Hornby Share Discussion Threads

[holts] 16/12/2021 12:54

Hornby have no idea how to safely pack product to the retail buyer , again though they should be sticking to their knitting and just being a trade supplier .

[nov31] 16/12/2021 11:22

Hi Clocktower, I take your point on what the turnaround has achieved so far - acknowledged. However, I stand by the points made on distribution and damages due to poor packing. I've seen several you tube videos ( ) in which people reference Hornby taking payment and then taking 10 days to deliver and deliver with shabby packaging. Also did u read the comments on the Sams trains video about damaged deliveries? It would be good to ask the Company if as one of their KPI's they measure returns due to damaged in transit...etc.
This may be one of the last problems current management is sorting out, it should be relatively easy but it needs sorting out fast as they're getting murdered on the bulletin boards.
This is from someone who wants to see HRN succeed.

[clocktower] 16/12/2021 09:56

Nov31 - I have skipped through the video, and I agree about the outer packaging - shocking. However, the inner brown box arrived in perfect condition it appears, as did the inner red one and the clear plastic one below that. they also need to offer next day delivery, and sort themselves out to be able to offer that in some if not all cases.

In part, I think Sam was miffed as he had to over pay for it direct from Hornby - and rightly so but we would need to hear the facts - had the retailers not ordered sufficient numbers in the first place, and oversold thinking they could pick up more later on but blaming Hornby?

In my past experience I have seen that happen in other products that were in limited production.

As Sam stated some were very satisfied, so yes there are things that need sorting but the company just need to hold their hands up and deal with the odd few customers well, that are not 100% satisfied, and review the way they are dealing with retailers once again.

[clocktower] 16/12/2021 08:56

Thanks Nov31. I hope they take on board your comments and I believe they would be wise to keep an eye on the ball and take immediate action to rectify the issues.
I do not however agree with you about bringing in new management, as this has been turned around by the leadership of the current CEO.

And while they clearly need to address the packaging problem, they have as you have acknowledged designed a product that is second to none. So just need to quickly address the pack design and the outer cartons used, along with the carrier they contracted to ensure damages are not occurring in transit.

[nov31] 16/12/2021 08:25

Hi clocktower, just look up www.YouTube.com and search for Sam's trains The Hornby Hush Hush disaster Unboxing and review - see also the comments from other modellers who bought from Hornby direct and whose deliveries were similarly appalling. there's even one comment from s modeller who was in his local store when thir delivery of the new model arrived and each and every one was damaged. I take no pleasure from this, I'm just frustrated and angry. hornby has all the potentials to be a premium brand and the design of their new loco s is second to none ...and then they can't even get the basics right! I'm a CCO for a ftse 100 co (not in the same area mind) and I just keep thinking what hornby needs is a new management team in to sort out the basics and get the retailers and community back on board.

[clocktower] 16/12/2021 07:15

Nov31, do you have a link to any of these reviews/videos?

Sounds terrible and not something that anyone wants to hear but I would also like to know if HRN have responded well to customer complaints, as they might have been trying to make the best of a bad job, rather than cutting the losses on this model and seeing how they could rectify the problem before dispatching to customers.

Hopefully they will pull out all plugs to make it up to customers, even if it costs then in the short term and treat it a lesson learned.

[nov31] 16/12/2021 05:45

On the wrong track again....has anyone seen recent reviews of how Hornby deliver their latest models...take a look at Sam's trains review of their latest R3840 hush hush release. Absolutely shocking packing for a £220 product and unsurprisingly loads of complaints of broken parts and returns to Hornby on the forums. How they can't sort out basic packing for delivery by either Royal Mail or Hermes is beyond me. This quantity of broken returns can't be good for op profit levels let alone reputation!

[clocktower] 14/12/2021 12:54

HOLTS, if your around can you give us any info on the supply situation, as HRN said it had improved (for them anyway)and they had had to increase their prices, which they had done successfully in August.

Other smaller importers must have encountered serious problems, I guess which must have assisted HRN I would have thought, because of their stock holdings and being the leading brand.

You had previously said train sets were selling well, has this continued in the run up to peak sales time?

Any info would be much appreciated.
CT

[clocktower] 13/12/2021 15:25

Bit of corporate action seems to be going on today with those two big chunks of stock.

[clocktower] 07/12/2021 15:44

Sizeable buy just gone through - confidence returning - I thought the last RNS was more positive than it looked due to the big rise in the order book and the fact they were able to increase prices in August.

Not surprised there is buying now ahead of a Christmas Trading update before too long.

