Hornby Share Discussion Threads

[holts] 10/1/2023 08:01

That’s what you get for turning trade orders away and for allocating product , they are so stupid they don’t even understand that for example I don’t want to sell Scotrail product if I’m in Birmingham and vice-versa , turning orders away for multiple items because some prat has decided ‘levels’ of retailers only deserve certain amount of product and that can be as little as one of each item is brainless . Then believing that they are capable of selling the surplus themselves at their inflated prices , the direct consumer sales will be ahead when product can’t be bought elsewhere but your retailers are busy promoting other manufacturers .
Let’s not forget the vast investment in the new TT range which is not being sold to any retailer , so strip those sales out and what are the figures?

[clocktower] 10/1/2023 07:31

Big rise in debt and they expect a modest loss. What is meant by modest is anyone’s guess. I would suggest that that in view of the significance of the increase in debt, the word modest will be seen to be misleading to those that think modest might be a £100k or so. Time will tell but my view is that this is just another nail in the coffin.

Of course they are excited about the prospects because they would shut up shop now if they said anything other than that.

How long before their masters pull the plug and any remaining shareholders are left with memories of a bit of history and nothing more?

Mistakes thinking that online growth mean profitable business as websites take up a lot of investment to keep them updated and productive. Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.

[clocktower] 25/11/2022 20:22

I have seen so many companies do what HRN has done to its loyal retailers. Although I was in a different line of retail many many years ago when I was just 17 years old, I was invited to a factory tour with the director of sales, as I had already became a major customer of the company. For lunch I was invited into the boardroom to eat with the BOD and they had a new CEO that had come from a different industry, and I listed patiently as they talked about saving pennies on a raw material. I then interrupted and asked him if he had walked through the factory, at that I had - why, and my reply was that I could save them more than the pennies they had been speaking about, and went on to explain all that was wrong. At that point the CEO got up and the rest of the board followed him leaving me on my own, a few minutes later the red faced sales director came back and apologised. I thanked him for my lunch and told him my account was now closed. I found other suppliers and the firm went broke to my delight 18 months later.

[holts] 24/11/2022 08:58

Clock tower. ‘Good Luck Holts finding other suppliers’

That’s the point their stupidity over the years has let a myriad of suppliers into the market , there was previously a fear that we wont do that as Hornby might produce it and the risk of investing in the tooling was not worth it .

That fear has gone , as an example only yesterday another manufacturer has come up with a duplicate of a Hornby product and it will be better .

What I hear now from traders is if we can buy it from anyone but Hornby we will .

[clocktower] 24/11/2022 08:11

Doomed again - with debt increasing by a huge amount, inflation, slow retail sales on the cards throughout Christmas period.

I can see the share price dropping another 10p or so but I would not touch it at 1p now.

Good Luck Holts finding other suppliers. These people ruin themselves, they really are clueless.

Still L D sold his business to them and kept a minor job now.

[holts] 24/11/2022 07:19

By now the restriction on supply to retailers should be producing results with bigger margins . They have product in stock I and other retailers could be selling and we can not buy because they have allocated it to themselves .
Given they are declaring marginally higher income much of that has come from direct sales yet the losses are greater still , there may well be investment costs dragging them back but something is wrong , a detailed examination of figures we can not see is needed .
I would have thought they would have learnt buy now they are choosing the wrong sort of CEO more or less every time , the real laugh is the one they chose years and years ago who started the company turn round had a feel for the business and the business acumen they kicked out .
They can no more sell this new TT range to market than fly in the air . Two potential trade suppliers have already binned it.

[cold pasta man] 16/11/2022 22:23

So Phoenix don't think Lyndon is up to the task.
One of the most vile geezers I've done business with - I am not in the least surprised that they've come to that conclusion.
It was their import-ant duty to find someone more competent to assist them in turning the company around.

[roghart1] 09/11/2022 09:20

Heljan pulled out. They only had 3 locos planned but realised they couldn't compete with Hornby - they hadn't committed themselves to TT120 in the way Hornby has. Bypassing retailers mean they can keep the cost down. They take the view that online shopping is also the way to go. Also TT120 opens up the European market as 00 gauge is unique to the UK, from what I can gather. You probably know that. I will add I'm not, or ever been a railway modeller, though I've been mulling over building a layout for my grandson. Which is how I found out about TT120. Reading comments from modellers on Youtube and online,it does appear to be a divisive but it has certainly got a lot of support. Will be interesting to see if they can get their initial 2 trainsets in stock for Xmas. The Eastern set is £194.49 - join the Hornby TT120 club (free at the moment) and you get a 15% discount. £165 for a trainset. Hmmm.tempting. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

[holts] 08/11/2022 20:58

They are not selling the TT gauge to retailers at all , this has already resulted in one other major trade supplier pulling out pursuing the TT route , personally I think they are bonkers , unless there has been some way of developing and producing far more cheaply than before it’s going to be a potentially serious problem .

[clocktower] 01/11/2022 09:38

My thoughts are that HRN has cooked it goose and taken the wrong direction, not just with TT120 but with their whole policies.

