Caboose hobbies in Denver is on it's death bed

[riogrande]

A new topic was posted late yesterday on Train Orders with the same title as above. Apparently a go-fund-me has been circulated on FB by Caboose, the hobby shop that replaced Caboose Hobbies after it closed in 2016. I don't have a FB account the below text was quoted from the site.

Caboose PBC is a Colorado-based public benefit corporation (soon to be majority employee-owned), and owner and operator of Caboose. The fundamental purpose of Caboose, as stated in our corporate charter, is to serve the worldwide community of train enthusiasts in the enjoyment of our shared passion for trains. Caboose builds upon the solid foundation of its rich 82-year legacy, occupying a singularly iconic space among the train enthusiasts and Denver retail communities.

At the onset of the Coronavirus, we were already facing financial challenges due to the malfunctioning of our e-commerce app. As if to add insult to injury, our store was burglarized at 1:45 am on Easter morning.

We are therefore seeking $50,000 to assure our employees continue to receive paychecks, to help pay our rent, property taxes and basic operating expenses, and to launch our new e-commerce app, allowing us to address our customer needs worldwide. We need these funds immediately to help bootstrap a larger funding initiative to help preserve vital businesses within the train community of train enthusiasts

[Great-Northern-Willmar Div]

Good luck.

Interesting that the principals seem to be staking the rescuing of their business on go-fund-me.  Either they have exhausted their lines of credit with financial institutions or their position is too critical for a bank to extend a life line. 

Covid-19 hasn't been kind to small destination businesses.

[riogrande]

True about COVID-19 and I wouldn't be surprised if Caboose goes out of business, the virus is the blame. But it appears Caboose has been in financial trouble for over a year now from bits of info I've read.

[gevohogger]

The new Caboose was always a poor shadow of the old Caboose Hobbies. Sad to see any local shops go away but this one really comes as no surprise.

[wp8thsub]

Apr 21, 2020 9:37:46 GMT -8 riogrande said:

But it appears Caboose has been in financial trouble for over a year now from bits of info I've read.

I was last there in the fall of 2019. There were lots of nearly empty shelves, and an employee was telling a customer there were no plans to re-stock anything until after end of year inventory was completed for tax purposes. It was pretty sad.

[sd40dash2]

Really sad to hear this. Small businesses like this are the backbone of our economy and in the case of model train shops, are very important in keeping us all happy in our leisure time.

[riogrande]

The situation is unfortunate. It appears Caboose may have not had a sustainable business plan in place, and it's not easy to get a successful hobby shop going these days. I also read getting the Rio Grande caboose purchased and moved to the shop cost over $36 thousand so that was a financial burden adding the burden of debt. Even the go-fund- me, if successful, may be a short term band-aid. The long-term prognosis doesn't look good.

[valenciajim]

I suspect they are not the only LHS in this situation.

[riogrande]

What, going to go-fund-me? Caboose is famous for being the alleged continuation of Caboose Hobbies; although really it's a totally new shop that bought the inventory of Caboose Hobbies but different name and different owner calling the shots.

[santafe49]

Go-Fund-Me. Modern day street corner pan handler.
If they were having money problems why not seek an SBA PPP loan? Free money from your government.

[tdspeedracer]

Apr 22, 2020 17:31:30 GMT -8 santafe49 said:

Go-Fund-Me. Modern day street corner pan handler.
If they were having money problems why not seek an SBA PPP loan? Free money from your government.

Having received a PPP loan, and having to close per governors orders. All it does is make unemployment numbers look better than they really are. My staff is still getting paid to sit on their butt. The only difference is that now I still need to pay them til the 8 weeks is up, instead of laying them off. The businesses reward for all the paperwork.. enough extra to cover rent for one week of the month and counting that we've been forced to close.

As for the disaster loan, in a typical hobby shop, that $10k grant that they've been touting is a farce. It will be more like 1K-4K. In my case, won't cover one months rent.

If there is a small business in your neighborhood that you really like, then you better visit asap, and often. Because chances are it's almost dead too.

