Squires to take over DJH products

[AY Mod]

From Roger Lewis of Squires.

 

"DJH Loco Ltd.

 

I am sure many will have heard the sad news that DJH Group Ltd are closing down and ceasing all manufacturing.

 

I am very pleased to say that Squires are purchasing the assets of DJH Model Loco Ltd.

 

This includes the tooling, masters, cads, original drawings etc to produce the ranges previously offered, this includes the O Gauge, OO and HO ranges and the Motor and Gearboxes that DJH produced.

 

We wish to continue the Ready to Run range of O Gauge Locos and to also offer the bespoke building service as currently offered by DJH.

 

There will be little or no complete stock available to buy on completion, and there is literally tons of moulds, masters, etches, spares and machines to be moved before we can start production again.

 

A lot of work to do but very excited.

 

Yes, Squires "went shopping" again!"

[Hibelroad]

Good news indeed, DJH were well made and easy to build kits and it good to know that the range will be in safe hands.  

[Mallard60022]

Motors and gearboxes were excellent. Ready built were great value.

I hope this works for Squires.

Phil

[Richard_A]

I am glad about this, I have looked and looked at their range and just as I think about buying one, they give up. 

[YT-1300]

2 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

Very good news, however the lack of an e-commerce website precludes some from an easy ordering experience.

 

 

What ever did we do before the internet...

[ardbealach]

35 minutes ago, YT-1300 said:

What ever did we do before the internet...

Can you still get postal orders?  (Alisdair)

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

So is production ceasing in Consett and moving elsewhere? just if your keeping the ready built models is the model makers been kept employed who build them?

[Clearwater]

4 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

Very good news, however the lack of an e-commerce website precludes some from an easy ordering experience.

 

 

can they buy Hatton’s system?

[Clearwater]

1 hour ago, YT-1300 said:

What ever did we do before the internet...

Different less efficient methods of purchase.   Do you want to turn the clock back on other inventions too?  Progress is good otherwise we’d all still be in caves….

[Enterprisingwestern]

8 hours ago, Clearwater said:

 Progress is good otherwise we’d all still be in caves….

 

Do you think we'd be worse off?!!

 

Mike.

[YT-1300]

9 hours ago, Clearwater said:

Different less efficient methods of purchase.   Do you want to turn the clock back on other inventions too?  Progress is good otherwise we’d all still be in caves….

I didn't mention turning the clock back, merely pointing out that we managed to order things remotely, very successfully, before the internet.

[YT-1300]

4 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

I've said this on other threads, but if you want to encourage young people into the hobby and especially into model making then having so many kit/wheel/tool/accessory/etc manufacturers still stuck using long out of date methods of mail order or direct stand sales only is not a good way of doing it. The world has changed, and it has never been easier to set up commerce.

I do agree with you, however Squires have a HUGE product inventory and it would take a lot of time,  and a lot of money to set up.  

 

Considering that Squires attend shows up and down the country, practically every weekend, I'd rather they continued to provide the great, reliable, service and products that they do, than divert time and money into developing a slicker e-commerce site that may, or may not add value to their business.

 

Newer isn't always better, sometimes we need the traditional way of doing things to exist in this current hi-tech world.

[Izzy]

Given that postal orders no longer exist AFAIK and the vast majority don’t have cheque accounts, electronic means of some kind for payment are needed. I see you can now order online, and then pay via credit/debit card, BACS, or PayPal, following an invoice, so it seems Squires are covering these problems. Given the vast range of small bits and pieces they stock perhaps this is more managable for them if they don’t have the resources to be able to generate and maintain a ‘live’ stock level system. This also seems preferable to me than ordering and paying from e-commerce sites that don’t have current stock levels where items are o/s which then gets frustrating and annoying if available elsewhere. 

[Bucoops]

4 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Given that postal orders no longer exist AFAIK and the vast majority don’t have cheque accounts, electronic means of some kind for payment are needed. I see you can now order online, and then pay via credit/debit card, BACS, or PayPal, following an invoice, so it seems Squires are covering these problems. Given the vast range of small bits and pieces they stock perhaps this is more managable for them if they don’t have the resources to be able to generate and maintain a ‘live’ stock level system. This also seems preferable to me than ordering and paying from e-commerce sites that don’t have current stock levels where items are o/s which then gets frustrating and annoying if available elsewhere. 

 

You can still get Postal Orders, but only up to £250 which doesn't go far these days.

[cctransuk]

55 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

I've said this on other threads, but if you want to encourage young people into the hobby and especially into model making then having so many kit/wheel/tool/accessory/etc manufacturers still stuck using long out of date methods of mail order or direct stand sales only is not a good way of doing it. The world has changed, and it has never been easier to set up ecommerce.

 

We've been here (many times) before - but e-commerce is just an extra task to set up and a cost to the trader.

 

Fine for larger operators, but too much hassle for small traders such as myself, who offer items at little above cost in order to assist other modellers.

 

If you want to avail yourself of such items, you may have to make a little more effort than clicking a key.

 

John Isherwood,

Cambridge Custom Transfers.

[Richard_A]

Personally, I'm glad they will be available at some point in the future, how they want paying is of little concern to me. 