[clocktower] 30/11/2021 16:12

Cheers HOLTS

I think they have slung the kitchen sink in with the H1 accounts - I feel this will soon turn around from todays news. There are already buyers picking up on forward value.

Do you know how much prices were increased by in August?

To have a big increase in the order book, in spite of the increases is really good imo.

[holts] 30/11/2021 13:35

Sales are good , sets as mentioned previously have sold very well , they have had the strongest set sales for many years , set sales lead to good sales of the basics for layouts .I would say their problem is on the new release product which is suffering because of the lead time , so those sales will come to fruition just later than expected , the items are sold out and more could be sold as there are people on waiting lists hoping that some buyers will pull out .

[clocktower] 30/11/2021 10:37

Well that's disappointing but the very good news is that they increased prices in August but still have an order book 35% higher than it was a year ago, and supply chains are easing, though still taking around 70 days it seems.

So the pain of the increased costs and delays has been taken in this set of accounts.

Having had another brief look at the report and accounts, I believe things are actually better than they look on the surface, as stocks increased to allow for the Christmas Trade, so stock they sell to retailers will bring the cash back in Jan/Feb 2022 reducing amounts due to the company and stocks will undoubtedly have reduced in the normal retail cycle I expect.

I also expect that sales after Christmas hold up pretty well, as the children use cash they have been gifted to add odds and ends and model kits etc.

I was initially surprised that it did not drop a little more but that may yet come, depending how the media handle it but I think if it does drop a few more pence there will be buyers supporting, myself included as I still think the prospects are really good.

It seems the extra costs on those 119 containers really hit the bottom line, otherwise there would be a profit of between £1.1m - £1.3m. - an extra £10-12k each container really shows the scale of the problem. Still the rise in prices in August would have sorted that out. and to have such a big order book is making this look good for the full year imo.

[clocktower] 25/11/2021 11:30

Seeing there has been good news about the levels of trade in central London from the likes of Mulberry yesterday might have sparked the interest in this today.

HOLTS, when you spoke of shipping costs, I am sure the bulk of stock would have been shipped before the really big rises occurred, and with small products like these, the added cost per item would not cause any pressure on margins.

They seem to hold pretty big stocks for the Christmas trade and though some items seem to be selling on the company website and Amazon, it seems they are well placed to get great results.

Roll on the TS.

[holts] 24/11/2021 20:23

Well they should be doing well , but if supply in terms of transport is an issue then who knows . Shipping costs are through the roof .

[clocktower] 24/11/2021 11:55

Cheers HOLTS - I notice there has been reasonable support at around 39p but I am still waiting before topping up again, as it seems there might still be a seller as the MM have been selling for just 39.2p.

This company has so many good brands that several of them must also be doing well - Scalextric - Corgi etc.

I am looking forward to the update.

[holts] 23/11/2021 10:38

I didn't notice your earlier query re Airfix , although I am no help there , it's a low selling price product which should have huge margins and they used to have separate sales forces largely as a legacy of the purchase of the company , it wasn't justified so I guess that informs a bit . I'm assuming the heavy tooling cost hit when in the UK is now taken by the Chinese who obviously don't have such high costs , but as for contribution to profits that's an unknown to me .

[clocktower] 22/11/2021 16:11

Still the seller continues with another 10k at around 38p, a bit lower and I may top up again.

[clocktower] 22/11/2021 13:20

Heading back to recent lows, with a steady stream of sells since hitting 44p. Though there has been support, it is not strong enough to stop the slide backwards. Though overall the volume has been very low, so we could yet see a rapid bounce on news.

[clocktower] 19/11/2021 12:47

Good news for HRN, more being spent on toys.

[clocktower] 17/11/2021 12:17

Thanks HOLTS

[holts] 17/11/2021 11:56

There are good set sales at least on the Railway side , may depend on how well the rest of the business is going .

[clocktower] 10/11/2021 18:42

I noticed the 75k trade - it looks like a sell but the MM have been swallowing a lot of stock these last three days and normally they would not have taken that sort of volume, so close to the bid/offer price - corporate dealing?

[clocktower] 10/11/2021 17:42

The beauty of the Oxford diecast purchase will result in a further 50% of the profits,which will bolster the assets and more importantly the base profits of Hornby, which will show in this years accounts.

The thing is most of the capital investment was completed last year, which I am sure will benefit the bottom line.

Still there has been a lot of buying since the end of October, so confidence has returned but after the last six weeks uptrend, I think a little blip had to be expected imo.

[holts] 10/11/2021 14:50

I am inclined to wait for clarity on deliveries , however I assume results will be ok otherwise I do not think they would have proceeded with the purchase of Davies' remaining half of Oxford diecast .