Hobby Lobby cutting models back again

I have a sneaking suspicion Hans Von Hammer and I go to the same HL (Bettendorf, IA), don't think we've met though....  Anyway, they used to have one full aisle, both sides, one side packed with cars, the other with military, and there was plenty of overflow into an aisle on either side of the main.  Now we're down to that original main aisle, but they could probably get all the kits on one side of it.  Their prices have gotten nuts.  Even with a 40% coupon, they're too high.  Over the years I've talked with department people and they say they are locked into doing what corporate tells them , with no deviations.  I had one tell me they ordered kits with boxes that would fit the corporate designated shelf slot.  As has been mentioned the same Tamiya kits sit and sit and get older, but I've noticed price increases on them.  Maybe they're going for that vintage collector kit someday.  I had one person actually speculate why the stuff doesn't sell, all the while putting higher price stickers on them.  I told her, "Well, go downtown to Major's (our single LHS that's left) and get the same kit for less."  As President of our local IPMS chapter I buy stuff for raffle prizes for our club, but  I couldn't tell you the last time I bought a kit there, with a 40% coupon, or even off the clearance shelf.  Last time I was at our Michael's it looked like they were putting everything out on clearance.  Like everyone else of a certain age, "I remember when...."

jdice1980

I hate it that HL can’t serve my needs anymore but I can’t see any logic in blasting their decisions to move on to something they can obviously make money at better.

 

Agreed. Looked at from the perspective of a modeler who can't rely on them stocking the materials I would purchase, I can grumble about doing this or that, but at the end of the day, they're managing a crazy inventory, and the stuff that doesn't perform gets shoved out in favor of stuff that does.

My point is that, somewhere along the way, chipping away at the model section eventually reduces it from pretty good to useful to marginal to useless. I would say Michaels, these days, is useless. Hobby Lobby (at least mine) is marginal.

Problem is, this is one of those long-term, creeping types of issues. It's "oh, let's take up some shelf space for slot cars". Then it's "let's consolidate the paints a bit". Then it's "let's get rid of styrene, nobody buys that stuff and it's a pain to stock". Until, eventually, the fate of the section is inevitable.

I don't fault Hobby Lobby in the least in the general sense. They're doing what any large retailer would do. BUT from a modeling perspective, I can still blame their increasing failure at offering a viable model section on their own long-term decisions, and not those dastardly model makers for charging too much. 

What is wierd is that last summer they cut back on kits, but greatly increased the paint and supply section. It looks like they are keeping this increase, so I am happy about that.

DoogsATX

...that barely even passes for a modeling section, and kicked off a vicious cycle slumping sales lead to shrinking selection and shelf space, which lead to slumping sales, etc. Eventually it becomes just not worth it to continue the lip service.

Well said!

Sales tax is a consumption tax collected at the point of sale.

The purchaser PAYS the tax. The vendor COLLECTS the tax and ultimately pays it into the government. Why? I'd imagine because businesses are typically far more stringent in their accounting practices and it's easy to say "you sold $XXX, so you owe X% in collected sales taxes".

Hans von Hammer

Yupper, just came back from mine after talking with Deb again... That's the deal...

Inventory costs are too high to continue to stock kits...

Thanks fer nothing, Dragon, Trumpeter, Tamiya, Italeri,  et al...

Last I checked, Michaels stocked exclusively Revellogram. Last I checked, both Hobbytown and Hobby Lobby were very heavily Revellogram as well. I've never seen a Dragon or Trumpeter kit at HL, and only one Italeri (Spit IX American Aces).

Blaming the model companies is like blaming the movie studios for the DVD sections at Borders and Barnes & Noble for failing.

Yes, inventory costs are probably too high relative to revenues coming in the door.

Why? I'll focus on Hobby Lobby, but this is applicable to Michaels and HT as well.

1 - Piss poor inventory mix and pricing. As many others have pointed out, ordering the same kits over and over again leads to stale inventory. That, and the kits chosen are so at random. The $80 Tamiya Swordfish? Really? Why not the P-51, P-47, Corsair, Wildcat, Fw 190? And when kits are laughably overpriced versus even at a local hobby shop, of course the higher priced and more eclectic ones won't sell. That's a no-brainer.

