Hornby, A Model World. Series 2.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

Moving production to SpaceX, something for the crews of the Dragon capsule to do whilst they traverse to and from the International Space Station with nothing else to do as it's all automated.

 

Or Simon Kohler owns the rights to BattleSpace and he's not letting them use it.

[BroadLeaves]

2 hours ago, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

There was a set of Thomas The Tank Engine things produced for the Japanese market, and they were known as the "Capsule Range".

Of course, those might just be a wind-up....

[MarkSG]

6 hours ago, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

 

"Capsule range" is a marketing term for a selected set of products that are marketed together but are representative of the products as a whole. It's a term which originated in fashion, but has since become more widely used.

 

An example from the fashion industry, where the term is common, would be a range of children's clothing branded with Toy Story characters. The products cross the entire range of clothing, including shirts, trousers, pyjamas, dresses, underwear, etc, but are linked with the common theme. 

 

Hornby already has some ranges that could be described as capsule ranges. For example, the Harry Potter range covers locomotives, rolling stock and buildings. That is, different types of products linked by a theme. I'm not sure there's a huge amount of scope for more capsule ranges within the model railway products, but, of course, Hornby is far more than just a model railway company. I suspect that they're looking at the marketing of some of their other brands.

[RJS1977]

10 hours ago, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

 

A scarlet Tube train with a DCC sound chip that says "Minador"....

[The Stationmaster]

On 21/07/2023 at 12:50, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

You need to do a lot of deep ploughing through the Annual Financial Report to get any sort of idea what it means.   An implication in the Financial Report is that it will be simpler to manufacture and therefore able to sell at a lower price point and thus help Hornby to recapture sales in the 'national retailer' market (which no doubt means both mail order houses and those department type stores and nationally spread toy retailers etc).  

 

Putting various things in the Report together and possibly reaching an incorrect conclusion that goes along with the huge spend on stock for the 2023 Christmas period which didn't sell, meant heavy borrowing, and a big addition to expensive inventory stocks.   I might of course not be correctly adding the various 2+2s to be found in that Report.

 

The term 'capsule range' is noted as being used for whatever is being developed in it for  Hornby, Scalextric and Airfix;  so it might mean something else?  According to the Financial Report examples of the capsule range might be shown at the AGM so presumably we will get further, hopefully more detailed, coverage in the Annual Report when it is publish in early September.

 

You can make of all that whatever you will and you're welcome to do your own burrowing through the depths of the Financial Report and reach your own conclusions - the more the merrier perhaps?   I tend to a personal view that it might be Design Clever Mk2 with knobs on (but those knobs in my opinion won't be handrail knobs).  Come September we should, if their plans start to come to fruition, find out how right or wrong I am.   But, as an aside,  I believe that Hornby have already this year cancelled the  development of what would most likely have been a hi-fi 00 loco they began work on last year.

 

As for their main focus moving forwards I do wonder if we'll see some big changes as the compan y moves towards managerial emphasis on getting sam]es revenue through the door.

[pete_mcfarlane]

And there was me thinking that 'capsule range' meant that Airfix were going to do some 1960s spacecraft....

 

(Actually, one of those new NASA moon rockets would make a great kit, along the lines of the Saturn V they did year ago)

 

I suppose we could hope that 'capsule range' means releasing locos and coaches to go with them all at the same time.  

[RJS1977]

18 hours ago, MarkSG said:

 

"Capsule range" is a marketing term for a selected set of products that are marketed together but are representative of the products as a whole. It's a term which originated in fashion, but has since become more widely used.

 

An example from the fashion industry, where the term is common, would be a range of children's clothing branded with Toy Story characters. The products cross the entire range of clothing, including shirts, trousers, pyjamas, dresses, underwear, etc, but are linked with the common theme. 

 

Hornby already has some ranges that could be described as capsule ranges. For example, the Harry Potter range covers locomotives, rolling stock and buildings. That is, different types of products linked by a theme. I'm not sure there's a huge amount of scope for more capsule ranges within the model railway products, but, of course, Hornby is far more than just a model railway company. I suspect that they're looking at the marketing of some of their other brands.

 

Perhaps in this sense, "capsule range" could mean working together across different brands, rather than the "silo" mentality.

 

So, for HP, you've mentioned loco, rolling stock and buildings. But the Ford Anglia and the Knight Bus could be added as part of the Hornby range, or even a MicroScalextric Anglia to race against the Hogwarts Express (yes, I know the scale isn't correct), maybe with a working "whomping willow" as an accessory, along the lines of the old Minic "Mad Motorist Reversing Hazard".

