Warehousing and shipping from Nebraska makes a lot more sense than performing those functions from one extreme side of the country. Not to mention any USPS activity seems to get bogged down when going through the mid Atlantic region.
But I was wondering what was going on. They were fireselling some items that I needed, so I bought them.
Unfortunately after about 2 weeks, the order still says “Awaiting Fulfillment”
Hopefully, it sounds like I will still have the ability to buy train stuff at reasonable prices, shipping cost, and timeliness. What form it takes or who the ultimate family is that receives the profit is of little interest to me.
Unless its some evil member of SPECTRE trying to fund world domination…LOL.
So if Hatton’s bought them, and the Cockeysville warehouse closes, all that’s really left is a recognized brand name and a website that will be fulfilled from…wherever.
It’s sad, but after the move from Gay Street, you could see the transition coming, as the selection out front got smaller and smaller, and the focus on the online business got bigger and bigger- they replaced staff with computers that linked to…the website.
Sad, I liked it, particularly the old store, and a lot of the people who worked there were buffs themselves.
Since then a large amount of items were due from China to Hattons in October/November 2023. They did not arrive. The Chinese company said it would be at least May before they would be in the U.K…
No products from China, Hattons therefore could not fulfil their Christmas orders.
Hattons had to rely on selling their second hand items to survive.
No new products. Very little second hand items left. End of the line.
It appears that Hatton’s got caught in an unanticipated cash flow crisis. Although it had a long standing retail store in the UK, it expanded its business through early adaptation to e commerce. That step opened new markets abroad as well as at home and made it more of a global firm. No doubt Hatton’s purchase of Train Stuff was an effort to further extend its international operation. Doing so, however, probably drew down its capital reserves during last year. Then, to make matters worse, it was hit with a supply problem this fall when scheduled shipments from Chinese manufacturers (still suffering from the economic disruptions of the pandemic era) failed to arrive on time for the Christmas rush. So sales must have fallen way below expectations, as did profits needed to cover its North America expansion. In its recent closure message to clients, Hatton’s noted that profit margins were already decreasing due to Brexit measures, while demographic changes were shrinking its client base and affecting sales. Given the combination of these factors, its owner, Christine Hatton, seems to have concluded that the business was no longer viable and thus best closed down while it could be done in an orderly way. Its loss will be felt both in the US (through the demise of Train Stuff) and the UK.
Cash flow sounds like it- wonder how much debt they got into buying Kline’s- apparently too much. This collapsed pretty quickly. It reminds me of what happened with a couple of discount chains. Ames bought out Hill’s- would up getting themselves in a lot of debt and sunk quickly after. Same thing happened with McCrorys and TG&Y a decade earlier. Both got into a lot of debt and did not know the market that they had bought out.
This is pretty crazy, but what we don’t know is how long the ModelTrainStuff deal was in the works.
I know absolutely nothing about UK business or tax law, but it is possible completing the MTS deal even with closing the business being a possibility, could have tax advantages?
It seems that the very business model that built MB Klein (discounting), back in an age where it was nearly unheard of in this business, may have played a role in its demise.
I was just speaking last week with the owner of one of the manufacturers in the hobby, and we discussed that while the hobby is not dieing, it does seem some of the supply chain infrastructure is “fragile”.
Interesting development to say the least.
And while MTS was a valueable source, there are still lots of people selling model trains.
Just got word my two year old preorder for Bowser RS-3’s is C&O are on their way - right from Bowsers own online operation - ToyTrainHeaven.
I think we will see more and more products sold directly by the manufacturer, like the nice GSC depressed center flat car I recently purchased from ClassOneModelWorks.
And owner I was speaking with last week sells his product direct to the consumer…
Those are indeed very nice, Sheldon. I picked up the one-and-only version of their GSC flat cars that fit my era: Erie. (The B&O version was just outside it. [:(]) I was quite impressed with the detailing.
What is your era? I bought the B&O version and removed the ACI labels to back date it to my era. The roller bearing trucks may not be truely correct for “as built” on the one car B&O had, but those bearings did exist in 1954, so I will stretch that detail a little.
At the risk of criticism, I will say this about Hattons, their entry into the US market impressed me as arrogant and poorly planned/researched.
When in Rome…
They tried to promote the “era” concept that is popular in European model manufacturing - but North American rail history is too complex to be divided up into such a short list of “eras”.
They used terms that myself, and I would bet a great many other North American modelers, were not familiar with and did not understand. “range” for “product line”, “outline” for “prototype”.
While not people in this hobby, I have multiple friends who immigrated here from the UK, and American friends who have spent extended periods of time in the UK. So I am not totally unexposed to the differences in word useage, but Hatton’s gave me that “we are going to convert you” feeling…
And they say we are arrogant - well, sometimes we are.
But if you want my money you need to be able to communicate with me.
I searched their site several times to see what they might have of interest - never found one thing.
Debt has allowed many to amass fortunes, but it has brought about the ruination of many more. Arrogance is not conducive to success. It leads to underestimating risks.
Yes, very nice looking cars, as long as you didn’t get one with the warped body that had the couplers sticking upward at the ends.
And you didn’t happen to pay full price for one only to have them offering them at half price. They didn’t make any friends around here when they did that.
The bodies were not warped, there was simply an issue with a brake pipe not properly located which prevented the floor and underframe from fitting together correctly.
It was easily fixed and they stood behind the product 100%
All the “good” roadnames were sold out long before the sale - This is no different than what Broadway Limited did all the time when they first started up.
And if you preordered it you got a nice discount on what you wanted - not the left overs.
The B&O bought their one copy in 1952/53. As produced the B&O model reflects how it looked about 1969-76, but the B&O had not changed the style of the paint scheme, only installed roller bearings at some point and added ACI labels.