[valenciajim]

Apr 22, 2020 22:01:53 GMT -8 tdspeedracer said:

Apr 22, 2020 17:31:30 GMT -8 santafe49 said:

Go-Fund-Me. Modern day street corner pan handler.
If they were having money problems why not seek an SBA PPP loan? Free money from your government.

Having received a PPP loan, and having to close per governors orders. All it does is make unemployment numbers look better than they really are. My staff is still getting paid to sit on their butt. The only difference is that now I still need to pay them til the 8 weeks is up, instead of laying them off. The businesses reward for all the paperwork.. enough extra to cover rent for one week of the month and counting that we've been forced to close.

As for the disaster loan, in a typical hobby shop, that $10k grant that they've been touting is a farce. It will be more like 1K-4K. In my case, won't cover one months rent.

If there is a small business in your neighborhood that you really like, then you better visit asap, and often. Because chances are it's almost dead too.

I think many local businesses won't survive and will have to re-emerge as new entities, if they have sufficient capital. I was reading about local businesses in China after the isolation restrictions were eased and many stores that reopened are finding they have no customers. I think that LHS who survive this and reopen will have to have a significant on-line segment of their business in order to remain viable.

One point about the unpaid rent is that I have a number clients who are retail landlords and I suspect they will be willing to be flexible when it comes to collecting back rent because they will experience difficulty re-leasing the premises for tenants who are behind in their rent.

Getting PPP financial assistance has been somewhat of a crapshoot. My daughter was unsuccessful, but one of my clients who is independently wealthy and well connected with his bank had no difficulty obtaining assistance.

[petehuse]

More Caboose news, from FB on July 2:
CABOOSE BECOMES AN EMPLOYEE-OWNED PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION, and CHRIS PALOMAREZ JOINS CABOOSE AS GENERAL MANAGER.
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO JULY 2, 2020 – Now, more than ever, we as a society are called to true community, one that works for all of its participants. We at Caboose therefore stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of color, firm in the conviction that Black Lives Matter, in calling for an end, once and for all, of systemic racism on the part of our public institutions and individual citizens.
Cultivating community has always been central to our purpose at Caboose, where we have been sharing our passion for trains since 1938. We are therefore proud to announce, effective June 1, 2020 that Caboose is now a 100% employee-owned public benefit corporation. Public benefit corporations are chartered around a larger, overarching purpose to balance stakeholder interests and make a difference in the world. The public benefit purposes, as stated in our corporate charter are “to serve the worldwide community of train enthusiasts in the enjoyment of our shared passion for trains; to empower our employees through majority employee ownership; and to do so in a manner that creates a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole.”
To that end, we are pleased to announce that Chris Palomarez, former brand manager at Athearn Trains, has joined the Caboose team as its general manager, also effective June 1, 2020.
“Ever since we purchased the iconic train store Caboose Hobbies in 2016, it has been our purpose to be a beneficial presence in our local and worldwide communities, and to make a profound positive difference through employee ownership,” said Caboose PBC President and CEO Kevin Ruble. “Immediately after we closed our store location in mid-March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we set the intention of re-launching even greater than before, with fresh inventory, a new enterprise resource program (“ERP”), and new e-commerce presence to provide our valued customers the world-class experience they so clearly deserve. We are pleased to have Chris join our team at this momentous point in Caboose’s rich 82-year history, and look forward to his playing a critical role in this re-launch and future success.”

[riogrande]

The above was posted in this topic a few days ago:

atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/8147/athearn-train-tuesday?page=8

[thunderhawk]

They've been struggling to keep above water so now they are hiring a community outreach coordinator and taking a side on the political divide.


Bold strategy Cotton.

[riogrande]

Bold and hard to say if it will cause a net gain or net loss. The political statement may appeal to some but not others. And if they are struggling financially with debt to the point they have a Go-Fund-Me page, taking on community outreach coordinator position at 39 to 48k off of their bottom line seems like a major cost they can ill afford right now unless they feel they will draw in more than 48k in business due to this position. It has to pay for itself unless they have some kind of unnamed benefactor.