2 - Ceasing to be a one-stop shop. HL, Michaels etc have never been able to stock the inventory a LHS can manage. Understandable. But I do remember back in the earlyish 90s one could go into a Michaels and find not only a full aisle stocked with kits, but the entire line of Testors, Model Master enamel, Model Master acrylic, and even some PollyS paints. Airbrushes, thinners, spare bottles, glue, styrene. Streamlined, but more or less everything you need in one place. Hobbytown used to actually stock a selection of aftermarket decals. The one nearest to me? One decal sheet, locked in a display case. 

Once a place stops serving the general needs of a hobby, there's nothing to drive repeat patronage. There's no "I just came in for a bottle of paint and left with a P-47N" - which happened at my LHS the other week. 

As revenues on that aisle drop off, the cost-benefit analysis changes. The people who buy are the increasingly rare casual buyer or gift buyer, or the serious modeler scoping for deals. 

The problem at Hobby Lobby and others isn't that "OMG Tamiya's latest release is so expensive!", it's that over time, gradually, they've denuded and actual, useful modeling aisle into something that barely even passes for a modeling section, and kicked off a vicious cycle slumping sales lead to shrinking selection and shelf space, which lead to slumping sales, etc. Eventually it becomes just not worth it to continue the lip service.

I don't know. Maybe another aisle filled with a ****ton of beads or cheaply made, overpriced decorative trinkets is exactly what Hobby Lobby needs. Garden Ridge seems to have an entire business model built around the latter. But in my opinion they have absolutely no one to blame for the death of their modeling sections save themselves and their own gross mismanagement of them over the years.

/ as an aside - last time I was in my local HL I noticed that they've started stocking Tamiya's 1/48 P-51. And at a relatively reasonable price. Imagine that.

Hans von Hammer

Yupper, just came back from mine after talking with Deb again... That's the deal...

Inventory costs are too high to continue to stock kits...

Thanks fer nothing, Dragon, Trumpeter, Tamiya, Italeri,  et al...

 

well that sucks! I guess the days of my 40% off deals are going the way of the dodo

Depending upon amount of price increases vs. future of world economy.....

If Revellogram keeps prices low enough, long enough they may be one of the last standing.

Yupper, just came back from mine after talking with Deb again... That's the deal...

Inventory costs are too high to continue to stock kits...

Thanks fer nothing, Dragon, Trumpeter, Tamiya, Italeri,  et al...

At our club meeting Saturday there was about a 30 minute discussion on Hobby Stores cutting back and even more about the price increases. It was all very interesting. In a nutshell.... Buy while you can and build up a stash if you haven't already...

The local Hobby Town instituted a layaway program to help with the high cost of models. They have also told us that if the kits were ordered or put in layaway now, before the big price hike in a couple of weeks, that would lock in the price... Pretty cool of them really.

More discussion about Hob Lob revealed some long term plans apparently gotten from talking to several different store managers. They are cutting back yes, but long term the evidence shows they they will probably get out of plastics all together because of the cost of stocking them... Apparently Michaels is following the same trend.

I've yet to airbrush much with it, since I generally use rattle-cans and masking for overall painting...  Airbrush cleaning is a PITA so I seldom use it, except for complicated cmouflage patterns...

But I thin it with rubbing alcohol... 

"Createx" is a fairly good airbrusher though, but it's along the hobby-brand price-range.. It's plus is that it's half the price of Tamiya and Testor's, but you get a 3 oz bottle of it...   You will have to mix colors though, from time to time, in order to get the right shades...

Getting good with a color-wheel is something to consider...

I rarely see anyone use a coupon at Hobby Lobby.

I'm going to guess that a large percentage (if not the majority) of Hobby Lobby's revenues come from shoppers using the 40% off coupon. I mean, I suck at coupons and even I use those. The key demographic Hobby Lobby caters to also happens to be pretty much the key coupon-clipping demographic. I bet if they stopped the 40% coupons, they'd have to close half their stores by the end of the year.

I am seriously not surprised, as Hobby Lobby seems to have made some poor decisions on what to carry in the past. So the size of the aisle shrinking is no shock. A casual modeler is not going to walk in there and buy a $70 1/48 Tamiya F-16, or a $250 Wasp kit , even with a coupon. The only people that bought stuff like that were 'serious' modelers, who waited for the 40% coupons, so they probably hardly ever made any money on the expensive stuff. I bought an Iwata airbrush there. With the coupon, of course.....

Hercmech

 

Sprue-ce Goose:

 

 

Hercmech:

As I noted on another thread, my HL is consolidating as well, and they are moving away from Tamyia and more to the Revellogram kits. Looking more like Michaels every time I go there.

