Hattons and the future

[MistyEyedWanderer]

I heard through other hobby sources that Hattons has given notice to close for good.  I was quite surprised by that, as I had only recently discovered this wonderful store that has become a repository for North American N scale goodness.
I guess it is a matter of hoarding securing all the remaining goodies while they last?
I am glad that there other sources, but it is quite a lot more effort to source good used stock.  I am glad I have found a way to drop ship from US suppliers. 

Though it may sound like doom and gloom,  I can see a future where modellers and makers actually go back to crafting models if the supply dries up that badly, and when invested in making rather than buying rtr, perhaps there is room for many small cottage industry's amongst a model making community?
I have some Model Railway Constructor annuals I have kept for many years, and some of the articles in them go way back even further, positively ancient in model rail terms.  The emphasis was was heavily on DIY, and some of the serious articles covered making all the tiny parts of locomotive building.
With the common availability of small hobby lathes and 3d print tech, it must be easier than ever to fabricate working models?

[NeMo]

I don't like the 'modellers go back to crafting' meme: I think it does the hobby more harm than good.

This hobby will only grow if the diversity of interests are respected. Some people like fettling lumps of whitemetal, and fair play to them. But some people like building scenery, others like diddling about with electronics, and yet others like replicating operations. These are all perfectly valid ways to enjoy the hobby, and equally worthy of respect.

I do agree with you that Hattons will be a great loss. I find the Rails website infuriating if you're after secondhand, non-UK stuff, whereas Hattons has been my go-to website for buying North American stuff. If only Anoraks Anonymous had a web store!

Cheers, NeMo

[PaulCheffus]

Though it may sound like doom and gloom,  I can see a future where modellers and makers actually go back to crafting models if the supply dries up that badly, and when invested in making rather than buying rtr, perhaps there is room for many small cottage industry's amongst a model making community?

Hi

Some of us have never stopped 

Cheers

Paul

[tunneroner61]

Hattons are/were a retailer as far as N gauge is concerned. Provided the manufacturers - Farish, Dapol, Revolution, Sonic, Peco etc - keep manufacturing there should be no shortage of models. Other retailers will no doubdt take up the slack that the demise of Hattons offers.
As for crafting models there are a multitude of items available from the likes of the NGS, Shapeways, Osborn's, BeesHill, Worseley Works, 2mm FS etc, though we have lost some like Alan Cox's Etched Pixels and potentially N Brass.

Keep smiling all is not lost if you want to scratch build a model.

[PLD]

1. It never ceases to amaze how some can extrapolate from one retailer closing to the collapse of the entire supply chain...

2. It never ceases to amaze how many different members fail to find the ongoing discussions and start their own threads on the same topic...

[Adam1701D]

I think you will find that the closure of Hattons and cancellation of Warley are two unconnected sets of circumstances and not a sign of the imminent collapse of the industry.

The cost of living crisis has seen a decline in sales and the Hattons closure will be a temporary hit on the manufacturers, for whom they were a major customer.

I am confident that other retailers will quickly set into the void Hattons have left and another Winter show will emerge to replace Warley in due time.

[Roy L S]

I think you will find that the closure of Hattons and cancellation of Warley are two unconnected sets of circumstances and not a sign of the imminent collapse of the industry.

The cost of living crisis has seen a decline in sales and the Hattons closure will be a temporary hit on the manufacturers, for whom they were a major customer.

I am confident that other retailers will quickly set into the void Hattons have left and another Winter show will emerge to replace Warley in due time.

Hi Adam

A voice of reason amidst much doom and gloom.

I have very similar views.  Just because one dealer (however large) ceases to trade does not mean that the purchasers who have elected to choose Hattons up to now will suddenly cease their model railway activity.

Reading one of the many regular e-mail updates I get from Rails of Sheffield, it is pretty clear that a large volume of people having Hattons preorders that will no longer being fulfilled are now going to Rails instead and causing a significant uptick in work for them. I am sure some of the other larger retailers like Kernow will see similar and indeed smaller independents too.

Let's not forget, however seismic this news is, it isn't the first time significant players in model railway retail have gone under, off the top of my head I can think of the likes of Guy Norris, Railmail of Watford and Beatties of London, and yet the model railway business survived those and flourished. Business practices such as direct selling may have become more of a thing, but in almost all cases stock is also wholesaled to retailers too.

On top of the above, we should be encouraged that a number of new players have entered the scene such as RevolutioN, Sonic and Rapido (with Accurascale rumoured to be dipping a toe in the N Gauge water during 2024 too). None of these would be doing so if they didn't see a business opportunity that would give returns on not insubstantial investments.

Roy

[Chris Morris]

The Warley announcement should have been in December but a small number of members wanted a full EGM to make the decision. This held things up until this week. I would agree the circumstances are different. The decisions are connected in that both organisations decided to quit while they were ahead rather than wait until they failed. The are a lot of reasons for the Warley show ceasing but it is fair to say that the age of the management team and the time many of us had spent on that team was a significant one. For instance, I have spent the last 30 years of my life on that management team. I doubt that was the cause of Hattons decision.