Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

I know many of you are aware that this week is the 2008 iHobby Expo in Chicago, the US equivalent to the Nuremburg and Tokyo Toy Shows. We’re putting the final touches on a major project that we’ll be unveiling there, lucky for you you’re a subscriber to my blog, so you get to see it in just a few moments. So we’re winding down our daily operations here and winding up for the trip south.

Aerospace Modeler Magazine has already reached the larger distributors as well as many of the subscribers by the time I post this. Retailers should be seeing theirs too, so those who purchase copies from their local hobby shop will soon find them on the rack.

Billy Crisler will be spending several days with us after iHobby, at which time we will begin the process of getting issue #10 into preproduction. Though I can’t share what will be included in issue #10, I will tell you this, the quality of the material being submitted is FANTASTIC! I am also planning to show Billy EAA’s AirVenture Museum and attend our local model club meeting. If you’re within driving distance, and want to meet Billy come to our meeting. Tuesday October 21st 7:00 PM at the HobbyTown USA in Oshkosh, WI. Drop me a note if you need more details on how to get there.

For those of you awaiting word on the new sprue cutter from Xuron which I designed, a preproduction unit will be available for previewing during iHobby at the Xuron booth. A preproduction unit will be on hand for folks to cut and snip at sprues with. When will they be available for purchase, I wish I had the final definitive answer but things are looking good for a end of year or early next year release. If sufficient interest is expressed by the retailers in attendance at iHobby, it will help the process along.

For those of you order my products, any order received between Tuesday Oct 15 and Sunday Oct 20th will not be processed and shipped until Monday Oct 20th. Why…we’re at iHobby during that time!

Photo Contest winner will not be announced until after we return from iHobby Expo. I know there is great anticipation by some for this announcement, but with the standing up of Aerospace Modeler operations, HMA’s website and other tasks with short deadlines we had to set this aside temporarily.

I’m planning on providing you with show updates while I’m at iHobby, stay tuned!

I’m really hoping that this trip gets me back into the modeling workshop…I need it! The stress relief it provides is awesome…and with everything that has been going on, I need that kind of medicine.

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I am pleased to inform you that issue number nine went to press! Over the past several months Billy Crisler and a host of other folks including myself have been working towards returning Aerospace Modeler Magazine to operational status. Well after some really hard work, mostly on Billy’s part the plan has come together, printing and production has resumed. Issue #9 will be shipping soon and work on number ten has already begun.

From this day forward, I’ll be actively involved in the magazines operations. Rookie Aerospace, Inc (publisher of Aerospace Modeler Magazine) has contracted with Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC to handle much of the back office administration and preproduction operations for producing Aerospace Modeler. Zero To Sixty Marketing LLC is owned by my wife Shari and me, so I will be instrumental with the handling of your customer service needs with Aerospace Modeler Magazine.

I first met Billy through email conversations when I first acquired the SnJ Spray Metal line. Then I had the opportunity to meet him for the first time face to face at the 2006 IPMS Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri. From there we have exhibited at iHobby Expo in Chicago twice and our friendship has continued to evolve. I consider Billy a close friend and a model businessman and entrepreneur. Though some recent personal difficulty slowed him down, he never lost sight of the goal. Even while he was sitting on the bench strategizing the next series of plays, he came back on the field stronger and determined. Way to go!

We are proud to be associated with and a part of the process of bringing to you one of the finest aerospace and modeling magazines in print today. If you are not a subscriber you should be. Once you lay your hands on an issue, open the cover and read through the pages…you’re hooked. It’s that good! A magazine that you will want to keep as part of your aerospace reference library. Its not simply just a modelers only magazine.

Again congratulations to Billy Crisler and the return of Aerospace Modeler Magazine! Subscribe or ask your local hobby shop for a copy today!

**Aerospace Modeler Magazine’s website will be updated soon to reflect the good news as well as updated contact and customer service information.

Thank You!

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This topic (about Local Hobby Shops and their future) arises almost every week or so on the various forums and conversations I have with industry colleagues. Our economic system is without a doubt in trouble. Yet each day new businesses continue to enter into the marketplace or existing ones reinvent themselves to adapt to the ever changing trends. Many of the new entrants will fail for several possible reasons, as will established businesses. There is no one pill that a business owner can take to prevent eventual death in the retail marketplace. However, there are preventative measures to remain healthy and viable until the time of their choosing to make an exit, one such measure being education.

The emphasis on the Local Hobby Shop’s (LHS) survival is forefront in this hobby. It is a similar story which has effected other retail establishments such as family-owned book, drug, sporting goods, bakeries, five & dime, butcher and appliance stores, to name a few. Each has had environmental and evolutionary changes. Main Street gave way to highway bypasses that took traffic (customers) away from the once cherished and profitable locale.

Single, stand-alone operations lost out to chains and franchises. In many cases this was a change that was inevitable because the owners of the local little shop reached the end of their tenure, much like a farmer who has no one to continue on the tradition of the family’s farm.

Retailers who failed to adapt and grow with the community and its needs succumb to those who have read the tea leaves and acted appropriately. As with the fast food industry, we all know who the major players are…McDonalds, Hardees, Wendy’s and KFC. Yet there are regional operators who are gaining ground in that marketplace because they have the ability to identify and react to consumers’ wants and needs. Companies such as Culver’s have created a large geographical footprint in the marketplace within the US. They potentially have the ability to give the larger national franchises a hard run for consumer dollars.

So what is the future of the LHS? Many are searching for this answer. It could be that the end is near OR that a new breed of LHS is about to evolve…a store that specializes in hobbies, collectibles, toys and items of scientific interest. Could such companies as HobbyTown USA be poised to capitalize on this? I don’t know, but regardless of what happens, some hard business decisions need to be made.

Hard decisions need to be made not just by one of the “players” but by everyone involved…manufacturers, distributors and retailers. All have to plan and make those tough choices. Consumers also play a role in this. As prices continue to soar, what is the upper limit they are willing to spend for merchandise related to their interests? Will this necessitate the elimination of the “middle man” to trim final costs to the consumer? In other industries the distributor tier has been eliminated to keep costs competitive.

No, I haven’t forgotten the role the Internet retailer has on this industry either. Do not forget that it was once feared that Amazon was going to put all brick and mortar bookstores out of business, yet even with their huge customer base and sales volume, Barnes & Noble and Borders still exist and thrive in the same marketplace. The doom and gloom rhetoric spouted about Internet retailing being the cause of the demise of the LHS is based on misinformation perpetuated by those few who don’t have command of the facts.

Internet retailers have one basic difference in their business model…they don’t conduct face to face interactions with their customers. There are advantages and disadvantages to either business model, but they must be managed in exactly the same way and able to adapt to an ever changing market. The scale and scope of Internet retailing is as diverse as it is for the LHS. Success or failure boils down to the business decisions made by the owner/manager. I’ll touch more on this particular topic later.

Will the LHS survive? I hope so, but in what form I don’t know. If it follows the trends of other similar businesses, it might be found not on Main Street, but out on the bypass near the mall, bigger and better than ever!

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