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Post by alexandrianick on Jan 8, 2024 10:31:56 GMT -8
Makes me think that they overextended themselves buying out MBK.
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Post by 12bridge on Jan 8, 2024 10:57:38 GMT -8
I came here to post the same thing. Something strange is going on. Why would they buy another brand, sell off all the inventory at heavy losses, and then do the same to their original store? Maybe it's some kind of reorganization or merger between the two. They mentioned UK economic conditions as being an issue for their company. Could they be trying to relocate the brand into the US? I will be interested to see how this affects Model Train Stuff. If Hattons truly is shutting down, will MTS go back to being an independent store, or will both close? I tend to agree here, I bet some sort of merger/reorganization is in the works. The pieces do not really add up. |
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Post by riogrande on Jan 8, 2024 11:01:33 GMT -8
I came here to post the same thing. Something strange is going on. Why would they buy another brand, sell off all the inventory at heavy losses, and then do the same to their original store? Maybe it's some kind of reorganization or merger between the two. They mentioned UK economic conditions as being an issue for their company. Could they be trying to relocate the brand into the US? I will be interested to see how this affects Model Train Stuff. If Hattons truly is shutting down, will MTS go back to being an independent store, or will both close? It certainly is confusing. |
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Post by crblue on Jan 8, 2024 11:04:26 GMT -8
They could have kept the Hattons brand, and just transitioned it to Hattons US, blamed Brexit, and I don't think anyone would have batted an eye.
They could have bought MTS, and added a "MTS + Hattons" branding, and I don't think anyone would have cared.
If they wanted the MTS customer base, without making it look like the British were invading America and taking our jobs, this (or something similar) is probably the best option.
Definitely weird though.
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ictom
Full Member
Posts: 103
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Post by ictom on Jan 8, 2024 16:37:18 GMT -8
I came here to post the same thing. Something strange is going on. Why would they buy another brand, sell off all the inventory at heavy losses, and then do the same to their original store? Maybe it's some kind of reorganization or merger between the two. They mentioned UK economic conditions as being an issue for their company. Could they be trying to relocate the brand into the US? I will be interested to see how this affects Model Train Stuff. If Hattons truly is shutting down, will MTS go back to being an independent store, or will both close? All great questions - unbelievable! |
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Post by grabirons on Jan 8, 2024 21:11:50 GMT -8
I'm going to speculate they wanted to buy a competitor and put them out of business. Who knows, very weird news though. I'm sure the news will trickle out in time.
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Post by lvrr325 on Jan 8, 2024 21:24:17 GMT -8
FWIW, there was some mention they wanted to move to Nebraska. Heartland Hobby is located in Nebraska. Makes me wonder if there's some tie-in there. While Heartland is primarily a distributor they have a couple of product lines, scenery and they picked up some of the former Model Power tooling.
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