ModelZone seeking Administration

[Ravenser]

ModelZone is reported to be seeking administration :

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10141388/2000-jobs-at-risk-as-Dwell-Internacionale-Ark-and-ModelZone-head-for-administration.html

 

There is no indication of whether they may be sold and continue trading, though the website is still up.

 

Assuming this is correct , it will be a significant blow, especially to modellers in and around London . They may not have been perfect, but they were at least better than nothing , and nothing may  be what is now available. In addition I believe the Signal Box , Rochester were ultimately owned by Model Zone

[andyman7]

Hmmm, that won't be good news for the hobby unless they are bought out as they provide a rare high street presense for the hobby. I wonder what the underlying story is?

[woodenhead]

Thought they were still linked to TMC which is where some of the Modelzone shops began. But I can see from TMC's site they are now separate entities with the shops sold to Modelzone some years back.

 

I hope they find a buyer, there aren't many shops around doing models and rc under one roof. Modelzone Trafford Centre recently moved into less prominent premises, I suppose this explains some of the reasons behind this.

[cary hill]

Despite their pricing policies still not enough money in the tills to pay the rentman then.

[jonhall]

Not entirely a surprise, the Kingston branch has been looking a bit bare for months, I did wonder how soon this might happen.

 

Jon

[stewartingram]

Must admit, I asked this sort of question months back, noticing the way the Holborn store was getting understocked. Then put it down to a combination of the "Hornby franchise" arrangement, and the move out of the big premises, allegedly due to its redevelopment into a hotel. Funny how things add up.

 

Stewart

[andyram]

The trouble is, Modelzone can't compete on prices. Apart from their limited edition locomotives and rolling stock, much of the standard range is at recommended retail price and we all know we can buy locomotives and rolling stock cheaper at model fairs, exhibitions and online. I really hope that Modelzone does not fall by the wayside as I regularly visit, and purchase items from, the store in Derby's Westfield Centre. Nowhere else in the city stocks the range of scenic items they do.

[Oldddudders]

Another Internet victim. Sign of the times, that's all. Traditional shopping in the high street is doomed, I think.

[250BOB]

Another Internet victim. Sign of the times, that's all. Traditional shopping in the high street is doomed, I think.

 

At the prices they charge, no wonder...............I sometimes pop into the Derby Modelzone in a large shopping mall, just to escape from the missus for 10 mins.  

 

Very limited stock......far from being the friendly local model shop......these I can do without, even though I am a model shop advocate, and very anti internet where possible.

 

Use it or lose it.

[Bilbo]

Beatties Mark 2 ?

[Orinoco]

Yeah, can't blame Beatties on the Internet!

 

More like getting overstretched/bad business model/recession....?

[surfsup]

Yeah, can't blame Beatties on the Internet!

 

More like getting overstretched/bad business model/recession....?

 

True. I can't help but to think though, could Modelzones fate not have been helped by the problems of Hornby's supply chain woes? If you can't get hold of the models or modellers having to return items (the 67s for example?) or am I just putting 2+2 together and making 7?   

[birdseyecircus]

What a shame - hope they find a buyer.

The Hull store was fairly well stocked but the Hornby stuff seemed to never change - due to Hornby's supply issues, whilst bizarrely their Bachmann stock levels were heavily reduced.

 

Must admit the last 6 months has seen the store stock  more Lego stuff - which is starting to drift away from the  core model side of things.

 

Paul

[alfsboy]

A recession might have something to do with it .i have heard of other businesses noticing a sharp down turn recently as cuts start to bite .Often its worse just before it gets better but it may well not show up until a few years after .Companies like that need customers spending a lot of money  all the time ,not bargain snatchers.I havnt been in a big store  or mall for years .Its straight on the net  to buy just about anything .Same for my wife,though she uses my accounts not trusting the internet for banking and finance ,which doesnt surprise me as she worked in a bank .

[Tase]

What about people who have preorders with them? Should they cancel or make a claim against their credit card company in due course?

