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Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

WNW........what's happening here???????????

Guest DannyVM

By Guest DannyVM
in Modelling Discussion

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biggtim

biggtim

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, Bomber_County said:

Totally agree Smitty...........Btw do not look now on TOS, they are in serious meltdown, nine pages and counting.......:ph34r:

Not all of them (like me) on LSP are in meltdown. Most of those posts are by a few people.

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krow113

krow113

Posted
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"We'll never do a Camel'

"We'll never do a Dr ! "

I think that some one is playing the herd for fools.

If this isnt the most blatant attempt to boost sales I've ever seen... , and try to get someone to look at a dead forum.

Des' forum has been permanently stained by this type of bullshit..

Really shameful to really understand what the OBC is and the damage it does.

No wonder kids participation is minimal at best.

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1to1scale

1to1scale

Posted
Posted

I think that it’s too early to say, it could be that PJ is just tired of airplanes. It could be financial. Or it could just be misinformation. The important thing to do is not spread any speculation. WnW has always been a niche market, their move to WW2 could have brought them extra sales. I never imagined they would close the doors for lack of sales, as everyone is always wanting the kits, and when one goes discontinued, the value goes up. Let’s just wait and see, and if they do go under, maybe another company will take their place. 

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Wumm

Wumm

Posted
Posted

New Zealand went early with a hard Quarantine, which seems to have curbed the spread of Covid 19 and definitely saved many lives. However the unforseen consequences of this action are the unknown duration of the lockdown, and what Businesses will be left standing whenever that Quarantine ends. 

The financial incentives offered by the NZ Government may not be adequate to cover the costs and wages of the WETA Group in the short term, let alone for an unspecified timeframe. SPJ is not the sole owner of the company apparently; and even so, in Business you cannot expect a single person to cover all liabilities from their own personal assets. Pet project or not.

WNW are a niche Player, in a niche scale, in a niche Hobby, at the far end of a long supply chain, isolated from their  Customer base, in a Country that has mandated that they cease operations for an indefinite period.

I would also describe that situation as grim.

S

 

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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They have their style over there and we have ours. 

My thoughts are with the great people who have run that outfit for years, and through their devotion, have given us the best model kits this world has ever seen. All those releases, and there’s not a dog in any of them.

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1to1scale

1to1scale

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One thing I find curious. And these are just my thought on the subject.

Wingnut Wings has worked so hard to create both a brand and standard, it would be a shame to just let that die, the name and company has value in the name and reputation alone. The best course of action right now would be to go into hibernation, keep a few key people to run the business side of things keep the company on life support. Then, after the mass quarantines are over, regroup and recover. 

1. They could easily bring in investors and if needed, new management, Peter Jackson could retain control over the direction. Companies such as CSM could also be a key ally. 

2. But if they could carry on, why not take a year or two to recover, just put new kits on the back burner and keep selling what you have. No new development needed, basically, let the molds pay for themselves. You could do this with a minimum staff and at a reduced output, but this could feed money back into the company and keep the reaper off their doorstep. And after a year or two, start bringing out those kits that were close to release, like the DR.1, which would no doubt be a good seller, then maybe release the Lancaster. 

Just a few thoughts on alternatives to the nuclear option. 

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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I’m not sure it’s that simple. SPJ gave control over to a CEO several years back and just a couple years ago, got stung badly by his GM at TVAL who scammed him for a few million. 
 I expect WNW is looked upon by the bean counters as a liability, not an asset. I expect it made

money when they were a small operation with everything but production centered under one roof in one town. 
They tried to expand, subbing out all warehousing, and allowing a third party to become the retailer.  In essence they became a wholesaler.  They sell to distributors who then sell for the price they used to sell for.    They gave away their entire profit with that smooth move. I expect the CEO expected the sales numbers to skyrocket, but he neglected to realize that it’s a small market.
So they might just have seen their net profit nosedive. 
Good luck getting those molds back out of China, though.  

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1to1scale

1to1scale

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They don’t need to, I’m just saying is you can run a company like that with minimal people, same company in China knocking out sprues, same company producing decals, etc. Pull back distribution back in house, you can still have a warehousing sub, but do the operation with fewer people, so you can keep the company on life support, until the market rebounds, you pull in a bit of profit, and slowly go back to a full operation.
 

I have seen so many companies die because they were unwilling to change their way of doing business, as a matter of fact I am watching it happen here locally, the owner is stubborn and unwilling to listen to people telling him that he needs to change to reflect the market, and now the economy. He thinks his way is superior, but no one can afford him. He will learn, the hard way.
 

