Widnes Model Centre

Even though I had prior warning: Read this and nearly spilt my coffee again. Back to Hornby Financials.

Detracting slightly from this thread: Marketing Strategy, Wonder Woman, look what she has done for swords???? This is a model railway forum! Having just promised 87029 (Mike at C and M Models) to bring his marketing strategy to the forum. We need to sell more trains and we need it to be made loud and clear. Bring it on Mike!

I think this an excellent well thought out synopsis. If a retail colleague of mine is correct, Hornby have also had a reduction in stock of £4 million. Humbrol paints are still in some variants not in stock and have been for some time. The result for us is that we have had to obtain paints from different manufacturers. The replacements have become very popular and it is difficult to see Humbrol getting back our market share. If we haven't got it, no one else has either. Paint is essential for everything from touching up a broken vase to actually completing that Airfix model. Hornby track has been missing from stock for a considerable time and has only arrived this week. If we haven't got it you cannot buy it... step up sales of Peco. The market still is awash with Hornby sell-offs. Many shops still have lots of aged stock that was bought at higher prices and that is no good to anyone. So you reduce it to less than what you paid Hornby for and it still might be overpriced after comparing to Hornby stock dumps. When new stock arrives at higher prices it just makes the new price look outrageous. Certainly for the occasional buyer who wants something to start with and or to get their grandchildren an interest. No idea what will be in it. My experience is that with regard to Hornby many retailers are waiting to see what happens, before going back to our previous order patterns. A quick snapshot of 5 shops a few weeks ago showed we were between five of us (combined) ordering in the £100's, when in previous years it was in the £10,000's. It is better for us retailers in terms of Direct Sales with "Out of Stock... Contact your local retailer" Chances are we haven't got it either. Personally we acknowledge that Hornby are trying but there is still a long way to go. As I am writing this I have just received a text to say that we have a Hornby delivery via DPD tomorrow. No idea what will be in it. Cannot advertise when we don't know what to advertise. Fingers crossed, it might be paint. Cross more fingers and hope we can sell it! Whilst we benefit from Hornby Distribution sending out random small deliveries below Carriage Paid costs, it certainly cannot help Hornby Finances.

Perfect, photo must have been taken on a day we weren't sat outside! Can I suggest that you share your build with the staff at Carrog? Or would you mind if I forwarded it to them?

Certainly hope there will room for the tea rooms, maybe with a mini Janet outside? Looking great, really enjoying this build.

I am sure a lot of members who live in this general area are aware of the ongoing Mersey Gateway and Runcorn Widnes Bridge traffic disruption. At the moment it is difficult during the normal working day and even weekends to get into Widnes from via the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge or from Liverpool South. In an effort to make it easier for our customers, as from Wednesday 21st June 2017 we will remain open until 8pm. This will be until further notice.

I would still take that up as a warranty claim. I might have a shop but I still buy models for myself. Was it fit for purpose? We still resolve issues that are out of warranty with the consent and help of the manufacturer/importer, albeit this tends to be on the radio controlled models we sell. Not sure what relevant act was in place when these were sold, Sale of Goods or Consumer Protection. But as consumer protection is relevant now, within that act you may have to prove the item was faulty when you received it. That seems fairly easy given this forum. I am currently fighting a similar issue for a friend. Not within any hobby I would add. The retailer is blaming the manufacturer, the manufacturer says there was a known fault and the retailer was aware. The customer (my friend) has been fobbed off basically. As a retailer the law is not on my side and we should use it but I would add with a sense of fairness and honesty. I say that as we have had faulty goods returned to us and on examination by ourselves and the supplier, customers have been trying it on shall we say? I would add that Hattons may have commissioned these loco's but the fault clearly lies at the manufacturers door.

Yes, it was posted with all good intentions. I am aware of the problems with these loco's. The guide price as I remarked also seems to suggest that this has not been missed by the auctioneers. It is for 46256 to decide whether he wishes to spend more, his suggestion that he may take a hammer to his own suggests that he is well aware of the issue. I don't think I overlooked anything. From posts on here and various reviews, why weren't they returned to the source? It was up to the manufacturer to solve this problem. I cannot recall (without going through every post) seeing any comment from the trade.

You could try buying another one. It has the Aston's Auctioneers guide at £60-80. Aston's have always had very knowledgeable staff from my dealings with them. Lot 215 OO Gauge. Heljan. LMS Beyer Garratt. No. 4978 weathered edition. OO Gauge. Heljan. LMS Beyer Garratt. No. 4978 weathered edition. Overall G+ with part box Powered by Translate * Auction sale details Toy & Model Railway Auction Sale Date(s) 08 Jun 2017 10:00 BST Venue Address Baylies Hall Tower Street Dudley West Midlands DY1 1NB United Kingdom Ask auctioneer about this lot Category Models, Toys, Dolls & Games Important information & T&C's for this Sale Live Auction: 08 Jun 2017 10:00 BST Estimate: 60 GBP - 80 GBP Additional fees apply Current bid: 40 GBP

I have had a reply from my GWR man, he says "varying shades of cream!" Sadly I no longer have any living relatives who worked on the railway. As a young boy I spent my summers staying with relatives in Aberystwyth. Trips to Devil's Bridge were a frequent day out, especially if it was raining. I stayed just around the corner from the station. Great memories of a time gone bye. Always seemed to end up covered in ash from leaning out of the carriage window. Too young to ride on the footplate though.

Yes, it was the swatch I was referring to. On my monitor it definitely shows as a lemon tint. I meant to add that there is some references to modelling the Welsh Valleys and other links. Perhaps the author could be contacted? I have also contacted a friend of mine who among his other duties has to repaint their stock on a heritage GWR line. I await his reply to pass on. Hopefully he won't just reply "Cream" but may have a colour paint reference.

