Revell Under New Management after Hobbico Bankruptcy

[VMA131Marine]

12 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Not all there molds are in china. My F-102 re-pop that i bought last year, was made in poland. There are both mold marks and a sticker inside the wing indicating that. 

That's good news! It was noted on another forum that Revell USA only keeps the kits currently in production in China. I just hope there are good records of where everything is. 

[TIGER HOBBIESLIMITED]

I could understand that pricing if it was the only kit available but considering you can get the  equally as nice bandai kit for a measly £38 then it boggles the mind .

 

Revell have got a total licence for all Star Wars products plastic kits sold in Europe.

 

You are correct there is the Bandi version but under the licence agreement Bandi Star War can no longer be sold in Europe.

 

There are one or two back door dealers with Bandi Star Wars in the UK but, they will be on a sticky wicket if Disney/Revell Legal department find out, they are selling them in the UK.

[tony.t]

 

And thus ends my beautiful 53 year-old relationship with the delightful blue and yellow logo. 

 

The Arcade model shop in Newcastle, Woolies in Morpeth; the model shop in Aylesbury, and the one in Woodstock; Model Highways and R.Clark (aka Nobby's Hobbies) on Gloucester Road, along with the Model Den, Beatties and Antics in Broadmead, Bristol; mail order from the big H, and other t'interweb stores. 

 

The 1/72 Douglas Stiletto, Dambusters Lanc, Memphis Belle, through the Revellogram Century Series and the spectacular 1/32 kits: the Spitty and Stuka of the late 'sixties through to the Tomcat and Eagle of the 'eighties, and more recent delights of hefty Heinkels, Junkers, the lovely Hawker Hunters, Hawks, Bf 109 Gs, Fw 190s, an Me 262 night fighter and two newer Spitties in man size scale.

 

Goodbye old friend. I know some of the moulds will end up in China to churn out bubble gum plastic animé editions for the Asian market, but will we ever see that blue & yellow logo again, beyond the used trade on e-bay? 

 

T 

[Truro Model Builder]

Revell is the only other manufacturer aside from Airfix that aims itself at new and young modellers and sells itself to toy retailers. If they are lost to the hobby it will be a sad day indeed.

[VMA131Marine]

While things don't look good for Revell at the moment, it should be remembered that Airfix was basically at this point before they were bought by Hornby. Since then, we have seen Airfix release its best kits ever (and I know Hornby has its own problems at the moment). The point is that the current Airfix has really nothing connecting it to the original company founded by Nicholas Kove except the molds and the logo. It is possible that Revell could emerge from this in better shape than it is now. This would not be the first time a profitable model company was brought down by a bankrupt parent company.

[Scooby]

17 minutes ago, VMA131Marine said:

While things don't look good for Revell at the moment, it should be remembered that Airfix was basically at this point before they were bought by Hornby. Since then, we have seen Airfix release its best kits ever (and I know Hornby has its own problems at the moment). The point is that the current Airfix has really nothing connecting it to the original company founded by Nicholas Kove except the molds and the logo. It is possible that Revell could emerge from this in better shape than it is now. This would not be the first time a profitable model company was brought down by a bankrupt parent company.

IMHO, Airfix is the new Hasegawa. They are producing more than even and hitting them out of the ball-park, with yes a few hiccups.

[PhantomBigStu]

RoG are not dead yet, and even if as this develops they do cease for a time, I suspect it will be a brief hiatus, just like when airfix last died, too strong of brand to not find capital somewhere 

[Chimpion]

They also have very good high street visibility in Germany and Austria, with an extensive range of kits and paints in every Müller store (kind of a cross between Boots and Woolworths). If the model side really is profitable, there is an opportunity for someone here.

[Navy Bird]

From the News-Gazette, the local newspaper in Champaign, IL:

 

"The remaining units of Hobbico are still up for auction, but that process is temporarily on hold, according to the transcript. We received a number of bids that overlap and contained other terms that we need to discuss with the consultation parties," said Nick Miller, who is representing Hobbico. "So we are adjourning the auction with respect to the remainder until sometime in the near future."

 

It seems bids were received for the other parts of the business, likely including Revell and Revell of Germany. The fact that they received bids that overlap is because they had lots that overlap:

 

Lot A - Everything except Revell GmbH

Lot B - All the RC stuff

Lot C - Estes/Cox, Revell, Revel GmbH

Lot D - Revell & Revell GmbH

Lot E - Revell GmbH

Lot F - Estes/Cox

 

Since we know Lots B and F had bids (Horizon for Lot B and The Langford Group for Lot F) then the "overlapping" bids must have been for one or more of the other lots. It ain't over until the clear varnish goes on.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

I just had a quick look at the auction transcript, and there were six qualified bidders present (including the lenders), one of which was identified as Round 3, LLC. It is stated in the transcript that "we did, in fact, receive bids for the various lots." The only bids identified were those that were accepted for Lots B and F.

