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Revell Under New Management after Hobbico Bankruptcy


jargonking

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New age management, spent huge sums on Disney franchises and radio control with miserable sales, just hope that Revell finds proper owner that will invest in scale modeling,

or at least enable the company to have some degree of decision making.

 

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I worked part-time for Hobbico during the 90's while I was in grad school at the University of Illinois. Since I left, the company became employee-owned which means long-term employees vested in the stock ownership plan as part of their retirement are going to be wiped out. The company used to be fairly well run though it's business was dominated by radio control models. That business has changed dramatically. Where once RC enthusiasts built model aircraft from basic wood shapes, now the hobby seems to be dominated by ready to fly items mainly produced in China. These can be bought from Amazon as easily as anywhere else and I don't think the retail side of the business has adapted well to the competition. The wholesale side is obviously under pressure from the shrinking number of brick and mortar stores.

 

The situation sounds quite dire for the employees since I think it's unlikely that the company will be maintained as it is currently structured. The stated goal is to find a buyer but I would think the best pieces will be spun off separately. I'd imagine the major brands like Revell will find buyers. Maybe Round2 could acquire Revell although I don't have any idea of their financial position. It seems likely that Revell Germany will become an independent entity again, if it survives. Whatever happens, the kit moulds will almost certainly find a home. One thing that struck me was the size of the debt: between $200 million and $500 million with assets (mostly buildings) worth less than one tenth of that. Yikes!

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4 hours ago, jargonking said:

Fans of Revell and Revell Germany might want to start worrying as their parent company has filed for bankruptcy.....

 

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-01-10/hobbico-files-bankruptcy-layoffs-next.html

 

With a little luck Revell Germany will end up a separate organisation free of the dead hand of US management (again) which seems to have no appreciation of any market but the US one

 

Shane

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2 hours ago, Shane said:

 

With a little luck Revell Germany will end up a separate organisation free of the dead hand of US management (again) which seems to have no appreciation of any market but the US one

 

Shane

But... but... NASCAR!!!

 

Lance, now making a sharp right-hand turn to escape from the angry NASCAR fans....

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1 hour ago, LanceB said:

But... but... NASCAR!!!

 

Lance, now making a sharp right-hand turn to escape from the angry NASCAR fans....

That's one example of the problems. Most car kits are 1/24 so what does Hobbico have Revell do? Keep repopping old 1/25 scale. Nothing wrong with that until you bank on sales growth in other regions. In the UK at least Hobbico have been treating the model market as an endless pile of cash, sales decline and they put the price up, sales slide further another increase. 

In fact, to many Hobbico carried on where Riko left off. That ended badly as well. I can buy Revell kits in Europe for less than the UK trade price, I'll bet others have done the same. I know of at least one large UK retailer who has being doing that for years.  

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If Revell are Hornby's (Airfix's) main mass market competitor in the UK, then what's bad for Revell ought to be good for Hornby. Provided, of course, they can hang in there. 

 

In reality, I'm sure the former-Revell Germany kit producing side of the business will find another buyer. Maybe Volkswagen can buy them and then they can churn out even more kits of boring contemporary VAG products :) Their capacity to produce new tool kits does seem to have dwindled since the Hobbico takeover.

 

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8 minutes ago, Paul A H said:

 

 Maybe Volkswagen can buy them and then they can churn out even more kits of boring contemporary VAG products :) 

 

Nah..... they would fail the emissions test :P  :devil:

 

Dick

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How long since they bought Revellers Germany? A couple of years at best, and now they've dragged them down with them. Hobbico seemed content to rest on their laurels and bask in past glories, repopping old tooling while the rest of the industry moved on in terms of quality. They applied that to an extent to RG, although they did still keep doing a limited amount of new tooling, but not what they once were.

 

I hope RG finds a new owner that will restore it to financial and creative health, and although I've not much time for Hobbico management, I hope their employees get sorted. :)

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4 hours ago, SleeperService said:

In fact, to many Hobbico carried on where Riko left off. 

 

Are you sure you are not confusing Hobbico with the UK-based Hobby Company (also known as Hobbyco), who were the successors to Riko and who are the UK distributors of Tamiya, Italeri, Dragon, Zvezda and others? They are two totally separate organisations.

 

Either way, I would expect both Revell USA and Revell Germany to be sold as Hobbico would need to divest itself of what it may see as unnecessary elements that are not its core business, ie radio control, and in the latter's case a consolidation within its domestic market.

 

Edited by Truro Model Builder
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I think Hobbico bought Revell for their distribution network and market presence in Europe. Investing in new tools was probably never a priority in the short to medium term.

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I'm just hoping Revell Germany end up reverting back to a seperate entity somehow. I think we all knew that the Hobbico buyout wasn't going to end well for RG.

 

I have a lot of time for RG. I like their kits and their prices. I'm just starting off on their 1/24 Routemaster. An amazing kit for not a lot of money!

 

Will be following this one closely!

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9 hours ago, LanceB said:

But... but... NASCAR!!!

 

Lance, now making a sharp right-hand turn to escape from the angry NASCAR fans....

Don't worry Lance......................you lost 'em when you turned right...............:whistle:

7 hours ago, Habu12 said:

Hornby is having its own issues. They won't be making capital investments for a while.

 

At any rate, here's a follow up:

http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/hobbico-files-for-bankruptcy/909851835

:hmmm:never, say never........................

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I really hope that Revell Germany gets back to being a separate company, their best days were when the company was independent. Of course I hope that all other branches of the Hobbico group survive too if the company is not sold in its entirety (and this may well happen)

In fairness I would be susprised if RoG don't find a new owner,  afterall they are a large enough company with a massive presence in many countries. Don't know the latest figures but only a few years ago Revell Germany had revenues of over £40 milion, it's one of the largest model kit manufacturers in the world. I can't see them disappearing

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