discussion Another model shop closure-Hannants at Colingdale.

[wonwinglo]

Sad news announced today,Hannants at their Colingdale store are closing its doors on 31st May 2006.

 

[Guest]

Always sad when a Model shop closes down as I have seen a few in my own area do over the years.

Yes I know the internet is very competitive these days but that is what these shops need to do...get themselves online and offer a competitive service, they will still make gains from both local people and a much wider market on the net.

I know I still like to be able to walk into a shop and browse to see what they have, if it is a well stocked shop I usually end up buying loads if I see the items in front of me...somehow the internet hasn't quite captured that part of the market yet as not all shops list all their goods on there.

Regards.....Mark

 

[Guest]

So sad to see the modelling world head in this direction. The internet will never be able to offer that personal service that we all want from a model shop.

Maybe forums like this are going to become the only places that newcomers to the hobby are going to be able to get advice and guidance in the future. It is never going to be quite the same as browsing the shop and having a chat with a knowledgeable staff either in person or on the phone.

Hannants has been a big name in the business for a long time and it is a shame that they haven't been able to remain in business.

I think Mark has an excellent point in that existing shops are not embracing the internet and using it to attract more business. Too many are allowing it to take thier trade away and are not moving with the times.

 

[wonwinglo]

Hannants new London move.

Apparently something to do with the lease not being available for renewal.

However, there is now some good news!

"A new "Hannants London" model shop will be opening just a short distance away in Unit 2 on the Hurricane Industrial Estate. This is on Grahame Park Way and 200 yards north of the entrance to the RAF Museum. This will be an independantly owned franchise of H.G.Hannant Ltd managed by the current shop manager Garry Linsdell. There will be plenty of parking, you will still be able to use the Colindale tube station and it is even closer to the RAF Museum. It is intended that the new unit will open on June 10th but this will be confirmd nearer

the time."

 

[Guest]

That's much better news Barry, it is a relief to know that we are not going to loose another shop after all.

 

[Guest]

Zero Models, Canterbury Model Shop, Trains `n Bits, Model world and Model Zone are just a handful of the shops that have closed in kent within the last 5 years! I cant see Ramsgate or Dover holding their shops for long as niether have websites or particualy good stock. That will leave three model shops in the entirity of kent!

I think its common knowledge that the model industry is turning to the web. For the consumer this is a doubled edged sword as while they recieve better prices and more choice, the aftersales service and advice has gone. Its for this reason i try to be as personal as possible to all my customers and will always offer help and advice when need be.

Its going to be intresting to see how the industry moves in the next few years, because, as nigel said to me recently, models are no longer just for kids, they are for 30-somethings who want a lot more than just a 60's bagged kit; roll on PE, AM and VF parts!

I predict that this currant trend of model shops going bust will continue and the industry will see a much further divide between the kits sold as "toys" and those sold as models.

 

[Guest]

Squiffy,

I think you have identified the trend exactly, it is now up to you to make the most of the opportunity.

You have it in your means to offer the expert service people want so my best advice I could possibly offer to you from a prospective customer is "Answer your e-mails as soon as possible" Even if you don't have an answer just let someone know that you have received thier enquiry and they will immediately feel happy in the knowledge that you care enough to get back to them. I hate being ignored especially by someone I had intended giving money to and I will almost certainly not chase up an enquiry and I will take my money somewhere else.

Do that well and you are instantly head and shoulders above the rest of the industry.

 

[Guest]

Richard, i quite agree, prompt emails and telephone service are essential.

The thing is i kinda wish i couldnt see the trend as its rather heartbreaking whatching the shops, that as i kid i died for, closing their doors.

 

[Guest]

When I was a teenager I worked on Saturdays and holidays in a shop. They had toys and models upstairs and pushbikes downstairs.

I was in my element having access to models and the associated gear and pushbike facilities, spares etc. I never took lunch as that was my opportunity to play with all the new demo toys.

I would help to assemble new bikes during the Christmas period when the shop was absolutely buzzing all Christmas week. I loved every minute of working in that shop and I used to visit once every few years when I passed by.

I went past it again only yesterday when I noticed it is now a betting shop. I had to struggle not to well up.

 

[wonwinglo]

I know exactly what you mean Richard,funny how the bike and hardware shops had model sections upstairs,the smell of bikes and parrafin sort of mixed well with the lingering dope and balsa smells ( yes balsa has a very friendly smell,kiln dried wood ) there must have been quite a lucrative business in those days,we had a couple of similar shops in Coventry,one was a fishing tackle/DIY shop which had stacks of kits and wood,another was a toyshop with modelling bits,I remember the friendly ladies behind the counter as I saw how far my sixpence ( dont laugh you wealthy youngsters ! ) would go,they used to keep bashed balsa for me to buy half price,balsa bundles were favourites,and when I ran out of balsa cement a trip to the local newsagent would bring 'Joyplane' balsa cement,this had a different smell to the usual Humbrol,then there was tissue paper donated by the kindly green-grocer,this would be carefully ironed with moms best iron,then wallpaper paste used as adhesive,everything was make and mend and scrimp and scrape,but I would not have changed this for the world,even today I do not like any waste,a plastic dustbin in my garden is full of useable offcuts of balsa,I dig deep into that long before attacking my precious new stocks of wood,this I buy compulsively over the year as and when I see good stocks,it builds up nicely for a big project.

