"Hornby branches out to new lines"

Toymaker Hornby is putting its faith in TV favourite Dr Who and Formula One star Lewis Hamilton to drive sales. The group has negotiated a licence with BBC Worldwide to produce a range of Airfix models based on Dr Who, which should hit shop shelves for Christmas.
A further deal with the McLaren Formula One team will allow it to issue a range of Lewis Hamilton Scalextric cars.
Kent-based Hornby also aims to cash in on the current Transformer craze, with a range of products based on the film.
Shares in the company jumped on the news, rising 24.25 pence, or 11%, to 250.25p on the London market in afternoon trade.
Timely move?
The decision to produce a range of Dr Who goods just in time for Christmas could prove to be a money-spinner.
Last year, Character Group's Cyberman voice changing helmet was touted as one of the biggest sellers during Christmas 2006.
In a trading update to coincide with its annual general meeting, Hornby - famous for its range of model train sets - said it had made a "solid" start to the year.
"Forward orders are much stronger than the equivalent position last year," said chairman Neil Johnson in a statement.
"With a strong pipeline of new product launches, we are very well placed to continue to drive both sales and profit growth."
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6917326.stm
Published: 2007/07/26 14:02:10 GMT

"kim" wrote
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Makes a change from Pound Puppies and radio controlled models they've tried in the past. One day they'll realise that it's the core business that deserves the investment.
John.

On Sun, 5 Aug 2007 16:11:47 +0100, John Turner put finger to keyboard and typed:
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Scalextric is part of Hornby's core business. So, for that matter, is Airfix now that Hornby owns it.
Mark

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But can sales in the ' core business ' enable them to recoup the investment ?
The question is are there enough model railway enthusiasts with spending power to support very high detail and therefore higher cost models in the volumes required to make it viable ?
I for one fully support their idea of providing toys / models for all pockets !
The new series Dr Who has been immensely successful for the BBC and Lewis Hamilton appears to be the next 'David Beckham' in terms of sales potential.
Chris