This may help Graham. http://www.gwr.org.uk/liverieschoccream.html

Our magazine sales have all but disappeared and customers have now worked out when the next free issue is due. We receive around 100 free copies and they all go. To answer Gas Cupboard we have never dealt with the new distributors. On reading this, we won't be. As Mike says it is hard enough to sell magazines. It isn't worth the effort.

Wonder if Hatton's will let Hornby have some then? Yes, the track has been wrongly marked for as long as I can remember.

Sad to say, that is not the only piece of track that is out of stock. R8262 Fourth Radius Double Curves has been out of stock for quite some time. There is no actual Peco or Bachmann equivalent. Other track pieces that are out of stock do have a Peco part that is suitable. If anyone is interested we have had one R8262 for quite some time. Not sure on the latest update, according to the website it is June. When I ordered the aforementioned track I was told it was due in August. I asked which year. I totally agree with the OP, Hornby should never run out of track. But then again please do not ask for matt black acrylic (Humbrol 33) in any shop, I don't think anyone has it. It doesn't even appear on the Humbrol website. Reason given.... "we are changing the artwork and we are not sure when it will be back in stock" Artwork, it's a pot of paint!!!

Outsourcing and delivering to wrong addresses is down to Hornby to sort out. We shouldn't have to make phone calls to get to the right address. The distributors can only go on the information they are provided with by Hornby.

Hopefully who ever is in charge can explain why our Hornby delivery was sent to our home address. Is this Hornby's idea of getting retailers to feel more at home with them? Basics, can we get back to them please?

Maybe even more basic than that. Hornby and Scalextrix Track in short supply. Please don't ask for matt black paint.

From our experience, young children/teenagers do come into the shop. They are in the mainlooking for trains that they can see every day only 1/2 a mile away or running at the back of Hattons own store on the WCML. The younger ones are looking to see the Thomas range. Hornby brought out Spencer some years ago as a Limited Edition with a price of around £120. Our location still has a great many train spotters of all ages. Drive from Widnes to Warrington and go over a bridge and you will often see them there. Go to the nearest Heritage Railway and you will also see lots of youngsters, but have they been taken there by grandfathers/fathers? Try taking them on a Thomas Day and you had better get there early. Many posters have already stated they need the layout on a baseboard. This area must be full of layouts under beds and hinged on bedroom walls. The local diy shop is the recommended place to visit after the model shop. Our local family run diy shop now has an extensive knowledge of what is suitable for model railway baseboards. Realistically there is nothing in the current Railroad range to satisfy their needs. Airfix is still very popular with youngsters. Scalextric is not so as the space required means it generally has to be lifted up after every use. Corgi is a non starter in our experience. Back to the matter of Hornby and as I hinted earlier, bank balance and p and l can be millions of miles or £'s apart.

You are correct that the third party is responsible for the above. As you say Phil, Hornby should have control, they appear not to have such control. Other retailers will agree, we often have deliveries which amount to around £20 worth of goods in a large box. Cost of picking, packing, transport, invoicing etc? The next day we can have a much larger delivery. Last week I had a courier deliver a very small package tracked and signed for, the cost of goods inside £1.11p I think it was. Even the courier was laughing.

Hi David, I get that part of it. But I was under the impression that Hornby had to raise the cash through a share issue. Was that not part of the conditions imposed by Barclays to extend the loan of £8million? Barclays still hold the loan surely? If Barclays decided they wanted the loan repaid?

Totally agree, we have seen no improvement in the way we are dealt with by Hornby. All retailers want Hornby to survive and return to profit. We made a loss in our last year and a big chunk was our enforced move to larger premises when the building we rented was repossessed. But on the sales side the losses were from Hornby products that we had bought at a higher price and we had to sell at a loss to compete. Hornby clearance prices in my opinion, devalued the product. I would think, actually I know as does 87029 that there are a lot of retailers who are in this same position. I may still be taking a too simplistic view. But if my shop was £7million in debt and we had a cash injection of £8million from investors then our balance sheets would show us in profit. But if we had to repay that £8million would we still be showing any profit? The modelling industry is going through very tough times at the moment. The decline in the pound has been very significant. Every supplier we buy from has increased their prices. One major supplier has moved it's entire operation away from the UK and there are now no UK Staff. This is a company much bigger then Hornby. The price increases have been necessary in my view but it doesn't make it easier. Every month we hear of shops closing down. The very recent change in business rates should have helped but in fact ours have increased. We were led to believe that we would pay zero business rates, not so. Our current business rates are £6440.50p, our location is outside the town centre. The Valuation Office have re-located us into the town centre. The difference between ourselves and other shops in the same road, a gap of 8 feet which leads to a private car park at the rear.

Thanks Clearwater as I said someone would know better. But what happens to the £8 million?

Not wishing to seem downbeat, there are people on here who I feel confident will correct me if I am wrong. Hornby raised I think £8 million pound from a share issue. They have according to their reported figures turned a £7 million deficit into a small profit. Is that the change from the £8 million? I recently made a substantial purchase from Hornby. Two loco's, one carriage, 6 wagons, rail joiners, track rubbers and Skaledale buildings were missing from the delivery. It took two weeks for them to declare that they couldn't be found and would credit our account. In my opinion that is a lot of stock to go missing. That is a loss to Hornby and ourselves. How can so much stock from one delivery go missing? As for track rubbers, has anybody bought one that is actually rubber in texture? Its about 18 months since I reported to Hornby that they were breaking up as the rubber was no longer rubber.

Thanks to those members who have helped "fix" the buffers.