Hornby 'Meet the Team' Event - your chance to ask questions.

[Andy Y]

We've been invited down to Hornby HQ next Thursday where Hornby will be hosting a presentation to brief the media on the changes in the business and is structured as follows:

 

 

Welcome from Nat Southworth, Sales & Brand Director, Hornby Hobbies Ltd

 

Our company structure, and who is in charge?

How our business is now organised

The Teams behind the brands

– Corgi

- Airfix/Humbrol

– Scalextric

– Hornby

 

Marketing Plans for 2014

Visitor Centre Tour – 30mins

Pete Oliver Archive Area – 30mins

Behind the Scenes Tour (Development) – 30mins

Open Mic Q&A – 30mins

 

As you can see there's a short session at the end of the day for Q&A and we'd like to include some of your questions where possible so if you've got any well structured and open questions please do drop them into the topic for us to ask if time permits in addition to some of the obvious ones we'll be asking relating to supply and delivery dates.

 

If you're posing a question in theis topic please try to make sure it's not just repetition of something that someone else has already posted.

[Ian Hargrave]

Thanks,Andy.It would be helpful if you would ask what steps they are taking to improve what for us has been the thorny matter of quality control.There will certainly be fewer gripes in this forum if significant improvement can be achieved in this area.There ARE signs it is improving withe the release of the two new W.R.Granges.

[The Stationmaster]

It might not be appropriate Andy but I remain concerned about the tangle they seem to have got into with their new contract terms for retailers and their reduction of the trade discount and the impact that will have on model shops.  

 

So I suppose the question is along these lines 'I still want to buy Hornby products from my local model shop alongside other model railway items but Hornby's recent dealings with the retail trade suggest they might no longer see this as an outlet, are you committed to the model shop business?'

[Arthur]

I'd be interested to know how they intend to develop/differentiate between the main and Railroad ranges i.e. will there be consistent, differentiating, specifications between the ranges, so that we know what to expect?

 

I appreciate that with an existing model being tweaked to be marketed in the two ranges, there are already some 'givens', but with new models, some clarity would, in my opinion, be good, clear, marketing.

[sub39h]

I guess I want to know what the state of play is in regards to modern image models? Does Hornby have any plans on increasing/refreshing its range of modern image models, particularly AC Electrics? And will we see more in the way of "end of BR" (c1993) stock? Models seem to be fairly thin on the ground from this era at the moment even tho they'd be valid for well into the privatisation period.

[surfsup]

Thanks Andy. It's a slightly similar question to Mike's one but Could you ask as to what Hornby's plans are for the models that were due to be listed as concession only models please? Since Modelzone's demise it all seems to have become rather messy, with some models making it into production and some not, while others like the FGW Mk3s seem to have initially been coming out of Hornby in dribs and drabs before finding their way to some non concession outlets. And what if possible, are Hornby doing to match up production levels for products such as the HSTs, whereby there seems to be a usual case of producing a certain quantity of HST powercars to thousands of Mk3s, or tens of thousands of TS or TFs and a smaller quantity of TGS or TRFBs, making it harder to create a rake.

 

A third possible question, is what steps are Hornby taking to improve communication with us modellers, as other companies such as the excellent Dave Jones / Dapol & RMWeb collaboration for the Westerns, Charlie and Arran at Realtrack Models and C Rail, and Bachmann who frequently show us pre production pictures which usually allow us to give them some degree of input - models such as the Hornby VEP could have been saved by this sort of listening and feedback.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

As an adjunct to Arthur's question about range differentiation, do Hornby recognise that they have a significant adult modeller market which is looking for accurate and well finished models (with good mechanisms in the case of locos) above all else, and do they intend to develop this sector?

 

In my opinion it is the present uncertainty about what standard new models will be made to that is hurting Hornby's future chances, when they get their product stream going.

[sub39h]

And what if possible, are Hornby doing to match up production levels for products such as the HSTs, whereby there seems to be a usual case of producing a certain quantity of HST powercars to thousands of Mk3s, or tens of thousands of TS or TFs and a smaller quantity of TGS or TRFBs, making it harder to create a rake.