[Watto1990]

If the desire is to get Hornby products back into supermarkets and department stores could the capsule range be a unified branding for entry level sets and “toys”? Beginner level Airfix kits, Railroad train sets, cheap Scalextrix sets, with a consistent brand linking them all, intended to be displayed together in the toy aisle at your Tesco Extras and your Marks & Sparks? 

[The Stationmaster]

16 hours ago, Watto1990 said:

If the desire is to get Hornby products back into supermarkets and department stores could the capsule range be a unified branding for entry level sets and “toys”? Beginner level Airfix kits, Railroad train sets, cheap Scalextrix sets, with a consistent brand linking them all, intended to be displayed together in the toy aisle at your Tesco Extras and your Marks & Sparks? 

Currently their main  aim is ti sell as much as they can as quickly as they can - we'll probably learn how successful they have been at that in September.  But they do sem to want get back into the 'national retailers' market and that means competitive pricing and (retailer's buyer) perceived value for money/sales potential.  Which is being indicated, with some frighteningly big numbers, as where the previous regime got it wrong last Christmas and that suggests is that is where they will be aiming ths coming Christmas..

 

So before coming up with the name of any and every national retailer first think back to where they had a presence on the shelves or in a catalogue in the past, plus Amazon of course.

[ess1uk]

And now the COO is leaving

[TEAMYAKIMA]

5 hours ago, ess1uk said:

And now the COO is leaving

 

For clarity : Is that Chief Operating Officer ?

[PeterStiles]

25 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

5 hours ago, ess1uk said:

And now the COO is leaving

 

For clarity : Is that Chief Operating Officer ?

Or the man in charge of pigeon impersonations?

[The Stationmaster]

16 hours ago, ess1uk said:

And now the COO is leaving

He is joining this company as the CEO .

 

https://uk.rubiesmasquerade.com

[BernardTPM]

On 21/07/2023 at 14:32, woodenhead said:

Moving production to SpaceX, something for the crews of the Dragon capsule to do whilst they traverse to and from the International Space Station with nothing else to do as it's all automated.

 

Or Simon Kohler owns the rights to BattleSpace and he's not letting them use it.

Funnily enough Tri-ang used to make SpaceX.

[MarkSG]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

He is joining this company as the CEO .

 

https://uk.rubiesmasquerade.com

 

As with any staff turnover, there are multiple different ways of interpreting this. And without actually interviewing the individuals involved (and getting them to be completely honest about their motivations), any interpretation is pure speculation.

 

On the one hand, Tim Mulhall - as of today, the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hornby - is joining a different company as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). That's a step up on the corporate ladder, and can therefore be seen as an entirely normal career progression. Not many people would turn down the opportunity of a new job at a higher level (and probably a higher salary) if it was available. So maybe this would have happened anyway, irrespective of any other factors.

 

On the other hand, Hornby's recent reorganisation, and the creation of a new CEO role (which previously did not exist, as Lyndon Davies was Executive Chairman and thus filling the role of CEO) has changed things for the other occupants of the C-suite. Both the COO and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) are now one step further way from the board - previously, they reported to the executive chairman of the board, but now they report to the CEO, who reports to the chairman of the board. So it would be entirely understandable if the COO felt that his role had been downgraded somewhat, and thus induced him to seek pastures new. Possibly even more so, if he had had his eyes on the new CEO role himself, only to see it go to someone brought in from the outside.

 

All of that, of course, is just office politics in play, and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Hornby's financial position. It's not at all unusual for an organisational revamp, or a change in the most senior role, to prompt changes in the roles below. Not necessarily because people are unhappy with the changes per se, but simply because it encourages feelings of a natural season of change. I left my job as head of UK customer service for an ISP when the staff structure was reorganised in the early 00s, not because I was unhappy with the changes but because I realised that I'd gone as far as I was going to go in that organisation and it was time to try something new. And maybe Tim Mulhall found himself in a similar position. It's not a negative reflection on the organisation, it's just a recongition of the fact that it's time to move on.

[Jeff Smith]

Also, many large companies have contract time limits for senior positions.

[BlackFivesMatter]

Are there any plans for a further series, now that there are new personalities and no doubt new challenges? 

[franciswilliamwebb]

Series 3, episode 1

 

The pressure mounts at Hornby.  With the design team still missing in the Steampunk warehouse avalanche and Simon and Montana abducted by aliens,  it falls to Natalia the cleaner to learn how to use the big computer and design her first generic diesel train before going off on maternity leave.

 

Meanwhile, in the lobby, a group of lawyers in distinctive regalia want to have firm words about the new “Inspired by the Royal Family” range.