One thing that has always seemed disingenuous is that Caboose claims to be Caboose Hobbies, which it is not. It claims a "rich 82-year history", yet this is a completely new hobby shop opened in March 2017 with a new owner, new way of doing business etc. If it were the old store simply moved, I'd believe the 82 year history thing. I "get it" that Caboose is trying to appeal to the customers and fans of the old Caboose Hobbies that many shopped at and remember, but I'm not drinking the coolaid. I don't buy that message. Caboose did apparently purchase what was left of the inventory, but that's about the only connection I am aware of. Also, Caboose Hobbies sold trains at a decent discount, whereas (at least when I checked a number of times), Caboose sold at MSRP.

It does appear to be a shrewd move on the current owners part to remove much, perhaps most, of the debt burden to others, namely employees. And it does seem like with the hiring of Chris P and also a Community Coordinator, they are piling on even more financial burden, unless Chris P has the "secret sauce" to bail out this store that only took 2 1/2 years from opening to be in financial distress.

Again from the Beaureau of Labor:

Overall, about two out of every three businesses with employees will last two years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. About half will last five years.

[simulatortrain]

I'm far from local, but between my two visits to Caboose Hobbies and my two visits to Caboose, I only found items I couldn't live without during the former. Way lighter on the discounts and inventory of used stuff after the change.

[thebessemerkid]

Glad I got to visit Caboose Hobbies in the 90's.

Same with Mitchell's in Delaware and several others.

Many I wish I could have visited. So many once-great stores that have fallen by the wayside. Times change I guess.

ETA:

model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/39985

[riogrande]

I traveled through Denver on the Amtrak CZ in 1990, but that was the only time in the last 30 years I was in the area. The Brass D&RGW P-S Prospector Combine I have was purchased from CH in 1989, probably the first piece of rolling stock I bought from them. I consigned some items and was a customer since then until they closed in 2016. RIP Caboose Hobbies.

[fr8kar]

Jul 7, 2020 9:16:24 GMT -8 riogrande said:

Bold and hard to say if it will cause a net gain or net loss. The political statement may appeal to some but not others. And if they are struggling financially with debt to the point they have a Go-Fund-Me page, taking on community outreach coordinator position at 39 to 48k off of their bottom line seems like a major cost they can ill afford right now unless they feel they will draw in more than 48k in business due to this position. It has to pay for itself unless they have some kind of unnamed benefactor.

I missed the community outreach coordinator announcement. All I saw was the announcement Chris had taken the GM position.

[riogrande]

Jul 7, 2020 12:06:33 GMT -8 fr8kar said:

Jul 7, 2020 9:16:24 GMT -8 riogrande said:

Bold and hard to say if it will cause a net gain or net loss. The political statement may appeal to some but not others. And if they are struggling financially with debt to the point they have a Go-Fund-Me page, taking on community outreach coordinator position at 39 to 48k off of their bottom line seems like a major cost they can ill afford right now unless they feel they will draw in more than 48k in business due to this position. It has to pay for itself unless they have some kind of unnamed benefactor.

I missed the community outreach coordinator announcement. All I saw was the announcement Chris had taken the GM position.

It's on their FB page:

Caboose posted a job.
July 2 at 4:10 PM ·
JOIN THE CABOOSE FAMILY!
We're now hiring for the following three management positions:

Cultural Curator and Cultivator of Community

Caboose PBC is an employee-owned public benefit corporation, where our purpose is to serve the worldwide community of train enthusiasts in the enjoyment of our shared passion for trains.

We are seeking a Cultural Curator, responsible for developing an employee-owned conscious culture as we relaunch post-COVID and progress toward B-Corp certification. The preferred candidate possesses a background of supporting successful organizational development within the employee ownership, conscious business or B-Corp communities, and will hold the following responsibilities at Caboose:
• Cultivator and curator of the ownership culture.
• B-corp certification and compliance.
• Internal communications and celebration.
• Caboose Cares community outreach program.
• Human resources regulatory compliance.

