Horizon deal with Intermountain

Doesn't sound like a good deal for me as most of the people I deal with don't deal with Horizon! This seems to suggest I can't buy IM anymore.

Your dealer should be able to continue geting products direct from Intermountain.

The news release stated: "Previously InterMountain distributed its products direct to the retailer and will continue that practice for those retailers that wish to maintain a direct relationship with the company."

That's not good for me... Walthers *is* my local hobby shop here in Milwaukee!

Go mail order! Horizon in their _extreme effort_ to support local hobby shops actually creates just the opposite effect.

What is strange is how quiet the net is about the Horizon takeovers.

I guess everybody is happy with the Monopoly Horizon is building. Do it the Horizon way or take the highway. Remember less choice is more!

Bill Dixon

Athearn survived for years on small volume orders by a large number of hobby shops, some that were general shops carrying modelling supplies for everything from model cars to rockets, others just carried mosel train supplies. Horizon has managed to alienate, I would expect, through their high volume order requirements, a large number of small shops. This forces modellers to venture elsewhere for these goods, namely the large chain hobby shops that know nothing about the model rail road hobby. Their other large outlets will be toy stores that can survive the big box pressure from Walmart and K-mart/Sears that will only carry a very narrow porduct line. If the owners of Athearn and MDC came out of the deal with a good chunk of financial security for themselves and their families I applaud them. As for Horizon I see these acquisitions as neither a good fit or a good economic decision. Forcing one's market presence to the blue states doesn't seem to make good sense.

Bob

I heard somebody the other day describing WalMart as having a generally Soviet GUM feel to it.

Then there was the cartoon in the editorial section today - a WalMart B-52 bombing small town America with boxes marked "Made in China". But they'll never replace our greeters with Chinese . . . will they?

This is not a takeover. Intermountain has not been purchased by Horizon. Approved dealers may still order direct from Intemountain if they wish to. The newsletter I received from Intermountain says this was done to give them a better market presence. Horizon told me about this a week or so ago and said only that they were going to carry the line.

C Fails

..well if they're successful they'll have a nice chunk of the distribution/sales for Intermountain - that ight just in due time give takeover power :)

Newsman

Gene wrote: Wasn't Walmart claiming a few years ago that it went out of its way to sell only "Made in the USA" products?

---------------------------------------------------- Shhh, Gene! Now that they have wiped out all the small stores, they can do as they please, I suppose.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

History of N Scale: Railroad Bookstore: 's Books and Toy Trains: to 1,000 sites:

Wasn't Walmart claiming a few years ago that it went out of its way to sell only "Made in the USA" products?

Could be. Nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find any American made products in Walmart. Or many other store for that matter. Check the fine print at your grocer for example.