Ironroad

As a small gesture of my disapproval of their behaviour, I have unsubscribed from receiving promotional emails from Rails of Sheffield and notified them I will not be purchasing from them again.

And why would they? They would not have a whipping boy to take advantage of. Nostalgia, is not going to serve or save the hobby. May I draw parallel? When is the last time you stood in the local branch of your bank, is there even one in easy distance from your home? That situation is so bad that in Ireland legislation was introduced to ensure there is at least an ATM within 10km of a residence. The reality for the vast majority is if you have a bank account you also need a mobile phone to manage and transact your financial affairs ONLINE. By the way I personally consider the mobile phone requirement to be an outrageous imposition, but that's the world we now live in. I remember knowing all the staff at the bank and even having a bet with the porter at the door, on who would be League champions and European cup champions, No chance of that now. Even Fado Fado (long ago, long ago) we never really had a model shop that could serve all our needs- it NEVER existed, and we used mail order for all the bits and pieces the shop could not be reasonably expected to stock, nor is it reasonable to expect them to do it now. And a relationship between the cottage industries and the stores as you suggest is probably a non starter because there simply isn't enough margin in it for both of them and many of the items are so so niche they would not shift in an acceptable time frame for the retailer. We also forget that there was a time when a "train set" was the thing so many kids wanted from Santa. That day is gone too and with it a big chunk of revenue for the model shops. So they have had little choice other than to diversify and in many cases, in those that survive, 60% or more of their floor space is dedicated to other hobbies. They are no longer specialists and for the most part only carry stock that they know can be turned over fairly quickly. That doesn't help producers particularly in a market where the range of products is expanding and increasingly niche. As for the chat with the expert in the shop, well that is very nice but that too has been superseded by a plethora of people offering advise on YouTube and on forums like this. Now the quality of some of this may be varied but overall the sheer scale of information and advise that is available at our fingertips far outweighs the perspective of one individual in your local shop. Incidentally we still have exhibitions and magazines. Retailing has changed, and we pick and choose what we will go to a physical store for and what we will buy online based on price, the choice available, and whether there is a need to touch and feel a product. For the most part, for the vast majority, wherever we are, when it comes to model railway's, online is the only option for us. I also think there is a misconception that manufacturers are big powerful profitable operators with deep pockets with a moral obligation to the retail network. The reality is different, most of them are barely above the category of cottage industries themselves. Heljan had nine employees in Denmark. In the days of Triang and Hornby Dublo, we saw large scale runs of a fairly limited range of products which kept the per unit cost low and that supported a retail price that provided a margin for both producer and retailer. Despite this Hornby Dublo crashed. In today's world the choice of models available with incredible detail and features has increased exponentially but that means smaller production runs and with that in relative terms a significantly higher per unit cost. If these items are to sell, and that means we need to be able to afford them, applying a 60 year old business model is unrealistic. In reality buying direct from the producers is the way forward because it gives the producers a better measure of real demand and provides us with affordable pricing. One other thing; You criticise Accurascale on how this acquisition was or was not communicated to the trade. I have no insights to offer but do know that a transaction such as this is normally shrouded in absolute confidentiality and accordingly will only become public knowledge when a deal is done. Nothing could be said beforehand and what would it change for the retailers anyway? As I understand it, this was an acquisition of assets IE tooling & inventory plus in all probability a goodwill consideration for the name. Inventory ties up cash and it is understandable that Accurascale would want to liquidate that inventory as quickly as possible despite causing discomfort to the retailers, that's just commonsense business. Why, as you suggest, would Accurascale buy back stock from the shops at wholesale prices. the option is there for the retailers to sell at wholesale prices if they choose. You suggest Accurascale hasn't positioned the move positively- quote "by highlighting Accurascale’s reputation for quality, framing the change as a brand improvement rather than a disruption" On the contrary I think they have and in very explicit terms. In fact this acquisition is probably the best thing that could have happened for the continuance and improvement of the Heljan range of products and it would have been a shame had they been lost to us. I do take your point that clarification is needed on the status of all Heljan products already under warranty. In my opinion this change or shift in the model railway business world has already been gathering momentum for quite a while, and I think it will accelerate as other producers recognise it as a necessity for survival. Pioneers aren't always recognised. I

Now that you mention it, it may be more of a reality that you think. Did you know that the turntables marketed in the USA by the big distributor Walthers under their Cornerstone brand are actually made by none other than HELJAN !!!

