Latinbear Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I've received and email from Hatton's informing me that sadly the firm is closing after 78 years. No firm date for the final closure but an orderly wind down is in progress. Consequently, there is a closing down sale. Hattons Closing Down Sale - Sitewide Deals - Hattons Model Railways (for some reason the link won't post but it's Hattons.co.uk) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100SQN Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Thanks Ian Their website is really slow for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latinbear Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 10 minutes ago, 100SQN said: Thanks Ian Their website is really slow for me Ah, I wondered whether it was just me as my internet seems to have gone into go slow mode. It's very frustrating but thanks Simon for confirming I'm not alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Thanks for the heads-up. The website won't load for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 OK for me, not a lot on offer models wise at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Probably the vultures circling, looking for bargains is slowing it to a stop. I find it funny (unusual) when this sort of thing happens and they get more traffic in a few days than you'd get in a year or more otherwise. https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/hattons.co.uk I think their server has turned up its toes due to overloading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 To be honest they never did have much of a model kit stock, but if your into Railways there looks to be a good selection on offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 That's a shame. I only recently discovered their pre-owned section and have managed to pick up a few bargains. Found them to be a good company to deal with too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 What a shame. I hope someone else takes on their Genesis coaches range. A good few years ago now I was visiting my parents at the same time as my sister. My sister is a big Liverpool football fan. She talked me into driving her to Anfield so she could buy some merchandise from the shop there. When we got there, I was hungry. There is/was a chip shop opposite the ground called Sing Fong so I bought some chips and curry sauce. As I was stood outside, a random bloke struck up a conversation while we ate our chips. My sister came along and did a double take and then took a photo of us. The bloke finished his chips and said goodbye. My sister told me his name was Jamie Carragher. No... I don't know who he is either... She then sent the photo of me and Jamie eating chips outside Anfield to my brother who is a major Liverpool fan. I thought that while we were in Liverpool, I should visit Hattons, so off we went. It was great! My sister passed me her phone and I took a picture of her stood outside the shop, which she also sent to my brother. He was very confused and thought he had fallen into Bizarroworld. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim R-T-C Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Wow, thats a big deal they were a huge model railway supplier and big bricks & mortar venue. They were at Telford this year advertising their pre-owned kit service so I thought they might be trying to get into the 2nd hand plastic kit trade too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Sworld Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Had a think about the AMMO paint racks for future storage but I've bought into the EMBA range now (and they are still cheaper!) 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Sudden and sad news as used them many times. But just had nose seem a lot stock gone ie dragon there was quite alot armour kits the other week, now non Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 That's a shame, used them on quite a few occasions, and always had a very good service. Hope every one there has something to move on to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I see its been announced that Hattons is to close after 77 years Recently they have been buying kit collections and selling them on as well as their normal railway business. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/hattons-model-railways-announces-closure-28411645 https://www.hattons.co.uk/closure?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=closingdownannouncement&fbclid=IwAR2UYSzP8MhVRMtLXfk_1SXMlUxM2GQ4Ha28IIKHkMjFiObKuEPcHm00ZD8 Quote We've put together a small FAQ which we hope answers most of these questions. The company is NOT insolvent. The company is being wound down in an orderly fashion, leaving no outstanding debts. Changing market conditions have had a large impact on the business, we have seen this in declining customer numbers, changing customer demographics and supply chain disruption. Increased cost of compliance has become a large factor. Brexit, GST and other operational costs of running an international business have all increased dramatically over the past few years. We do not have an exact date for closing down as of yet. We will be communicating this in the coming weeks. Sad to see them go. Julien 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: I hope someone else takes on their Genesis coaches range. From RMWeb; Hattons Originals Batch 2 Genesis coaches WILL be produced and released as announced. GCR French grey & brown L&Y brown & umber Midland Railway crimson lake LSWR salmon & brown BR crimson NCB blue CIE dark green CIE light green CIE black & tan GER Stratford brown Warwell reruns WILL be produced and released as announced. P Class reruns are currently under review. Once a decision has been made we will be sure to communicate this to customers. Batch 3 Genesis coaches will NOT be produced https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/183697-hattons-model-railways-to-close/#comment-5392003 Heck of a surprise announcement, saw no hint of it in last week's newsletters...!! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGER HOBBIESLIMITED Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 It is Hatton's Model Railway that decided to close its business in a orderly manner, making sure their creditors are paid and may be leaving an opportunity to come back one day. This has to be applauded, better than struggling on and been pushed out of business by Creditors ( Banks, Trade suppliers and others). This is one of the UK largest Hobby retailers and has been for some time, so it shows the state of business in the UK and others need to take heed or cut cloth accordingly. Best wishes to all staff at Hatton's Model Railway. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Gutted to see this but Hattons is closing down 🥲 They are having a sale so thought it might be worth sharing here. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF4EVER Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 25 minutes ago, Danny said: Gutted to see this but Hattons is closing down 🥲 They are having a sale so thought it might be worth sharing here. Link Already mentioned here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235134991-hattons-of-liverpool-closing-down/&do=getLastComment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Our hobby can be very expensive at times, but the price of model railway items is eye watering. This must have a big effect on the turnover for retailers. Hattons fall out with Bachman cant have helped either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 5 minutes ago, Scarlet said: Hattons fall out with Bachman cant have helped either. Didn't they also have a falling out with Hornby previously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 There was some competition between manufacturers and retailers a few years back. Retailers started producing their own products, sometimes in direct conflict with similar items offered. I believe Rails of Sheffield also got in on the act. The biggest market a few years back for model railways was the Saudi peninsula. I don't know if that is still the case. Perhaps Hattons have seen the light with the amount of second hand collections being bought in, looked at the figures and decided that the future is not viable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 3 hours ago, bootneck said: Didn't they also have a falling out with Hornby previously? That possibly explains why they stopped selling new Airfix kits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Hi worst ever just started using them a bit recentish for model railway stuff not good news for me or airfix/ hornby jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 4 hours ago, bootneck said: Didn't they also have a falling out with Hornby previously? The fall outs were: Hattons with Bachmann - due to competing class 68 loco's Rails with Hornby - over competing terriers (not a dog fight, no need to call the RSPCA). The Spat was witnessed in one of the 'Hornby a model world episodes'. Pity that Hattons have decided to call time as Hattons was my go to Model Railway supplier a much friendlier place than my past employer is now. I can only see prices rising as one of the major players exits the field and competition reduces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 I remember the original Hattons on Smithdown Road, Liverpool. It was a five minute walk away. Always heavily rail orientated shop, it was small and compact, stuffed with trains. Loads of models in the window. There was always a corner in the smaller window for those strange Airfix thingies. It’s the only shop I can remember that sold the Bristol Freighter I spoke to Mr Hatton on a few occasions. Not the life and soul of a party if I remember rightly. I lost touch with them when I moved from home and they ended up a stones throw from THAT Penny Lane. Another piece of my childhood gone 😔 Trevor 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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