 

Maybe Hans got a job as a Hobby Lobby  Vice President ??

 

 

HMMMMM he does seem to have a great insight on thier operations and knows lots of folks there. I think you may be on to something, even if he will only admit that he gets this "in" by going there a lot

..the staff may someday take a cue from the series "Are You Being Served?"

and call Hans "The Young Mr. Hammer."

Hans isn't the only one shopping at HL with spare coupons.

I was standing in line holding a Tamiya re-issue Brewster B-339 kit at the Westmont, Il HL and a fellow shopper noted I did not have a coupon.

( I didn't know the 40 pct on-line coupon was available that week )

The lady gave me one of her spare coupons.

Yeah, Hans has an offer you can't refuse....

Ja,ja, Hans with a long black coat by the end cap opens up showing coupon clippings

Hans von Hammer

If you limit yourself to just the kits at Hobby Lobby and don't build dioramas, then you're really limiting yourself in both the hobby and in materials... Just sayin'...

I also keep a couple extra coupons on me and turn folks onto 'em that're hangin' around the kit aisle...

Chuckle....that last sentence conjured up an image of Hans hanging around the HL kit isle saying:

"PST ! Hey buddy....wanna buy a plastic model?  Here's a 40 pct off coupon."

All kidding aside, HL has an amazing amount of stuff for dioramas !

I have not yet tried Han's craft paint suggestion but I'm looking forward to dragging along sample paint swatches for match up.

Thanks again for the guidance, Hans.

I build dioramas, so H/Ls a natural choice..

I buy 90% of my diorama materials at H/L, about 20% of my kits, and about 80% paint...

 H/L's craft paints match up to most military and aircraft acrylics (Ya just gotta bring in your color chips), and you get three times as much for way less than half the price... 3-oz bottle of paint for 1.29  vs. 3/4-oz for 3.50.. You do the math... (Plus, I use 40% coupons on the 1.29 paint, too) Same for glues, thinners, frames, brass, casting materials, etc...

I haven't paid retail for a single thing at H/L since I started going in there, lol...  It's either 40%, 30%, or 25% off...

If you limit yourself to just the kits at Hobby Lobby and don't build dioramas, then you're really limiting yourself in both the hobby and in materials... Just sayin'...

I also keep a couple extra coupons on me and turn folks onto 'em that're hangin' around the kit aisle...

Thanks so much for the update guys. I just signed up to get those coupons and discounts specials. I'll be visiting the store soon.

Have a nice weekend.

Hercmech

Hutch,

 

When I first noticed this happening I was a bit disappointed but on further reflection I think it may be a good thing in the long run. Here is my rationale for this thought:

 

The lower cost kits will appeal to the younger folks that get dragged into the store by mom or dad looking for that trinket they just can't live without. Or it will appeal to that Grandparent that is in there and happens to wander down the aisle to see what they might pick up for little Jonnie or Suzie for birthday/Christmas, etc.

 

Both of these are good as in the long run it might introduce a youngling to a hobby that will in the end support us old crusty builders. We (old and crusty) have many other options and avenues to acquire kits so not such a big impact to us. So not such a bad thing after all.

 

That and Hans will have a bigger selection.

I think you are spot on.  I am enjoying the industry, today, because it has really evolved into quality kits with a large variety.  But I do worry that us aging and crusty guys are part of the golden age.  If the future generations do not inherit or embrace the hobby, it could go into decline, at least here in the states.  But I am optimistic the wave will continue. 

Hutch,

When I first noticed this happening I was a bit disappointed but on further reflection I think it may be a good thing in the long run. Here is my rationale for this thought:

The lower cost kits will appeal to the younger folks that get dragged into the store by mom or dad looking for that trinket they just can't live without. Or it will appeal to that Grandparent that is in there and happens to wander down the aisle to see what they might pick up for little Jonnie or Suzie for birthday/Christmas, etc.

Both of these are good as in the long run it might introduce a youngling to a hobby that will in the end support us old crusty builders. We (old and crusty) have many other options and avenues to acquire kits so not such a big impact to us. So not such a bad thing after all.

That and Hans will have a bigger selection.

Yep, they run 40% coupons very often.  I was down at our local HL, today, and something started to register in that pea-sized brain of mind.  The clearance area had all high end kits (Tamiya, Trumpeter, Hasegawas, etc.), and as someone pointed out in a previous thread, the regular aisle was filled up with Revell. 