[Xerces Fobe2]

It was not if, but when this model train crash was going to occur.

 

XF

[paul-dereham]

Shame, but not unexpected. I used the one in Norwich but mainly for paints, adhesives and the like. Picked up a couple of cheap n gauge wagons a couple of weeks ago and was talking to them about how their n gauge stuff had been run down to virtually non existent.

[Horsetan]

I don't think I've ever bought anything from Modelzone, despite browsing the old Holborn shop from time to time.

[andyman7]

What about people who have preorders with them? Should they cancel or make a claim against their credit card company in due course?

They don't ask for deposits for preorders so it shouldn't be too much of an issue 

[The Stationmaster]

It was not if, but when this model train crash was going to occur.

 

XF

Exactly so - Modelzone's financial woes are hardly out of the surprise packet and it probably all boils down to whether or not someone else is now prepared to have a go with the chain.  An interesting view i saw propounded a while back was questioning to what extent their apparent stockholding is really theirs and it does of course seem fairly definite that as far as Hornby is concerned they are a concession with pricing set by Hornby (and of course they were stocking items that 'ordinary' retailers couldn't get, e.g. the 2 BIL and they still have  GW 8 coupled tanks in some branches).

 

As far as I'm concerned their loss would be a nuisance as they carry a good range of Woodlands Scenic stuff plus other modelling materials and paints and they're a relatively simple train ride and stroll away, the alternative is over an hour's drive although it is a model shop I use regularly.

 

The other interesting angle if they do fold (and I hope they don't) is what is going to happen with Hornby as they would lose a good spread of concession outlets in relatively good market situations giving them wider exposure.  Will we perhaps see ordinary retailers actually receiving the quantities they've ordered?

[Philip Jackson]

i just ordered http://www.modelzone.co.uk/special-offers/thomas-with-annie-clarabel-train-set.html so hopefully it arrives for my sons birthday

[Mel_H]

What about people who have preorders with them? Should they cancel or make a claim against their credit card company in due course?

 

 

In my limited experience, Modelzone don't charge until the item comes in. Might be an issue for Bachmann, which will have to find other outlets, but I'm sure if demand is there, they will. Depends on the contract. Of course, going into Administration does not automatically lead to liquidation. The whole point is that the under-lying business is a going concern - normally with short-term finance issues - and businesses can be bought from Administration (although slimmed down). Jessops is a good example of this. Anyway, it's still bad news...

[RCAR6015]

I wonder what will happen to the Model Zone " limited editions " in the pipeline from Bachmann?

Will we see the recently announced CCT's and the Post Office POT now be released as a standard Bachmann product?

[MarkC]

Of course, local councils putting up rent/rates well in excess of inflation, coupled with the excessive car parking charges now being levied in towns & cities, and it's no wonder that traditional high street shops are closing down. That's before the internet revolution is factored in. I fear that we've reached passed the tipping point for the high street age.

 

Mark

[Jamiel]

Within 15 miles of Leeds we have two very good model shops, who sell at discounts competitive with net suppliers, and I know there is another I haven't been to see yet in Wakefield. Both of those two are on the edge of towns, Bradford and Morley.

 

We lost one local(ish) shop in Wakefiled, but that was as much to the retirement of the brothers who ran it, and the problems of selling a property and stock all as one.

Modelzone shops are in the center of cities, and I now find I don't want to pay nearly £10 parking before I even think about shopping, plus presumably due to their overheads, they sold at list price, or often 10% more than internet, and the shops I mentioned above, so it just doesn't make sense for me to shop there, except for their limited editions.

The Leeds shop seemed to have very little Bachmann stock when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I did wonder if they had stopped selling them, but perhaps Bachmann were holding back on stock sensing there might be problems. Sad, the Leeds shop had some helpful, knowledgeable and friendly staff.

It would be a pity to lose the limited editions, but someone else is likely to look at that market. I wouldn't have thought that it would affect the manufacturers that badly, but is just part of the move of shopping out of expensive city centers to more reasonably, and shopper friendly areas, and of course the net.