 

Looking at the 2014 announcements have Hornby not corrected this? I know from Simon Kohler himself that in the past only one of each type of coach (TGS, TSO, buffet and TFO) were made for each HST pack, with an A variant - that meant not enough TSOs and TFOs and an excess of TGSs and buffets, some of which you still see sat on shelves. This year's release sees one TGS, 4 TSOs (standard R code, then ABC variants), a buffet and 2 TFOs (standard R code and A variant) which is enough to create a full rake. I assume they've done some calculation and worked out how many people would want a full rake and made accordingly, with some extras for those who might only want shortened rakes.

 

Whilst I know I've gone off topic and I do apologise, I wonder if Andy could maybe suggest to Hornby that for HSTs maybe it would be better to sell them as train packs, like they used to and like Dapol do for their N gauge models. HSTs are useless without coaches after all, so if maybe they sold them as a set with a HST and a TSO and TFO (or maybe a TSO and a buffet for a reasonably prototypical rake within the confines of a 2+2 train) they might be able to gauge better how many coaches to produce and that way people don't get stuck in the situation where they have HSTs and no coaches for them, or more likely that HSTs get left unsold on shelves because there are no coaches for them. 

[Mike Storey]

INTERNET RETAILING

 

If you could please ask them to confirm that individuals (i.e. not businesses) who live outside the UK will still be able to buy their Hornby products through the internet from their existing UK retailers, and not have to use the (pretty awful) Hornby website or non-UK retailers, who stock very little.

 

I know this issue was debated at length on another thread, but it only seemed to be sorted by word of mouth and "unofficial" emails from Hornby. If you could nail it at the Q&A that would be definitive.

 

Many thanks

[brushman47544]

On a similar vein to The Stationmaster about retailers, I would be interested to hear how they propose to distribute the Hornby International brands in the UK. I buy Italian outline (mostly Rivarossi) from online retailers in Italy, but would really much prefer to be able to buy from a retailer in the UK. Definitely not interested in buying from Hornby direct.

 

Secondly, since we often hear that transferring tooling between factories can result in changes to fit the new factory's machinery, I would be interested in whether and if so how the change in factory will affect our ability to swop loco and tender bodies between old (Sanda Kan) and new (Refined) chassis. To clarify by example, will it be possible to swop a high sided WC/BB tender body on the streamlined WC/BB locos to be produced by Refined with a cut down tender from an earlier Sanda Kan produced loco?

[Neal Ball]

Thanks for adding this Andy. Tricky with only 30 mins Q & A across all the range.

 

Hope the day goes well and we get an insight into where Hornby are heading ..... 

[rovex]

Are we allowed to ask questions about upcoming products? Obvious not specific ones but general ones such as

 

"will you be doing more non-corridor stock?"

[Andy Y]

Are we allowed to ask questions about upcoming products? Obvious not specific ones but general ones such as

 

"will you be doing more non-corridor stock?"

 

It's highly unlikely they'd give any answers relating to any unannounced products.

[Mark Saunders]

Will Hornby be making better use of their current assets such as new bodies for existing wagon chassis!

 

The RCH 21' 6" Over Headstocks 12' wheelbase (ex Airfix)  that is used under the RCH steel mineral could have other variants of the wagon built on it and the riveted 21t hopper could be retooled to produce other variants of the hopper plus other types of Tank wagons?

 

Or the Tope chassis used on a 21t welded hopper which I am sure would be a good seller!

 

Mark Saunders

[Ozexpatriate]

Secondly, since we often hear that transferring tooling between factories can result in changes to fit the new factory's machinery, I would be interested in whether and if so how the change in factory will affect our ability to swop loco and tender bodies between old (Sanda Kan) and new (Refined) chassis.

Slightly differently, I'd like to ask:

 

Are Hornby's new suppliers, Refined, etc are now in possession of Hornby's old tooling used at Sanda Kan/Kader Manufacturing Services?

(At some point Hornby announced that they had reached an agreement regarding their old tools.)

 

Are the new suppliers fully online, or are they experiencing ramp-up issues that constrain volumes or production slots?

 

Are their suppliers fully staffed and trained after the Lunar New Year?

 

Did the industrial dispute at Kader Manufacturing Services earlier this year impact Hornby deliveries?

 

Besides Refined and Kader do they have other railway model manufacturers? (What does CLT build?)

 

Their 2013 annual report lists Refined, Kader, CLT, Zindart and Micro Plastics (India) as manufacturers.

 

I guess that Zindart manufacturers Corgi and Micro Plastics manufactures Airfix items.