Good Luck though, it might go the same way as Stanley Gibbons imo.

[roghart1] 01/11/2022 09:21

A lot of interest in Hornby's new range TT120 Gauge. About halfway between N Gauge and 00 Gauge. Looks like Hornby have invested in it big time and will be rolling out a lot of new products over the next few years. The first train sets should be out in time for Xmas. TT120 could be the way to go as one of the biggest complaints about 00 is people not having the space and N gauge was always too small. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[holts] 30/9/2022 16:27

Short term Hornby’s strategy of excluding many retailers and selling direct will improve the bottom line and it will disguise the loss of those trade customers , long term it will harm the company but those in situ could not care less about that.

[clocktower] 14/9/2022 07:17

So there is stagnation, and bearing in mind the price increases over the period of time, it seems to me that unit sales must be down.
The mention of the purchase and payments, which we were all aware of before, I assume is because some of the comparisons did not include sales when the company and equipment was not wholly owned. If I am wrong about this please correct me.

So, the question is, while the order book is strong, will there be a huge number of cancellations as we head to the peak selling period, and will they be left with a huge amount of unsold stock that might have to be discounted to clear?

DYOR

[clocktower] 18/8/2022 09:46

On the up today I notice.

HOLTS - I experienced very similar actions some years ago in another retail sector. The major core supplier cut supplies but in doing so lost a very considerable amount of business, and this was not the first time this sort of behaviour happened.

That said fate decreed that fortune favours the injured party, as one supplier had to shut up shop within two years and the other was sold off, as the business had diminished but their early actions turned out to be beneficial in both cases.

In this case Hornby maybe sold off before the possible demise, and if it is I am missing a opportunity but I do not fancy the risk. Time will tell.

[holts] 09/8/2022 07:39

I have no evidence for this but I suspect Mulhall is largely responsible for the current strategy towards retailers , completely open to correction on this , however I don’t think it is he who throws his toys out the pram when a retailer produces their own product .

[clocktower] 09/8/2022 07:24

And now there is further dilution with all these options being issued and some can be sold.

As you say HOLTS they could be planning to do a SGI as the share price is likely to fall even further, let alone with the potential damage that they may have suffered from the things you posted about on 3 August.

It seems we both sold at the right time but it is a great shame to see Hornby repeating the mistakes of the past and becoming arrogant when dealing with smaller retailers.

[nov31] 03/8/2022 15:14

Woeful waste of a classic brand

[holts] 03/8/2022 12:48

I would imagine Phoenix are thoroughly fed up with their investment , they have a fair amount to lose if someone doesn’t come along to buy HRN out .

I can not see them getting a return any other way , as far as I am concerned it’s any other supplier but Hornby where possible , so it depends on their ability to produce products that the customer really demands for me to have to buy from them now , although their brand still carries them eventually those who had that brand instilled in their physche will be gone . They are not just a one trick pony but the Railway is still the most important I think.
I would be interested to know what the cost to them trying to muscle in on another manufacturers product related to the Titfield Thunderbolt was , it was clear to all who had the rights to produce and it wasn’t Hornby , after six months they had to issue a statement noting they had no right , Hornby Hobbies Ltd. have decided to remove the two ‘Trains of Film’ packs from the Hornby 2022 product range and acknowledges and accept that Studiocanal own the licensing rights to the ‘Thunderbolt’ locomotive as depicted in the ‘Titfield Thunderbolt’ film as well as Dan Taylor’s grounded carriage body. Hornby also acknowledges and accepts that Studiocanal own the title rights to the films ‘Titfield Thunderbolt’ and ‘The Lady with a Lamp’.

Along with this the Bedford Coach within the ‘Trains on Film’ category has also been cancelled.

So what has that cost them ? Tooling would have been commissioned , just a waste of money for the sake of being petty , similar reasoning for them no longer supplying some of their former retailers , in my view this is not going to be a successful strategy in the long term, only years will tell .

[nov31] 01/8/2022 10:03

How long before Phoenix tries the same game as it did with SGI?

[clocktower] 28/7/2022 08:34

More shares further dilution in due course.

The current market must be hitting HRN along with all the price hikes you mentioned HOLTS, let alone the current energy situation.

[clocktower] 28/7/2022 08:34

More shares further dilution in due course.

The current market must be hitting HRN along with all the price hikes you mentioned HOLTS, let alone the current energy situation.

[clocktower] 28/7/2022 08:34

More shares further dilution in due course.

The current market must be hitting HRN along with all the price hikes you mentioned HOLTS, let alone the current energy situation.

[holts] 16/6/2022 19:41

I should add the other manufacturers on the Ratilway side at least are making Hornbys product pedestrian.

[holts] 16/6/2022 12:19

This is what I am thinking , they are selling a lot more direct I suspect but trade is turning to other manufacturers.

[clocktower] 16/6/2022 11:40

So the number of units being sold in most outlets are down I assume but because of the hike in prices sales figures may have increased. How long before this situation changes, and the public will not swallow such increases and high prices for products that are non-essential.