More specifically, the Cultural Curator will have direct responsibility for and oversight of the following initiatives:
• Hiring and promoting for engagement and personal responsibility.
• Cultivating an environment of psychological safety and authenticity.
• Developing an open-book, information sharing culture.
• Utilizing the B-Corp assessment as a guideline for eventual certification.
• Expanding content of our Team Building Tuesday program.
• Focusing hiring efforts on disaffected communities, and particularly those on the autism spectrum for proposed expansion into manufacturing operations.
• Administering semi-annual 360º peer performance reviews.
• Being an engaged, beneficial presence in the local community.
• Monitoring all activities to ensure environmental sustainability.

(Obviously, being a train enthusiast would be a definite plus, but not necessary)!

The position is located in Lakewood, Colorado, with a four-day, 32-hour work week. The pay range is $39,000 to $48,000 per year, depending on background and experience. Benefits include participation in the Caboose Employee Ownership Trust, company-provided health, dental and vision insurance, and a liberal personal time-off policy.

E-Commerce Channel Manager, Facilitator of E-Commerce Success

Caboose PBC is an employee-owned public benefit corporation, where our purpose is to serve the worldwide community of train enthusiasts in the enjoyment of our shared passion for trains.

We are seeking an E-Commerce Channel Manager, responsible for fully developing our e-commerce channel as we relaunch post-COVID and progress toward B-Corp certification. The preferred candidate is a train enthusiast with an attendant depth of model railroad product knowledge and experience in online marketing, data management and integrity, and will hold the following responsibilities at Caboose:

• Software/app functionality
• Data management and integrity
• Advance reservations and special orders
• eBay administration
• Shipping

More specifically, the E-Commerce Channel Manager will have direct responsibility for and oversight of the following initiatives:

• Implement a robust, integrated omnichannel retail app.
• Utilize an engaging customer interface.
• Develop the Caboose website as a resource.
• Facilitate simple, easy navigation and transactions.
• Provide personal customer service concierges to assist customers.

The position is located in Lakewood, Colorado, with a five-day, 40-hour work week. The pay range is $42,000 to $54,000 per year, depending on background and experience. Benefits include participation in the Caboose Employee Ownership Trust, company-provided health, dental and vision insurance, and a liberal personal time-off policy.

Accounting and Administrative Manager, Arranger and Counter of Beans

Caboose PBC is an employee-owned public benefit corporation, where our purpose is to serve the worldwide community of train enthusiasts in the enjoyment of our shared passion for trains.

We are seeking an Accounting and Administrative Manager, responsible for basic accounting activities and administration support for our conscious business as we relaunch post-COVID and progress toward B-Corp certification. The preferred candidate possesses a background of accounting and administration with a strong preference for those experienced in administrative support of an employee-owned, B-Corp or conscious business, and will hold the following responsibilities at Caboose:
• Accounting
• Cash management
• IT systems support
• Facilities and systems management

More specifically, the Accounting and Administrative Manager will have direct responsibility for and oversight of the following initiatives:
• Support the open-book sharing of information.
• Establish an ongoing relationship with a CFO/Controller on call.
• Practice fiscally sound cash management.
• Upgrade technology systems.
• Support the acquisition and upgrading of the property leased by the company.

(Obviously, being a train enthusiast would be a definite plus, but not necessary)!

The position is located in Lakewood, Colorado, with a four-day, 32-hour work week. The pay range is $36,000 to $45,000 per year, depending on background and experience. Benefits include participation in the Caboose Employee Ownership Trust, company-provided health, dental and vision insurance, and a liberal personal time-off policy.

Qualified candidates should submit their resumes to [e-mail]. Thank you for your interest!

[fr8kar]

I guess you miss a lot if you don't do Facebook. But then again there's a lot I don't have to deal with either.

