I would want to know the source of that information before accepting it as correct. There's little business sense in operating in that way, though sense is often lacking in business. Chers, Bill.
I would want to know the source of that information before accepting it as correct. There's little business sense in operating in that way, though sense is often lacking in business. Chers, Bill.
Buying famous brand names and selling off their physical assets is standard business practice in the UK. Airfix' model railway tooling was sold off many years ago.
(kim)
The railway tooling was sold, the products made from those tools are now sold under the Dapol name. If Humbrol was purchasing the moulded products form Dapol and rebranding them as Airfix, that would be a valid parallel. I can't see that the suggested situation with Heller has much in common with this arrangement, Cheers, Bill.
Some of the former "Airfix" products sold by Dapol were always made by Kader in the far east and have since been rebranded as "Bachmann" products. The moulds were never physically owend by Airfix or Dapol.
(kim)
Heller don't own the Airfix moulds. Humbrol is the major (only?) trading arm of a company called Hobby Products Group. Airfix in turn is a brand belonging to Humbrol. Humbrol also owned Heller until about 9 months ago when a deal was reached to sell the Heller plant to it's management. Humbrol retained ownership of all the moulds from both the Airfix and Heller catalogues. Heller would be a contract moulder for Humbrol.
In July the new Heller management placed the company in administration. Subsequently it would seem a dispute arose between Heller's administrators and Humbrol's management which resulted in Heller refusing to supply any products - kits- to Humbrol. It would seem that it is this drying up of their principal supply stream tat has forced Humbrol into administration.
John
Ah, the Frogs won't miss any opportunity to annoy the Brits, and the Brits won't miss any opportunity to blame it on the Frogs...
There is some confusion here. I thought we were discussing the Airfix model railway construction kits, most of which originated with Kitmaster before being bought by Airfix upon that company's demise. These tools always remained the property of Airfix until sold to Dapol. At no point after that did Airfix market products from the tools thay had formerly owned. I believe that Kader always owned the Mainline tooling in Hong Kong. This has become somewhat muddied following Mainline's purchase of the Airfix range, the latter (as far as I am aware) had nothing to do with Kader. Kader subsequently bought Bachmann sometime around 1987, launching many of the former Mainline tools they owned under the Bachmann Branchline brand. Cheers, Bill.
Thanks Graham, That's pretty much how I understood the situation, Cheers, Bill.
Never apologize for being smart. I wish I had put back more of their military colors.
Bill Shuey
But has anyone made the 'perhaps the business model just fell apart' joke yet?
JJ (UK)
No, thank God!
Doug Wagner
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