So yes I can understand your plight Richard,those far off days of youth long remain in our minds,but at least we have been there ! drat,I can still smell those hardware shops now ?

 

[Guest]

Strange how the sights and smells of that shop remain with me so strongly.

The back room downstairs was where we all went for our tea which was also the pushbike workshop. Originally the old man, who was disabled, ran the pushbike section and his son ran the upstairs. The downstairs was always stiffling hot, as that was how he wanted it, generated from an old open gas fire in the hearth.

The new bikes would come in and go straight down into a cellar where they were stored until required by a customer. Then they came up and were unpacked and assembled on a stand before wheeling straight out into the shop.

Christmas was a continuous stream of assembling bikes with me helping out the regular lad to keep the flow going. When it got busy upstairs I would go back up there to keep things moving in the packed shop.

The toy and model stock was kept in the attic so all four floors of the place was very well utilised.

I can't believe this was over thirty years ago yet I can remember it all as though it was yesterday. In those days I made models for him to display in his shop window so I got models to make at someone elses expense. I also got 25% off my own purchases which I made good use off.

 

[Guest]

LOL...this made me think of the last model shop i visited in margate. They had a rather flash advert in a popular magazine, so being local compertition i decided to have a look....no worries there then...

Imagine the worlds worst dirty arcade (the type with 2p machines, not a mall) with a sweet shop in the back, then walk through the sweet shop to reveal the model shop run by a norman bates look-a-likey. He had obviously just ticked every box in the catalouges as non of the stock seemed to flow together. He didnt know a thing about the products and was actually surprised when i asked for tam 48th armour kits. And this is my only local model shop now.....

Such a direct contrast to the shops of my childhood, as you guys have said the owner was great and loved the kids, always giving us broken stock and opened pots of paint. I DEARLY miss this shop, even more because it was in the same town my school was in....o0o0o0o the memories.... sorry im ranting now.

 

[Guest]

Squiffy,

You are flying the flag for a whole new generation of plastic model retailers.

No pressure there then!!

 

[wonwinglo]

Dont worry Squiffy,by specialising you know your marketplace,there are very few model shops these days that are really knowledgeable,by that I mean the complete spectrum,one of the very best model shops has long since gone,I dont know if you remember it ? BMW Models of Wimbledon,they were the very first 'large' kit stockist pioneering mail order sales besides the first class shop,sadly they closed there doors when the shop lease expired,look in any of the early scale model magazines and you will see their name.

Times are certainly changing,and fast.

 

[Guest]

GTI Models Aberdeen announce closing

Hello all, sad to say that reading yesterdays local newspaper that GTI Models in Aberdeen are closing later this month. Another small shop serving the local R/C modellers closes. They were also into trains and slot car and plastic kits but predominently Nitro cars and Flying. The owner has announced that after 17 years, they are retiring, her husband as well as her children appeared to work in the shop part-time . A local consortium of flyers loooked at buying the business as a going concern but have pulled out of it. Apparently there is still an interested party but this would entail a relocation and probably a name change too. Let's hope that the last model shop in Aberdeen has a positive future to look forward to albeit it in a new guise. Newslink http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149235&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149218&contentPK=14102246&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

cheers

Jim

 

[wonwinglo]

Sorry to hear this Jim,it is ironic that only five years ago distributors would only supply high street model shops,now with the decline in numbers to survive themselves they will need to change their tune,the very first model shop that I set up ( Microcraft of Kenilworth ) needed stock,we flew by light aircraft down to Stapleford Tawny airfield to meet the Ripmax rep who took us to a new former carpet warehouse,as we went around selecting bits and pieces for an initial order to take back home as you do,when it was time to cash up they refused to let us have the goods ! the reason was the shop had not as then been registered as a model shop,what a wasted journey for nothing,how things have changed,today nobody in their right mind would turn business away like that.

Soon there will be very few high street shops dealing in models,the internet and E-bay have changed all that.

 

[Guest]

LOL.... try getting an account with ripmax/HPI now! Same thing, same old story, they wont surply you if you dont have a premises to trade from!

Silly really when its obviously our industry is swaying towards the internet, seems like they are cutting themselves short if you ask me.

Barry was it you i spoke to about KHnorton when i very first joined the forums? (i dont personally use them but almost did...)

 

[wonwinglo]

Yes,K.H.Norton,you really should consider it Squiffy,they have excellent stocks,and you can cherrypick as well.