Hornby looking for ideas for more British N

[Ben A]

Hi all,

I have had my say and gone back to the thread a few times but despite lots and lots of ideas so far no feedback or response from Hornby.

I am not convinced they see the value of the internet as an interactive medium where they can ask - and respond - in real time to drive toward a consensus.

Having said that I will keep monitoring and I am looking forward to seeing what Hornby decide to do!

cheers

Ben A.

[MikeDunn]

I have had my say and gone back to the thread a few times but despite lots and lots of ideas so far no feedback or response from Hornby.

Did you really expect any ?  While someone may be collating ideas, I am not expecting anything from them except maybe with them saying something like "thanks, that's all we need" & closing feedback ... and I don't hold out much chance of that.

[Ben A]

Hi Mike,

I'm not sure.  I did think maybe the tone of the initial posting suggested a more "chatty" approach but on reflection you're probably right - there's no particular need for Hornby to respond.

cheers

Ben A.

[Karhedron]

Hornby recently took the step of particpitating in a Q&A on RMWeb. Whilst not exactly a triumph of straight-talking, it was still a positive step from a campany realising that it needs to improve its customer engagement to meet the expectations of the 21st century.

Hornby have a long way to go before the reach the levels of communication provided by the likes of DJM and Rapido (and Revolution is in a league all of its own  ) but at least they are heading in the right direction.

Baby steps.

Now, where is my N Gauge 4200? 

[Newportnobby]

Let's hope Hornbys response to the Q & A was better than Dapols.
Let's face it - it couldn't be worse................could it?

[Karhedron]

Let's hope Hornbys response to the Q & A was better than Dapols.

Dapol had a Q&A? I thought it was just a lot of Qs. 

[Newportnobby]

Let's hope Hornbys response to the Q & A was better than Dapols.

Dapol had a Q&A? I thought it was just a lot of Qs. 

Yeah - Dapol asked the questions and didn't like the answers

[Zunnan]

I don't know...Hornby aren't exactly known for their interaction with the punters unless at an exhibition stand or you get lucky at somewhere like WWTP when the big fish surface. Bachmann/Farish are the same in playing their cards close to their chest, but since DJ left Dapol the silence has been deafening. It's a positive step by Hornby, but it is obvious that certain decisions have already been made, which makes this whole exercise look more like a publicity raising venture. No bad thing when you're a huge name brand looking to enter a market more than a decade later than was ideal. There is nowt like stirring the froth to get attention!

Now, where are my LMS twins? 

[ScottyStitch]

I don't know...Hornby aren't exactly known for their interaction with the punters unless at an exhibition stand or you get lucky at somewhere like WWTP when the big fish surface. Bachmann/Farish are the same in playing their cards close to their chest, but since DJ left Dapol the silence has been deafening. It's a positive step by Hornby, but it is obvious that certain decisions have already been made, which makes this whole exercise look more like a publicity raising venture. No bad thing when you're a huge name brand looking to enter a market more than a decade later than was ideal. There is nowt like stirring the froth to get attention!

Now, where are my LMS twins? 

And of course they now have anotehr bunch of email addresses they can send marketing bumf to.....

[joe cassidy]

My take on this is that Hornby are "keeping up with the Joneses".

Their ambition is to compete with Bachmann in all market segments.

Bachmann have a British N gauge range so Hornby must also have one if they want to fight Bachmann on equal terms.

Best regards,


Joe

[joe cassidy]

If I was Hornby my strategy would be to take out Dapol before competing directly with Farish.

So I would bring out Hornby versions of :

the Britannia class
the 9F
the A3
the A4

without the well-documented faults of the Dapol models.

Best regards,


Joe
P.S. I might also bring out a V2 without the well-documented faults of the Farish version.

[Truffles]

Probably would never happen but would love to see Hornby downsize their excellent class 56 and replace the miserable effort that Dapol made of it.

[Dorsetmike]

If I was Hornby my strategy would be to take out Dapol before competing directly with Farish.

I would suggest getting established with some different models than are currently in production, no matter who is making them, once established with a proven track record (pun not intentional - honest!!) then go after the opposition, or at least threaten it to see if the opposition gets the message and sorts out their problems.

People are quick enough to moan about poor performance, but rarely shout about the good ones that probably far outnumber the duff ones.  It would be interesting to know provable figures of failures compared to non failures. Admittedly zero failures would be ideal but we are unlikely to ever see that. I would hope that the figures are  a bit  below 5%

[bridgiesimon]

Personally, I do not see any reason why Hornby should be trying to 'Take out' Dapol or 'Compete diractly' with Farish, I am just delighted that we have the potential of 4 ready to run manufacturers in N gauge, it does not seem long ago that there was all but nothing in this scale, remembering the Bachmann take over of Farish!

All I hope for is a continuing development of quality and running standards and do hope that the price does not run away at the same time!

Best wishes
Simon

[joe cassidy]

Personally, I do not see any reason why Hornby should be trying to 'Take out' Dapol or 'Compete diractly' with Farish

The reason is that Hornby is a business quoted on the stock exchange that has to make profit to keep its shareholders happy in the short term and also ensure its survival in the short/medium/long term.

Bachmann and Hornby have to answer to shareholders unlike the "cottage industries" for whom pandering to our desires is either a vocation or a hobby or a combination of both.

Best regards,


Joe