[santafe49]

In this day and age, it would be near impossible to re-create the atmosphere and stock levels that the Original Caboose Hobbies was known for. Too many companies have gone to the just make what is pre-ordered business scheme or only produce a limited number of of each model and limit sales to online. Also, the number of product manufacturer's that have gone by the wayside has only increased over the past few years. Another factor is the increased cost associated the majority of the model's produced which limit's the number of item's a hobby shop can carry.
I always visited Caboose Hobbies when i was in Denver and usually walked out several hundred dollars lighter. And at $5-$10 per item, that was a lot of stuff. Now, i can go to my nearest hobby shop and have a hard time spending $50.

[fr8kar]

My local hobby shops haven't stocked much train stuff of interest to me but I've always been able to support them with paint, primer, blades, glue, mixing cups, etc.

I've ordered online at a bunch of different places over the years but always found myself buying from Spring Creek at train shows and RPM events. I finally started ordering from them online and all my experiences have been great. It's going to be hard to tear me away from Spring Creek but I sure wish Caboose lots of luck.

[peoriaman]

Jul 7, 2020 15:28:27 GMT -8 santafe49 said:

Now, i can go to my nearest hobby shop and have a hard time spending $50.

$50? That's one freight car...

[thebessemerkid]

Jul 7, 2020 18:04:14 GMT -8 peoriaman said:

Jul 7, 2020 15:28:27 GMT -8 santafe49 said:

Now, i can go to my nearest hobby shop and have a hard time spending $50.

$50? That's one freight car...

 Plus a few bucks for proper Kadees, unless it's Tangent/Exactrail/Moloco/Arrowhead (did I miss any that use Kadee as OEM couplers?)

[riogrande]

Wheels of Time and Intermountain as well.

[thebessemerkid]

Jul 7, 2020 19:38:53 GMT -8 riogrande said:

Wheels of Time and Intermountain as well.

Good catch.

I look at anything "Kadee-equipped" (especially #58/158 or other Kadee "scale" coupler) as a $5 discount vs. brands with clone couplers. There is the cost of buying the Kadee couplers and the time ($) to remove and replace the clones, and adjust height etc. if needed. If I valued my time more highly, as when I was working, it would have easily been a $10 or more discount.

Mind you I enjoy working on trains. I do not enjoy having to remove and discard sub-par parts on expensive models. On an old $10 P2K kit? No problem. Even on a new $20-something model. I can live with that. On the high-end stuff? Problem. If you want to price like Tangent and the others mentioned, equip the cars accordingly. Or sell them without couplers and make 110% sure 58/158 or other Kadee scale couplers are perfect drop-ins. Only exception for maybe some weird prototype shank that Kadee doesn't offer (yet). Use your clone but still make sure a Kadee mechanism is drop-in.

Little things that can sway a consumer between one brand vs. another or in certain cases the buy / pass decision. More than once I've had a full set of cars in a basket and looked at the total, then asked myself if I really wanted to spend even more swapping out a dozen sets of couplers.

[fr8kar]

It could be worse. I swap out everything for Sergent couplers so every single model gets opened up. I just kept tossing the couplers in an old Athearn box until I decided maybe it was time to sell them a few weeks ago. I grouped them in different auctions for each type and ended up making just over $130 on them, which I promptly converted to an Athearn Genesis GP39-2. I even sold all the ScaleTrains couplers I've pulled from the models I've bought, as well as all the McHenry couplers. I was going to throw them away but I'm glad I didn't. More money for more trains.

[thebessemerkid]

Sergents are neat, no question. Good you could flip the old couplers. I need to separate mine as they get replaced, have just been tossing them all in a box.

It's kinda like the wheel dilemma. Anything where you can easily see the wheels (tank cars, hoppers) gets .088's with polished treads. If I ever get everything done (maybe in a few hundred years) I'd go back and do the rest. At least quality metal wheels can go elsewhere in the fleet and replace wobblers or what have you. Blaine's wheels are outstanding. They go where visibility is highest.