CUCKOO LINE

I gave up my preorders for BR southern items at Hattons and moved mine to Kernow a week or two ago. All very strange as Hattons used to be reliable and was useful to put in trunk to await a collection of orders before shipping. Will be interesting to see if after a few days of items being out whether Hattons have a load available as they seem to have done with others recently.

Just a thought but when I buy something electrical from Currys I can pick similar items and do a comparison of features. What could be useful is when there are competing models of the same loco e.g. Class 47, Class 24, 66, Terrier etc to have a simple comparison of features so that the potential buyer can make an educated choice of which to go for. The buyer then can look at features and cost and make up his own mind.

sorry link didn't seem to appear to the article

RNS Number : 2022V Hornby PLC 13 April 2021 Hornby Plc ("Hornby" or "the Group") Trading Update Hornby Plc, the international models and collectibles Group, is today updating shareholders on trading for the 4th quarter ending 31 March 2021. Business Performance Group sales for the 4th quarter were very encouraging and ahead of budget and the same period last year. As a result, cumulative group sales for the financial year ended 31 March 2021 were ahead of budget and 28% ahead of the prior year. Covid-19 Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present uncertainty, both Hornby and our suppliers have been able to operate more effectively through the current restrictions than was the case in the first lockdown, as evidenced by the resilient levels of activity seen in Q4. Financial Position Net cash as at 31 March 2021 was £4.7 million compared to net cash of £5.4 million at the end of March 2020. More information will be included in the full year results announcement, which we are planning to release in June. The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. -ends- Enquiries: Hornby plc Lyndon Davies, CEO 01843 233 500 Kirstie Gould, CFO Liberum Capital Limited, Nominated Advisor and Broker Andrew Godber 020 3100 2222 Edward Thomas plus This is Money article Hornby expects full-year sales to grow by 28 per cent | This is Money

It seems that it is only Hornby items that get affected so therefore I deduce it is a problem with the way that Hornby interact with their customers. I feel sorry for the person who saves up for that something special and then their hopes get dashed. Having been in the position when I was young of having to save up for a particular item I would have been devastated if my order got cancelled, not good for encouraging people into the hobby.

Ditto

Just had my order for R60021 with Hattons cancelled, others seem to still be taking preorders though

Sorry to hear this and condolences to those particularly affected. We always particularly liked the Calne show as a family, the right size to take the whole family even those not quite so interested in Model Railways. There always seemed to be a lot of families there, good for advertising the hobby. I hope the committee can carry on with the shows as a testament to Geoff, I am sure that is what he would have wanted.

Sorry to hear this and condolences to those particularly affected. We always particularly liked the Calne show as a family, the right size to take the whole family even those not quite so interested in Model Railways. There always seemed to be a lot of families there, good for advertising the hobby. I hope the committee can carry on with the shows as a testament to Geoff, I am sure that is what he would have wanted.

Price seems to be at TBC now

Obviously quite a special edition from Hornby Website BR, Luggage Van, S 2477 S - Era 4 included in Product Info Motor 5 pole skew wound

or give modellers/collectors an incentive to buy shares ?

Just spotted Hornby issued a trading statement back on Jan 20th Hornby Plc ("Hornby" or "the Group") Trading Update Hornby Plc, the international models and collectibles Group, is today updating shareholders on trading for the period from 1 October 2020 to date, which includes the important Christmas and New Year period. Business Performance Group sales for the third quarter were positive and ahead of the same period last year. As a result, cumulative group sales for the financial year to date are ahead of last year. This has been driven by a hugely popular product range and increased global demand as consumers spend more time indoors focusing on their hobbies and taking comfort from our brands. January to date has been a slower start that we would have liked as we contend with tighter COVID-19 restrictions within the warehouse and the impact of courier companies pausing collections bound for Europe due to Brexit backlogs. We have now largely worked through these issues and will start shipping to Europe imminently. Covid-19 In the short term we have had to make repeated changes and adaptations to protect our supply chain, to ensure that we will be stronger after Covid-19 than we were before it. Our sales performance currently bears this out; throughout this difficult period most of our wonderful staff have had to adapt by working from home or restricting their activities in other ways, but they still achieved higher sales than in the prior year, pre-Covid. We need to continue this hard work so as to earn our customers' continued loyalty. We have to accept that the previously established retail environment has changed forever, due to the pandemic. We continue to adapt to this new situation and the challenges it presents. Our responses, and the changes we have made, have given us a stronger bond with our customers. Our direct sales are up 133% year on year. Financial Position Covid-19 has had dire consequences for many businesses, but we have coped with it. We will be in a much better position to advance still further, once the pandemic is over. Net cash at the end of December 2020 was £3.8 million compared to net cash £3.9 million at the end of September 2020 and net debt £9.9 million at December 2019. Product Range 2021 We would normally be attending several Toy Fairs during January but these have been cancelled due to COVID restrictions. As such we have digitally previewed our latest range announcements which have been released to the trade and the public through various social media platforms. The feedback was encouraging, and we were buoyed by the levels of interest. Outlook We currently expect to finish the year with sales 15-20% ahead of the prior year subject to the warehouse still being able to operate fully with new COVID restrictions in place. Our new website is expected to go live in the coming weeks and we anticipate a much improved interaction with our much loved customers as the platform allows us to continually develop the communities we serve. Hornby will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2021 in June. Chief Executive Officer, Lyndon Davies commented: No one expected the last year to turn out as it did. It is hard, however, not to want to spread a little 'good news' amongst all the bad. The transformation at Hornby continues to accelerate, this is not time for braking, we must now accelerate upwards through the gears. The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. -ends-

Why not use the chat function on Hattons and ask if in doubt. They are usually quite good. You can also check the Royal Mail site, they give regular updates on service status.

Hattons must be in RM good books, shipped my trunk last week late in the day to avoid delivery next day, dispatched next day by Hattons and delivered within 24 hrs of despatch.

Not yet, waiting for Hattons to get theirs then I can empty my trunk in one go.

Will be good to get back to some sort of normality, I think we are all having withdrawal symptoms. Looking forward to see layouts live and browsing trader stands again.

Used to be several in Eastbourne (1960s). There was one in the Old Town, which was I recollect second hand mainly, and the Train Times which still exists. Add Gamelys toy store which sold a fair amount of Hornby plus there may have been other toy stores that sold Hornby. In my local town of Hailsham a few miles from Eastbourne the local Toy shop Robertsons also sold Hornby, that was where my first train set was bought !

Can we have a Billington K mogul please

Any progress on the kits ?

I assume this is due soon as Hornby have an advert for it in the latest Hornby Magazine ?

And I believe there was an earlier comment in the thread about whether Hornby had made enough

All (Hornby, Airfix, Corgi and Scalextric) their Advent Calendars seem to be equally underwhelming this year or am I getter older !!!

Seem to be quite a few on ebay, looks like not a great money spinner though, generally keeping fairly well below £30. I got my 2 from Hornby so happy , they won't appear on ebay !!!