poggy1165]

Really is the end of an era. I can recall my Dad writing to Smithdown Road to buy stuff for me. Must have been the early 1960s.

[Andy Y]

I was up at Hatton's this morning to see the last day of the Smithdown Road shop and the massive job of relocating with a look behind the scenes at the Hub for you.

 

The shop was still presentable and servicing call-in customers today at the same time as display cases started the move in a fleet of vans to-ing and fro-ing between the shop and the Hub at Montague Road.

 

 

 

 

An empty stock room!

 

 

Moving over to Montague Road now, outside the Hub there's plenty of parking for customers, something which was always a bit fraught in the proximity of Smithdown Road.

 

 

The temporary shop described in the first post will be just right of the entrance doors, it was still a conference room this morning but it'll look somewhat different tomorrow morning.

 

 

The permanent shop will be set up across the front of the warehouse building which is where deliveries are currently received.

 

 

A view over the main warehouse shows goods inwards to the left, stock through most of the floorspace with fast turnover items grouped together in one area for ease of picking. Bubble wrap arrives periodically by the container load!

 

 

 

Orders are picked and prepared for despatch.

 

 

All labelled up and ready to be collected for delivery.

 

 

The test bench and DCC fitting facilities.

 

 

The photo studio where every product is photographed for the website.

 

 

Upstairs are the offices and Customer Contact Centre which has been operating from the Hub since September where all the calls and communications are handled.

 

 

The working conditions for all of the staff are significantly improved when you compare the facilities old and new with a spacious canteen which can handle the lunchtime rush from the warehouse.

 

 

So what we see is a significant business within the hobby investing in its future and employees and looking more like a successful 21st century business than retailing on the edge of a town or city. Hatton's celebrate 70 years trading this year and it certainly looks ready to move forward well beyond that.

[APOLLO]

Thanks Andy for posting the above pictures. Slightly shocked that Smithdown Road is no more. I liked a visit to the Pool, calling at Hattons, then down to the waterfront for Fish & Chips at Harry Ramsdens and the Chinese Supermarket just off the Derby Rd alongside the dock road. Intend to do the same in future via Widnes (and visit the other model shop too).

 

I did 26 years on engineering standby Warrington / Widnes / Runcorn so I know the area well. The new facility really is "out of the way" but is very easy by car. Best (quickest) route from the south / east & north is along the M62 (from M6 interchange at Warrington) then left down the A5300. I would say 10-15 mins from Warrington. Avoid the Widnes - Runcorn bridge if you can, always on the local road news - heavy delays etc. Chaos round there every day.

 

I wonder how big the shop bit will be, and will there be a mix of new / second hand in the cabinets ?.

 

I hope to take a look in April when the main shop bit opens.

 

Good luck Hattons

 

Brit15

[Andy Y]

 

I wonder how big the shop bit will be, and will there be a mix of new / second hand in the cabinets ?.

 

 

Having looked at the area today it should be an increase in square footage and easy to set out well. Yes, there will be new and secondhand on show, a lot easier to manage if everything's on one site which will give better product availability to call-in customers than has been the case.

 

I made it back to the M6 (J20) in a fraction over 15 minutes taking in Runcorn bridge (one of my favourites) which is certainly quicker than I ever did Croft to Smithdown Road.