[toboldlygo]

Secondly, since we often hear that transferring tooling between factories can result in changes to fit the new factory's machinery, I would be interested in whether and if so how the change in factory will affect our ability to swop loco and tender bodies between old (Sanda Kan) and new (Refined) chassis. To clarify by example, will it be possible to swop a high sided WC/BB tender body on the streamlined WC/BB locos to be produced by Refined with a cut down tender from an earlier Sanda Kan produced loco?

 

I think you would still be able to swap loco bodies, however a lot of the older tender's have been subtly redesigned for DCC/Sound and permanent connection, so not without alteration of some kind. The later WC/BB 4,500gl  tender fitted to the DCC Sound Crewkerne has completely different innards to the older ones and that was still Sanda Kan.

[JSpencer]

Is there any chance of having cheap TTS sound within the super detailed premium models?

[Andy Y]

Please phrase questions as a question, not another moaning session. I haven't volunteered to turn individual moans into a relevant question.

[Legend]

How about" With the move to various sources of supply, what are Hornby doing to maintain an acceptable and consistent standard of quality control across the range?"

 

Another question. "How do they see the Hornby brand evolving? Will it split into high fidelity models for the enthusiast (by that I mean no moulded handrails or smoke box darts) priced appropriately while maintaining a clearly defined lower cost range for the train set market?"

 

More cheeky perhaps, but it goes to the heart of the problem. "After 5 years have they now secured manufacturing capacity to produce the Hornby range, again at acceptable quality levels?"

 

I also support the question Coachmann has put regarding supporting the model railway trade in post #3

[micklner]

Q. Is this meeting the start of a new era where they are open about what actually is occuring relating to their products. At the moment the company gives out an impression of hiding behind a smoke screen where the buying public are concerned.

[The Black Hat]

1. What are the criteria that Hornby use to decide on what would be the next choice to be made into model form?

 

2. Given the adverse trading conditions and difficulties the company has faced recently - does Hornby understand that modellers can debate the issues using online forums, and traditional media, including coming to conclusions unfavourable to the company. Do the issues raised affect the companies direction and choice of models to then be made, or how it delivers its products to the market?

 

3. Changes to the way in which companies have to offer Hornby products at RRP have changed the way in which smaller retailers compete against larger ones that buy in bulk. Do Hornby believe that such a move has benefited the market, retailers and consumers when other companies have retained the previous systems used for sales?

[APOLLO]

Has Hornby considered having retailers holding good(ish) stocks of fast moving lower cost items - i.e.Railroad range etc, leaving the expensive detailed stuff to either themselves / selected retailers / large retailers ?.

 

Packs of 3 mineral wagons at a decent price would sell well, all the year round. They could also re-introduce the CKD range (completely knocked down) from the 70's, cut a bit of cost there and win a bit more trade to the modeller who wants a bit of input to his model.

 

Joe public, young modellers and us increasingly cash strapped oldies would at least be able to buy some Hornby from our local retailer. We can't afford many £150+ locos these days.

 

Brit15

[robmcg]

Are Hornby's new suppliers, Refined, etc are now in possession of Hornby's old tooling used at Sanda Kan/Kader Manufacturing Services?

(At some point Hornby announced that they had reached an agreement regarding their old tools.)

 

Are the new suppliers fully online, or are they experiencing ramp-up issues that constrain volumes or production slots?

 

Are their suppliers fully staffed and trained after the Lunar New Year?

 

Did the industrial dispute at Kader Manufacturing Services earlier this year impact Hornby deliveries?

 

Besides Refined and Kader do they have other railway model manufacturers? (What does CLT build?)

 

Their 2013 annual report lists Refined, Kader, CLT, Zindart and Micro Plastics (India) as manufacturers.

 

I guess that Zindart manufacturers Corgi and Micro Plastics manufactures Airfix items.

Just thought I'd repeat that list of questions for Hornby and add, how is the interim financial statement for June 2014 shaping up?

 

I hope you enjoy your day Andy.

 

Rob (NZ)

[Miss Prism]

How will Hornby approach the quality assessment of the externally-sourced R&D work?

[S.A.C Martin]

Can Hornby give any indication that the majority of their 2014 range will arrive within 2014?

 

The TTS P2, for instance, is a 2014 model but the basic and top end P2s (2013 ranges) have not yet shipped.