 

Round "3" is interesting, as it supposes a connection to Round 2. But that is speculation on my part.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Giorgio N]

Before being bought by Hobbico, Revell gmbh was a very strong company, with revenues in the 40-45 milion Euro range and good profits. As said above, they have a wide visiibility in shops and retail chains in large parts of Europe and this also extends to consumables like glues and paint.

Revell in Europe is not only a brand but also a company with a strong position in the market, I doubt that such a company will be left to close.

[VMA131Marine]

7 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Before being bought by Hobbico, Revell gmbh was a very strong company, with revenues in the 40-45 milion Euro range and good profits. As said above, they have a wide visiibility in shops and retail chains in large parts of Europe and this also extends to consumables like glues and paint.

Revell in Europe is not only a brand but also a company with a strong position in the market, I doubt that such a company will be left to close.

It's net revenue that counts. In 2015, Hobbico had a profit of less than $2million on total revenue of over $360million. The following year, revenue went down to $324million and the company lost nearly $15million. 2017 revenue was off sharply to about $270million. The losses must have been enormous. 

[Asmodai]

Indeed, revenue is a meaningless number, without knowing how much it cost to make it as well. I know this all too well, as the place I still work for at the moment had its highest sales in history the last decade. But the amount of money they spent to get those sales was so great, that when sales slipped to merely okay, the company was suddenly operating at a loss. 

 

The situation Hobbico found itself in was not a new one. It has happened many times when private equity capital management concerns swoop down like a vulture onto a business. They start borrowing so much money it makes your eyes bleed, and start buying up every shred of competition in the industry. But they do this without making any real investments in the businesses. Then when things turn bad, the money is already gone into their golden parachutes and Lexuses, and they declare bankruptcy and disappear. 

[VMA131Marine]

There's one other interesting item in the bankruptcy petition: in 2005, the then owner of the company sold it to an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) for $200 million. When all is said and done, the extracted value from the sale is going to be less than a quarter of that. Was the company overvalued in 2005? It certainly seems like it might have been.

[Phantome]

On 3/30/2018 at 12:12 PM, Scooby said:

IMHO, Airfix is the new Hasegawa. They are producing more than even and hitting them out of the ball-park, with yes a few hiccups.

You mean the Hasegawa that had better surface detail and fit in the 1980s than Airfix in the 2010s?

 

[Phantome]

Now I regret not having gotten into investment banking as soon as I graduated. I'd have a couple of million in my pocket and I could buy Revell. The dream of owning my own model company!

[Giorgio N]

On 1/4/2018 at 12:41 AM, VMA131Marine said:

It's net revenue that counts. In 2015, Hobbico had a profit of less than $2million on total revenue of over $360million. The following year, revenue went down to $324million and the company lost nearly $15million. 2017 revenue was off sharply to about $270million. The losses must have been enormous. 

 

Having been part of the founding team of a company, I have some rough idea of the relevance of profits versus revenues and of a few other figures that help understand how healthy a company is, so I totally agree that revenues alone are not that important

I stand by my previous statement though: when Hobbico bought Revell GMBH, they bought a healthy company that was making profits, Revell's management did not sell because the company was in trouble, as was for example the case with Airfix, they just sold because they got a good offer.

This means that the German side of Revell, even with the changes that the scale modelling market may have seen in the last few years, is still a good candidate for any interested buyer and that returning them to the good health they enjoyed only a few years ago shouldn't be that difficult. This unless Hobbico has made damage beyond the repairable.

I don't know enough of the US side of Revell, so can't comment on them. As a modeller based in Europe, Revell US is something rarely seen here and I was only exposed to their products during my frequent business trips outside the Continent and I wasn't all that impressed. at least when it comes to aircraft kits: countless reboxings of Monogram kits and only very few new moulds (quite good I have to say). Compared with the output of Revell Germany in the same years I feel that should Revell US disappear this would have practically no impact to me. I know however that in the US subjects like racing cars are way more popular subjects, and I guess that Revell US was involved in these and sure other modellers may well feel the other way around

 

[Scooby]

This is copied over from Hyperscale;

 

A document notifying of a hearing on the proposed sale of Revell and/or Revell Germany is being held on April 10. From this and the transcript of last week's auction, I would infer that Hobbico has received an acceptable bid or bids and now needs the court's approval. There is still no indication as to who the likely purchaser(s) are. 

