Bachmann hike price's by 20%

[MikeDunn]

I can guarantee that in a few years time Bachmann will have to hike their prices again.

Safe bet, seeing as the article said something about Bachmann are going to do a 20% increase every year until 2019 ...  And I also note that this 20% is said to be a 'rough figure' - so it's another safe bet it will be more ...

If Bachmann (or Dapol, or Hornby) were to announce that they were moving production to the UK, but prices were rising by 63% as a result, I somehow doubt that ANYONE would be happy about it.

I don't recall price drops when they send production to China, do you ?  They took in the increase in profits, now it's biting them.

Let's assume a particular model costs £100 - a 63% increase would put it at £163.  That same model, going through this 20% YOY increase will be - wait for it - £248 in 2019 !!!

Let's further assume that the locally-produced item (in 2015) @ £163 gets a YOY increase of 5% - that puts the 2019 price @ £198, that is £50 less than China ...  5% not realistic ?  OK, let's pick 10% - 2019 price is now £207 - still £41 cheaper !!!

So in this set of circumstances, yes I would be happier to have it locally !!!  Not only does it come out as cheaper (yes, I know, there will be a lot of variables no-one has even thought of affecting this), but we also have the jobs in this country, with all the taxes etc staying in this country.

It is evident that the time of China being a cheap manufacturer is coming to a close, if indeed for small production items such as our toy trains it hasn't already done so.  Where next ?  Indonesia ?  Vietnam ?  India ?  Or just bite the bullet & bring them all back locally again ... as Hornby has begun to do in a small scale.

I'll still buy the models - but my selection will be even more targeted than it currently is, and I will be looking for the best price I can find (fortunately, this currently is my local shop who regularly undercut Hattons & RoS) for the fewer ones I will buy.

[Paddy]

It would be good to see production return to the UK if quality/cost is achievable.  One wonders if it would be viable for a factory to be setup in a deprived area (e.g. Welsh valleys) which would attract government/EU grants etc. and provide much needed employment in those areas. The factory would need orders from all the players to get economies scale.  Doubt it would be viable with just one owner e.g. Hornby.  Probably such cooperation between companies is no doubt considered anti competitive! :-)

Best

Paddy

[1936ace]

Or it could be good for them as panic buying to grab the at now prices empties the shelves ready to make way for the new models or guarantee upcoming pre order sales
Or am I being a little too "conspiracy theory"
Bart

[Newportnobby]

Maybe they'll increase the current offered discount of 15% to 30%

Blimey - there's a whole squadron of pigs just flown over the house

[1936ace]

You're so funny
Bart

[Agrippa]

Are European rtr products like Minitrix, Fleischmann, Arnold etc still made in Europe ? If far eastern costs
go up steeply European models might end up similar in price to Farish and Dapol.

[silly moo]

The flying pigs would go nicely with 1:144 scale warbirds 

[EtchedPixels]

Are European rtr products like Minitrix, Fleischmann, Arnold etc still made in Europe ? If far eastern costs
go up steeply European models might end up similar in price to Farish and Dapol.

Some are still made in Europe yes. Likewise most Peco is UK made, Union Mills is UK made. Union Mills prices have oddly enough not changed a lot over the time

Think I need to go and relist all my N'porium listings at a 20% higher price 

[GScaleBruce]

Marklin repatriated all production from China to a factory in Europe. It produces everything they sell - Marklin, Trix, Minitrix, LGB. The factory is in Hungary to take advantage of lower costs than Germany; residual manufacturing operations in Germany (e.g. the rump LGB operation in Nuremburg) were closed. Batch production seems to be the order of the day, but then that's true in the far east, some quality problems at least to begin with but nothing compared to the merchandise coming from China (certainly as far as LGB production was concerned).

[PLD]

Union Mills is UK made. Union Mills prices have oddly enough not changed a lot over the time

Being pedantic, the Isle of Man is NOT part of the UK, and compared to the UK as a relatively high cost economy!

and to compare a one man band who needs to do little more than cover his costs with a multinational corporation with the demands of cash hungry corporate and political master to satisfy is questionable anyway...

[scottmitchell74]

This is very interesting. Makes Union Mills even more attractive, from a pricing point of view.

[oreamnos]

I have a habit of watching the inventory levels on the Hattons website and making note of what's selling and what is not.  For instance Dapol Class 22s still are not shifting even after a 12 quid price reduction quite some time ago; they are simply still too expensive for such a niche loco.

I will be curious to see what sells at the new prices, but for me personally I think I will be waiting to see what is left for scraps when Bachmann have a big inventory clear out sale like they seem to every few years.

I now more fully appreciate the wisdom of Hattons decision to make a big push into the second hand market.  As prices on the new models become more dear sales on new models will decline unless it is willing to take a smaller margi; profits will drop in either case.  But with second hand models, Hattons has much more freedom to set prices to sustain the margins it requires.

Matt

[Railwaygun]

The pound is strong against the Dollar - how is it against the Rembini?

This could temporarily offset the price rises???

[darren.c]

This was was due to come at some point hornby had 4 he hike a few years back we all moaned then but we all kept buying there models. Bachmann is in a bit of a sticky wicket were hornby could move production else were bachmann might be stuck in China due to kadar
Daz

[Kipper]

I consider myself very lucky, that my tin plated local government pension has gone up by 2.7% this year. That is £28 a month, if you need to know. I shall, therefore, continue to ignore the new products, and carry on buying used from toy fairs, exhibitions, etc.
I know my place!