Us avid model builders are probably part of the problem to where stores are adjusting.  We tend go toward the higher end, more expensive kits.  While we enjoy it when we see a find at HL, the general public probably leans more toward the inexpensive kits-->Revell.  Most of us would not pay for the sticker price and would shell out a 40% coupon...while that is a good price, why stop there?  Why not wait until it gets marked down even more.....  Enter the HL SCORE threads....doesn't help when some characterize the cashier as a dolt or stupid for adding additional discounts.  I am almost sure word has gotten to HL somewhere along the line that the market for Revell on the average HL customer, that may drag along little Johnny, will be more inclined to purchase one of the current Revell offerings because with a 40% coupon they can come away with a winner for less than $20.

Anyway, surely I digress...I also suspect my analysis may be a little off as well.....just throwing that out there.

Hi El Taino, I can't speak for all of the Michael's stores of course but the few I have been to here in AR had MUCH less model inventory than Hobby Lobby. Again, that may just be here. They do have different brands of stuff though and I have found some cool buys at Michael's that were not available at Hob Lob.

As afar as coupons... well..... let me put it this way. Don't EVER buy anything full price at Hobby Lobby. They run a 40% off any item coupon about once a month sometimes more it seems. In fact, they have a 25% off any item coupon running right now... http://hobbylobby.com/weekly/coupon.cfm

Sorry for hijacking this topic, I just don't want to open another similar one.

How does HL's inventory compares to Michaels? How steady is the selection from store to store? I build mostly WWII and Modern Era jets. I've heard HL so much around here but never been to one. I checked and there is one in MN about an hour drive (Mankato, MN). Just wondering if is worth the drive. How about coupons?

My apologies in advance.

But again, it goes back to them not competing with Hobby Town as far as inventory.Their inability to compete is largely due to their complacence in what they order... Most often the person doing the ordering has no knowledge of models thus they do it the easy way and re-order. Hobby Lobby has almost 500 stores nation wide and Hobby Town has less than half that and Hob Lob company is about 12 years older. They should know better but apparently don't.

I used to buy a lot of kits from Hob Lob, it was my main source in fact... however when 2-3 years goes bye and they still have the exact same kits on the shelves and I already got 2 of each... why would I buy anything there?

The owner of our local Hobby Town clears his shelves at the end of every year of items that have not sold. He red tags everything and gets rid of it and (here is the key)... Doesn't buy the same kits over again! He gets new stock in and keeps it fresh. Sure there are a few kits that are classic sellers that every shop keeps in stock but by enlarge when an item sells out he doesn't order that one again unless requested.

Hopefully they don't completely drop kits because almost without exception when I do venture into the local Hobby Lobby there is a young modeler or returning modeler excitedly perusing the isles. Most of them will step into a Hob Lob long before finding a true hobby shop or online ordering. That's where they're hooked so to speak and it's vital to the growth of the hobby to keep that avenue open.

As most have seen the HOBBY LOBBY stores are indeed downsizing models .They are also going more to easy build metal PLANES and CARS .This comes as no surprise .When I left CALIFORNIA the MICHEALS and HOBBY LOBBY stores had less space dedicated to models and model supplies than I have in my stash and shop ! When I asked the mgr. at H.L. about this he just stated that with HOBBYTOWN opening more stores it,s not profitable to the point it once was . Let,s face it most of us in two to ten years (GOD WILLING) will be buying most everything from HOBBYTOWN or on line. So Much for neighborhood stores ! SAD BUT INEVITIBLE !!!          oldcarguy

Sprue-ce Goose

Hercmech:

As I noted on another thread, my HL is consolidating as well, and they are moving away from Tamyia and more to the Revellogram kits. Looking more like Michaels every time I go there.

 

Maybe Hans got a job as a Hobby Lobby  Vice President ??

HMMMMM he does seem to have a great insight on thier operations and knows lots of folks there. I think you may be on to something, even if he will only admit that he gets this "in" by going there a lot

Hercmech

As I noted on another thread, my HL is consolidating as well, and they are moving away from Tamyia and more to the Revellogram kits. Looking more like Michaels every time I go there.

Maybe Hans got a job as a Hobby Lobby  Vice President ??

As I noted on another thread, my HL is consolidating as well, and they are moving away from Tamyia and more to the Revellogram kits. Looking more like Michaels every time I go there.