Of course, you always have to consider, sometimes, people really are ready to let it go, and want to see it burn to the ground for relief. In that case, whatever internal problems the company may have, may not necessarily dilute the brand name if the customers never really see it. The reputation and name still have considerable value. People are buying Wingnut kits not because they are fans of WW2, but because they see what beautiful results people are having. To be honest, the whole reason I got my first WNW kits, was your Felixstowe, I was hooked after I saw it in person. And before that I heard that they were the standard in plastic kits.
 

I could tell you stories about the stuff I have seen. I have the distinction of having every company I have ever worked at bought by another, and then they close all together. I’m like the grim reaper...and the way it’s looking, unless my last one gets a bailout, they may be closing their doors as well. 

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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Yep. I go on a limb and say that they were successful before they changed everything.  It’s the old game, drop prices and sell gazillions more but make more in the end through volume.  That adage just never seems to work. 

Everything under one roof. A fair and profitable price for a superlative product, and charge shipping.  By moving it all out, they gave away the profit margin.  

Lean and mean. That’s how I make money. If I expanded to five additional locations, I’d have 50 times the headache and 2000 additional ways to get my financial ass handed to me on a plate and ended up busted ass broke on a street corner.  

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The Dude

The Dude

Posted
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5 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

I’m not sure it’s that simple. SPJ gave control over to a CEO several years back and just a couple years ago, got stung badly by his GM at TVAL who scammed him for a few million. 
 I expect WNW is looked upon by the bean counters as a liability, not an asset. I expect it made

money when they were a small operation with everything but production centered under one roof in one town. 
They tried to expand, subbing out all warehousing, and allowing a third party to become the retailer.  In essence they became a wholesaler.  They sell to distributors who then sell for the price they used to sell for.    They gave away their entire profit with that smooth move. I expect the CEO expected the sales numbers to skyrocket, but he neglected to realize that it’s a small market.
So they might just have seen their net profit nosedive. 
Good luck getting those molds back out of China, though.  

Bingo! The post of the day right here!!

...I remember when they teamed up with Sprue-Mart a few years ago, I thought that they just became wholesalers as well and handed away a lot of their profit. I though the direct only was probably the best way to control the name and keep WnW self-sufficient and it worked it seems. I gotta admit when they went to world wide distributor ships it kinda killed the 'exoticness' of WnW but I still supported them. Yeah I know its kinda dumb but hey that's my opinion. Maybe they should go back to in house distribution and regain some financial control if they continue to operate? I think the prices are more than fair for what you get in the kits all one has to do is remember what the first of the OOP kits went for on flea-bay a few years ago. I know a lot of people want everything as cheap as dirt but sometimes one has to pony up a few more bucks to keep things going. Modelling is probably the cheapest dollar per hour recreational activity around. $100 +/- for dozens of hour of entertainment? Show me something that is a better bang for the buck.

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GazzaS

GazzaS

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Personally...  I don't know what is the truth.  Whether it's a suspension, a trick to boost profits, or hasta la vista baby! As one who contributed more than once to the now locked thread over at TOS, I don't feel like I'm in meltdown.   I know there's a final chapter in the story that will some day come to light.  

Forums are for communicating, aren't they?  If you don't want to read a thread, it's pretty easy to keep scrolling ain't it?  I learned a few interesting things from that thread, which makes it all worth while.  I never understand why people go to a thread, read it, then complain about it.  It hadn't even gotten hostile yet.

I won't believe WNW is gone until it's gone.  But for a long time I've sat on the fence about a handful of kits.  To support Aussie retailers and to put some styrene in the stash, I bought a few of their 'in stock' WNW items.    I had planned to buy them someday, anyway.  

There's no point in ordering direct from WNW as they ain't shipping anything.  And I'm not certain what's allowed into AUS at the moment anyway.  I know I have some figures trapped in Korea.

 

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smitty44

smitty44

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, GazzaS said:

 

Forums are for communicating, aren't they?  If you don't want to read a thread, it's pretty easy to keep scrolling ain't it?  I learned a few interesting things from that thread, which makes it all worth while.  I never understand why people go to a thread, read it, then complain about it.  It hadn't even gotten hostile yet.

 

I miss being lectured and talked down to by moderators. I am sure they just get tired of monitoring threads that are that long. 

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