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, YT-1300 said:

I do agree with you, however Squires have a HUGE product inventory and it would take a lot of time,  and a lot of money to set up.  

 

Considering that Squires attend shows up and down the country, practically every weekend, I'd rather they continued to provide the great, reliable, service and products that they do, than divert time and money into developing a slicker e-commerce site that may, or may not add value to their business.

 

Newer isn't always better, sometimes we need the traditional way of doing things to exist in this current hi-tech world.

 

They have taken over Southeastern Finecast and it seems to be working OK, adding extra loco kits to the range should increase the viability of both ranges through economy of scale, plus to a certain extent those locos still on sale complement the SEF range, one interesting thought would be will they reintroduce some of the discontinued models

 

As for affecting the show stands, I would assume they to a certain extent two different teams

 

Its quite encouraging that we are seeing ranges being taken over and continued as the NuCast partnership is growing

[hayfield]

2 minutes ago, Tim Dubya said:

 

About £2K and could easy be recouped in a day or two of online sales.  

 

Not for the smaller traders, or the traders who don't want to learn yet another skill.

 

But as one of those who tends to buy more through the mail a good website is a godsend 

[YT-1300]

1 hour ago, Tim Dubya said:

My comment was aimed directly at those who are disabled and unable to use a telephone for one reason or another.  Email to transfer bank details is a definite no, no.

 

It's the 21st Century FFS!

 

You don't need to transfer your bank details over email when ordering from them

 

1 hour ago, Tim Dubya said:

 

About £2K and could easy be recouped in a day or two of online sales.  

For a properly functioning live stock e-commerce site it cost far in excess of £2k, and an incredible amount of time to list all the stock. And a fair amount of time maintaining it.

 

Then, if this results in extra sales, more time is taken up by extra packing and posting tasks.

 

 

 

[YT-1300]

1 hour ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

I do sympathise with small, one man operation businesses where they are barely making a profit at the best of times. However I don't see Squires as that, which is the point of this whole conversation. Of course I'm pleased all these ranges are going to survive, it's fantastic! But that doesn't stop it being slightly annoying that ranges such as DJH and Scalelink (which WERE easy to buy online) will now be less so.

But how less so?  

 

You fill out the order form, they get back to you with payment details, you pay then get it delivered.  Simple and easy.

 

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

I'm afraid to say attitudes like that generally stop me from using certain companies. Essentially calling potential customers lazy is not the best way to conduct business.

 

I never once said I wouldn't use a company that uses analogue/out of date methods, I simply said it is potentially off putting to customers.

 

What you, and so many proponents of e-commerce overlook is that many suppliers of components, including myself, are not actively looking for new custom, nor do we rely on that income.

 

We produce items for our own use and offer them to the wider modelling community. Our main objective is our own modelling - providing items to others can be a distraction.

 

If you want said items you can get them on our terms; if that doesn't suit, then so be it .......

 

CJI.

 

 

[YT-1300]

Just now, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

Surely the whole point of business is to grow? To reach as many people as possible? Again not talking about tiny one man band type ones here.

"If this results in extra sales" If it does, than good! Extra sales is what you want in a business! 😄

Businesses want extra sales of course, but that has to be weighed up against delivering a good service,  Extra sales may not generate enough revenue to take on an extra employee, so part of the business will suffer.

 

Just seeing the amount of stock they take to shows week in, week out, and travelling all over the country, it makes me wonder just how they have time for anything else.  

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

I'm afraid to say attitudes like that generally stop me from using certain companies. Essentially calling potential customers lazy is not the best way to conduct business.

 

I never once said I wouldn't use a company that uses analogue/out of date methods, I simply said it is potentially off putting to customers.

 

 

I'm afraid to say attitudes like that generally stop me from serving certain potential customers. Essentially calling small traders lazy is not the best way to obtain niche items.

 

CJI.

[cctransuk]

8 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

Surely the whole point of business is to grow? To reach as many people as possible? Again not talking about tiny one man band type ones here.

"If this results in extra sales" If it does, than good! Extra sales is what you want in a business! 😄

 

Knowing one's capacity to effectively serve the demand is just as important, if not more so, than a relentless pursuit of growth.

 

Business is NOT about chasing the last penny in sales - it is about building customer confidence in the service that you provide; knowing one's limits is vital.

 

As I said earlier in this thread, model railways - except for the largest RTR suppliers - are a niche market. Marketing practices in those circumstances are not transferable from the likes of Amazon or M&S.

 

If you want it, do it the way the supplier requires - there is not usually an option, so swallow your principles and get on with your modelling.

 

CJI.

[Cwmtwrch]

20 minutes ago, YT-1300 said:

Businesses want extra sales of course, but that has to be weighed up against delivering a good service,  Extra sales may not generate enough revenue to take on an extra employee, so part of the business will suffer.

Not only that, but extra sales generate extra costs in other areas, as others have implied. Potentially those additional costs can be bigger than the benefit gained. Staffing is only one area where taking on extra costs may need to be considered against the probable/possible extra benefits. Getting it wrong may be costly, both in reduced net income and in  resulting reputational damage. There may also be time implications arising from less time being available to do other things.

Edited February 17 by Cwmtwrch
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