"NOTICE OF HEARING ON THE PROPOSED SALE OF THE 
GLOBAL REVELL LOT; THE REVELL GERMANY LOT; AND 
ANY NON-CONFORMING LOTS OR REMNANT ASSETS 
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on February 26, 2018, Hobbico, Inc. and its 
affiliated debtors and debtors in possession (collectively, the “Debtors”) in the above-captioned 
chapter 11 cases filed the Debtors’ Motion For (I) An Order (A) Establishing Bidding 
Procedures For The Sale Of All, Or Substantially All, Of The Debtors’ Assets; (B) 
Approving Potential Bid Protections; (C) Establishing Procedures Relating To The 
Assumption And Assignment Of Executory Contracts And Unexpired Leases; (D) 
Approving Form And Manner Of The Sale, Cure And Other Notices; And (E) Scheduling 
An Auction And A Hearing To Consider The Approval Of The Sale; (II) An Order (A) 
Approving The Sale Of The Debtors’ Assets Free And Clear Of Claims, Liens And 
Encumbrances; And (B) Approving The Assumption And Assignment Of Executory 
Contracts And Unexpired Leases; And (III) Certain Related Relief (the “Motion”). 
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a hearing was held on April 2, 2018 on 
the Hobby Business Lot2 
and the Estes-Cox Lot. 
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a hearing on the proposed sale of the 
Global Revell Lot, the Revell Germany Lot, and any non-conforming Lots or remnant assets will 
be held on April 10, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) before the Honorable Kevin Gross at the United 
States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, 824 North Market Street, 6th Floor, 
Courtroom #3, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 (the “Hearing”)." 

http://upshotservices.s3.amazonaws.com/files/ff11e972-f6c7-458c-a00b-05e14958d7f7/21835f04-3653-414a-91c6-bcbd55292030.pdf

[Navy Bird]

One of the bidders was identified in the auction transcript as "Round 3 LLC." They were identified only because their lawyer asked a question about the sealed bid process prior to the auction. Based on that name, I would speculate this is an organization related to Round2. It would make sense for Round2 to go after Revell, as they previously acquired AMT, Hawk, MPC, Lindberg, etc. - a veritable conglomerate of styrene. Plus, Round2 seems to have a lot of Star Trek models, so adding the Revell Star Wars kits would give them a good chunk of the sci-fi market. Plus, the legal name of Round2 is Round 2 LLC, very similar to the bidder identification.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[hsr]

There is a Round3 LLC in Utah USA, https://secure.utah.gov/bes/details.html?entity=10434973-0160, but no idea what they do or if they are the same company.

Edited April 4, 2018 by hsr

[HMSLion]

I can see Round 2 wanting to get their hands on the Revell and Monogram molds.  Especially some of the old Aurora stuff.  It would not surprise me if Revell of Germany wound up with the name, though.

[Caerbannog]

I also think this is a typo and Round2 is the company in question.

Checking the Round3 webpage makes me wonder if they would be interested in anything from Hobbico:  https://round3.io/what-is-it/

 

Personally I would love to have Round2 get the Revell part. Would be nice if there would also remain the connection between Revell US and Revell Germany. First I would hope to get the nice SciFi Range (1999 Eagle, Hawk, 1:350 Star Trek) at a reasonable price over here and second I surely think Round2 would push Revell AG to better Star Wars and Star Trek kits... I wish them luck.

[TIGER HOBBIESLIMITED]

So much for it having no effect on Revell Germany, been sold to a new owner at a open auction like a used car must have some effect.

[Caerbannog]

10 minutes ago, TIGER HOBBIESLIMITED said:

So much for it having no effect on Revell Germany, been sold to a new owner at a open auction like a used car must have some effect.

AFAIK Hobbico bought Revell AG completely - 100%. So as a first step Revell AG is in the same trouble as all other Hobbico brands. But being maybe a better part of the Hobbico (I tink so - they have a market share of 77% here in Germany, though I do not know how huge that is compared to other markets in the world) cake they may be lucky and find a new investor who let them do their business. And they live happily ever after...

Well in fact before Hobbico they lost turnover each year according to Wikipedia they made 6,4 million Euro in 2005 and "just" 36,8 million Euro in 2013. Hobbico bought them in 2012. Two years later Revell AG made aplus of 18,9 % to 45,36 million Euro (I think due to new product ranges like R/C, etc.). They do not say anything of how much Hobbico is involved in this but it shows that a company can grow with an investor ;-)

Keep fingers crossed.

[VMA131Marine]

Revell's revenue is bound to shrink in the aftermath of a sale. Without Hobbico, it won't have access to any of its radio control product line.