All good if the retailers are playing fair, but I suspect they are not. The attached video contains information on the woeful state of Hornby's financial affairs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmcvfA-KjHY You'll note their in their last published accounts, they are owed £7m by their customers (the retailers) and of this £1.26m is considered to be bad debt!!!!!!!!! On top of that they are carrying inventory of £15m. Bottom line they had losses of $11m which equates to 20% of their sales £56m. They are also carrying debt of £17m, which is costing them interest of £2m annually. It is a very grim picture for them and without their financial backer they should have closed shop long ago. This makes the case for radical change in the business model. As an outsider I can only guess at what is going on. But here are scenarios; (1) Producer is releasing a new model. Retailer's account is in arrears. So does the producer refuse to supply that retailer with the new model and risk losing sales (with the knock on of carrying undesirable high level's of inventory) or bite the bullet and extend the retailer more at risk credit just to get the item on the shelves, a catch 22 for the manufacturer. (2) From a comment I seen elsewhere it may be that the retailers margin could be as high as 40% IE an item retailing at 100 costs the retailer 60. This allows the retailers some latitude to discount if they so choose. The smaller ones typically don't. But this is common practice on the part of the bigger retailers who may actually be negotiating volume discounts from the manufacturers and very often these larger retailers sell out within days of receiving desirable new releases and if they have 30 days credit they benefit from a very healthy positive cash flow that can be used for financial gain elsewhere. (3) But what if a new release doesn't sell out in the short term. Well I'm fairly certain that the retailers will baulk at accepting further offerings from the producer unless they receive some additional concessions that will cover the cost of further discounting stock that is already on their shelves this despite the fact they already have a healthy margin designed to cover the cost of carrying that stock. Or maybe they withhold payment to the producer for the stock that isn't moving briskly and use this tactic to blackmail producers into granting concessions. It seems to me that in the world of model railways the power resides with the retailers ( probably a handful) and it is they that brought Heljan to its knees. I believe that Heljan were about one tenth the size of Hornby in terms of sales and had no ability or means to deal with the situation they were in. I think the e-mail that Rails of Sheffield sent to their customer list this morning was obnoxious and hypocritical. I would ask what benefit they actually contribute. Rather than serving you they are profiting at the expense of the producers and putting the entire hobby at risk. If we want the hobby to survive we need to adapt and accept change.

Well they are or were responsible for the sale/distribution of Heljan spare parts and I don't think anything has been said as to whether this arrangement will continue (probably not), nor is it clear what support may exist for Heljan products sold/purchased pre-acquisition. I think AS have said that products purchased from this point on will be subject to the normal warranty offered by Heljan, not the AS lifetime warranty

Is that Cillian Murphy?

Fear Of Missing Out

Acetone?

In my experience Mark's have always been asleep at the wheel and need to wake up.

The word you were looking for is "Boreen"

Let's hope history is not repeating itself. Our first home built in 1972 had no chimney, and after the energy crisis in 1974 we received a government grant to install one. And a regulation was introduced to mandate chimneys in new builds so that in emergencies we would not be solely reliant on energy providers. Memories are short.

What happened to wit, oh dear

Thank you Paddy, you'll never be forgotten, rest in peace

So you will collect the 3 euro when pricing the orders. Note this duty applies regardless as to whether a product is normally exempt

Not sure we are on the same page. As I read it this isn't a VAT levy rather it's a customs tariff that will apply on all small parcels under 150 euro in value.