I used to go to Bonnie Brai hobbies. The original store in the Bonnie Brai neighborhood had to close years ago. I went there many times. The next store was in Littleton, not far from my job. They were big on games. They had room for Gamers and other hobbies. They closed recently, too bad. Denver used have many hobby shops. It takes me back to the good old days.
All due respect, but I am aware of the fact that HobbyTown operates as a franchise.
Colpar is unique in the sense that they bought in to HobbyTown, rather than selling out. This is information coming directly from both a manager and a long time employee. HobbyTown’s page even says as much (different language though).
I made no claims of HobbyTown being “Evil” so I hope that comment wasn’t directed at me.
Contacting the corporate offices may be a good idea, if they can get back to me before my deadline. Data is always welcome so thanks!
Edit:
This was supposed to be a reply to someone in this chain, but I am not use to FSM’s forum setup so I didn’t attach the text as a reply apparently.
Viper… The 90 mile away shop I referred to is Tammies in Beaverton ( part of the Portland metro area. Not the Denver area, but maybe worth a call to see how they are faring in these times. They do have a line ad in FSM.
If you hit the reply button on the post you want to quote, then hit the quote button. You can remove any part of it you don’t want.
Decades ago, I used to frequent a very fine LHS in Wisconsin. They had everything, especially lots of the special tools and supplies needed for balsa and tissue airplanes, and wooden sailing ships, which were popular then.
The Mom and Pop decided to retire, and gave the booming business to their kids, who promptly drove the place into bankruptcy, and probably absconded with whatever assets remained. Sad day for me, and all the other modelers.
I disagree. Bricks-and-mortar hobby shops, especially the small, sole proprietorships, were already dying out, long before the Internet became generally available and using it became common, in the early 90s.
The typical sole proprietor hobby shop exploded in numbers along with the explosion of the hobby in the 50s, as the first Boomers were old enough to pick up the hobby. That demographic trend drove the rise and expansion of the classic model companies, like Monogram, Aurora, Revell, Airfix, among others.
The typical hobby shop owner who started his business when he was in his 30s, say, in 1960, was in his 60s by 1990. As these people started to retire, they often found no one to take over their businesses. They already had competition from bigger chains and single retailers.
The Internet made it easier to run such a business without the cost of having a store, true, but you still had to run the business. Those who wanted to be a hobby vendor, adapted. But the bricks-and-mortar store, generally, was already on its way out. With notable exceptions that many of us know of locally.
Its just my observation, but a lot of sales at HobbyTowns seem to be R/C cars and planes. They have parts that get broken and need to be replaced. Colpar and other HobbyTowns have big supplies of those and staff. Plastic kits dont need them. I could be wrong. I used to work part time, at a different hobby shop, back in the late 1970s and we sold lots of R/C aircraft parts that needed replacements. People don’t want to wait days for delivery for car and plane parts. They wet to play with them right away, can’t blame them.
Another reason often cited for the closure of hobby shops is Atari.
It’s a choice - video games are not cheap, either. A new console will be $4-500 this holiday, and with games $60 apiece. Parents and kids spending their money on that could easily chose models instead. But they’re not.
Meanwhile, my closest store is a former independent that went HobbyTown. They are a ghost of their former existence, being about 85% r/c stuff now. It’s not even worth going there for models anymore. They used to have a good paint section, but they don’t keep it up. Guaranteed you go in with a small list of colors, something will be out of stock [8-)] And they wonder why people turn to the internet…
I just thought of this, not a reason for distress, was that there was big break in to steal R/C parts at both stores. I know of one time they broke in though the roof and stole a bunch. And staff had to be aware of shoplifters at all times. Not plastic kits really, but parts of R/C cars.
Originally from the St. Louis area; we used to have a lot of good LHS, but most of them closed either due to the owners getting old and retiring and nobody wanting to take over the shop, or just not profitable enough (most of them close BEFORE internet shopping became big). There’s still one great LHS in the St. Louis area, Mark Twain Hobbies in St. Charles. The owners/staff are generally pretty knowledgeable about models, not like some 16-year-old kid who looks at you with a deer-in-the-headlights look when you ask him about the latest Takom Stug. III release! And they stock a LOT of kits and paints! They also have a nice display case where they display models that customers have built. Their prices are still really reasonable, although nobody’s going to beat that Hobby Lobby 40% off deal.
Now I live in Germany, and decent hobby shops are as scarce as hen’s teeth. There’s a big retail chain, Müller (kind of like a Woolworth of old, sells a little bit of everything, from cosmetics to pet food to toys and, yes, models), that always has one aisle of model stuff. It used to be nothing but Revell stuff (German brand, so, duh!), but lately my local one has started stocking some Italeri, Tamiya, and Zvezda kits. They used to regularly have 20% off on all model kits, but since the pandemic has started hurting everyone’s bottom line, they dropped that. Of course, since it’s not a hobby specialty shop, none of the staff know ANYTHING about models, and special ordering is out of the question. The nearest hobby shop devoted to modeling is two hours away in Munich, so I don’t make it there very often, but anytime I do go to Munich, I make sure I stop in and buy something, anything, to make sure I help support them.
Luckily, we have one of the best online retailers here in Germany: shout out to Modellbau-König! Great selection, great prices, fast shipping, and free shipping if I order 30+ Euros worth of merchandise!
What does your local hobby shop bring to the table that a chain like Walmart does not?
The LBS is called Magic Box, Vancouver, Canada. They bring much, much higher prices as they simply can’t compete with big chains or internet stores and real estate/rental places are very expensive in Vancouver
Has your hobby shop expereinced a dip or a surge in sales/customers during the pandemic?
Don’t know. When I go there there are only 2-3 people in the shop. You should contact them.
Do they specialize in other hobbies, or mainly plastic model building?
Lots of other things, RC etc
How long has the store been in operation?
Long time, but this is a question for them.
Have you (as a model builder/hobbyist) been building/tinkering more due to any restrictions put in place by your state?
No, the restrictions do not affect my model building.
Are you worried that your hobby shop will close if businesses are told to shut down again?
No. They can simply limit the number of customers in the shop and require them to wear masks and desinfect their hands when entering.
Good luck with your project
This is a quote that is heard quite a bit among the radio control crowd, In today’s economy, if you want to start a business in the radio control hobby and have a million dollars at the end of your first year, you need to start with two million dollars.
We have a similar saying in the aviation industry. “How do you make a small fortune in aviation? You start off with a big one.”
EagleCash867;
It’s the same if you want to bring a new boat to the 30-40’ market. Spend three million to get started and make one million in the first two years!
It’s also like that with muscle cars, you never get back what you put into them.
I think it takes a special kind of person to own and operate a hobby shop. You have to have a real love for it because I think we all know that you’re not going to get rich at it. But, I’ve heard it said that if you find a job that you truly love, you’ll never work again. I don’t think I would be well-suited to own a hobby shop, but if somebody wanted to put me to work building models full time at a decent wage I’d be as happy as a pig in … well, you know. [whstl]