Wingnut Wings closing down

[dekenba]

32 minutes ago, Roger Holden said:

But apparently he can't or won't provide a breakdown of how that money has been spent, which rather suggests it hasn't all gone to the film industry, but some to his other projects like TVAL & WNW.....?

How can he provide a breakdown on how its been spent, when he's not the one spending it?

 

Other companies are in receipt of the $41m. They decide where they spend it, not WNW or PJ.

 

That holding statement from WNW is them attempting to sit firmly on the fence, neither one thing nor another. No denial, but no admittance either.

 

Perhaps a 3rd party is negotiating to purchase the business, and wants WNW to keep the business "warm" until the new owners can kick on?

 

Or perhaps WNW aren't shutting down?

 

At present, I am confidently predicting that WNW may or may not close, that another party may or may not purchase the company, that the Dr.I and Lancasters will or will not see the light of day, and that future kit sales may or may not start up again.

 

If pushed, I'd have to say I still think WNW is closing down, but it will effectively reopen under new management before too long.

 

Perhaps. But perhaps not......

 

 

[HMSLion]

The word from the employees is that they no longer have employment.  

 

Although I agree that the molds will resurface.  The O/100 is reported to be about 99% done...it would ideally get a final tweak but could be released now.  Although the Triplane would be the big money-maker.  That's a license to print money.

[Hobo]

4 hours ago, dekenba said:

If pushed, I'd have to say I still think WNW is closing down, but it will effectively reopen under new management before too long.

That is great news dekenba. You seem to have an inside track on what's going on at WNW, so I am crossing my fingers that you are correct. WNW reappearing under a different arrangement would be the best outcome for us modelers. Thank you Peter for your great products!

Edited April 17, 2020 by Hobo

[Fredag]

Due to the lack of flights to/from NZ (a drop of approx 70%) , freight costs are currently 3-4 times pre-covid. I'm sure this wouldn't have helped the WNW situation.

[Torbjorn]

They are still sending ”would you like to complete your order”-messages

Edited April 17, 2020 by Torbjorn

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I see we've now got a very small number who understand how toxic rumours can be, but that we've moved on to intimating either illegal or unethical activity by Peter Jackson - that sort of thing is a great confidence builder for people thinking of investing or a possible buyout.

 

Seriously guys, if you want to kill them off for good, this is helping...

 

If you can't see why this thread and all the others like it all over the internet are poisonous, then I haven't got time to explain why it's so, sadly, beyond stating that it's akin to a snowflake failing to see how it's partly responsible for an avalanche.

[Horatio Gruntfuttock]

The Hyperscale What's New page has the latest information, and , like Torbjorn, I fervently hope that WNW will resurface in another form and another place. They are just too good to be lost. The sad news in that TVAL has possibly closed up shop as well.

[Torbjorn]

39 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I see we've now got a very small number who understand how toxic rumours can be, but that we've moved on to intimating either illegal or unethical activity by Peter Jackson - that sort of thing is a great confidence builder for people thinking of investing or a possible buyout.

 

Seriously guys, if you want to kill them off for good, this is helping...

I think you’re being a bit harsh here, I strongly doubt any serious investor would care for the conspiracy theories of random posters on the net. They would look into it themselves and form their own conclusions. Isn’t a better approach to rebuke rather than put the gag on? It’s not as the posters are inventing them - they’re all over NZ news. As for WNW reputation (the part that matters, with that I mean its employees and their work , not the corporate side), it’s as solid as gold and they should be able to clean off any possible stains from this mess and reveal the shine again, if it comes to that. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Torbjorn

[tank152]

http://www.hyperscale.com/wnwupdate_1.htm

[alt-92]

1 hour ago, Torbjorn said:

I think you’re being a bit harsh here, I strongly doubt any serious investor would care for the conspiracy theories of random posters on the net.

I think you're being a bit optimistic there. Looking at stock market investments, it's pretty clear these are very sentiment-driven. What makes you think this is completely different?

[Torbjorn]

15 minutes ago, alt-92 said:

I think you're being a bit optimistic there. Looking at stock market investments, it's pretty clear these are very sentiment-driven. What makes you think this is completely different?

It’s not a publicly traded company and there’s a major difference between investment and speculation. Were I a WNW employee I wouldn’t want an owner acting on whims and the rumours spread by anonymous posters on internet fora anyway. That’s what I meant with ”serious” in serious investor  

[Chimpion]

Investors aren't the issue in a case like this. The typical chain of events is

1. Rumours of an imminent demise circulate.

2. Customers stop ordering because of worries their orders won't be fulfilled and they won't get a refund.

3. The fall in sales volume triggers a cash flow drop triggering a breach of bank loan conditions.

4. Banks demand repayment of the loan

5. Suppliers refuse to deliver on credit.

 

4 and 5 can occur in either order or simultaneously.

 

A new investor would look at the potential business if customers regain confidence, which a new investment should achieve by breaking the chain of events at step 2.

 

I don't know whether this is playing out at WNW but I think it's a reasonable concern to raise, so we shouldn't be posting idle speculation. On the other hand, the true FACTS should be distributed to enable potential customers to make reasoned purchasing decisions aware of any risks that are present. A real problem.in such situations is that the real facts are usually only revealed after it's too late to react.

 

[Torbjorn]

Chimpion, agree entirely, and what you say is more or less what I wrote - albeit in less detail - a few posts above.

Investors are only of concern later if WNW does close, and my only point regarding them was that vile rumours about use of state subsidies spread randomly now are not likely to influence them if it comes to that. This is maybe not the place for that topic anyway.

 

WNW is not taking any new orders now though (wholesale might be different?), so I doubt people talking can affect them negatively at this point. Rather the contrary since their kits are currently being bought from distributors at increasing rates due to these rumours.;)

 

Either way this is sad. If the rumours are false they ought to make a firm statement to debunk them if they feel it affects business. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Torbjorn

[tony.t]

WnW has tripped up. Sentiment isn't a sufficient driver if the passion gets walloped. I sincerely hope it survives in one form or another to continue producing smaller, more commercially viable, subjects. However, failing that, I look forward to being able to buy the Albatros etc in more affordable "kitsets" from whoever buys the tooling in China. 

 

Tony 

[Greg B]

And that's about it for this thread until its closure is confirmed or signs of life are shown.....

[Duncan B]

The Wingnut Wings Website has an updated announcement for those who are wondering what the latest state of play is.

 

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/news

 

Duncan B

 

(maybe this would be better in another section, please feel free to move to a more appropriate section)

[iang]

It seems to me (just on the basis of what this announcement says), that they could be mothballing the enterprise (with a view to possibly reopening in the future), rather than closing it down and disposing of the assets. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by iang

[Julien]