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My gosh, why not do what Bachmann is doing? Offer a product at an MSRP that is 20% less than what the competition is offering it for? And then maintain that price come hell or high-water.
The company just seems out of touch with N scale...
Quote from: MichaelWinicki on July 17, 2010, 05:55:41 PMMy gosh, why not do what Bachmann is doing? Offer a product at an MSRP that is 20% less than what the competition is offering it for? And then maintain that price come hell or high-water. And Bachmann's a product that is desired or, at the very least, creates (immediate) consumer interest. And a quality product to boot. That's not to say that Walthers doesn't create quality product but it's hit or miss. The 4427 was nice, though not BLMA nice, but it was a good starting point for those who want to go the extra mile and detail it. The modular wall kits though, IMO, were crap. The horizontal wall joints were very poorly engineered and the line never grew either, like Woodland Scenics'. Not really Walthers product but the Eastern caboose is good, but they hype it by calling it improved when it really isn't and still they charge a super-premium price for it. The company just seems out of touch with N scale, like they're trying to apply cookie cutter HO marketing tactics developed in the late 50s to something that really started to bloom twenty years later (I use Odegard's Clinchfield as a benchmark), and is only hitting a pique now in terms of potential. I'd wager the psychographic differences between followers of the two scales are considerable. And that the differences would warrant separate product development schemes.
Very likely the only hope of seeing this sort of performance from Walthers and other borderline-N-scale suppliers is for some big changes at the top, either by replacement, or by somehow convincing current managers that there are opportunities to be had.
It seems like they don't hire top employees, they breed them. Didn't a daughter just take over marketing? Historically, when family-run businesses get so big, they start to have, um, dysfunctions that effect business performance.
For what its worth, here are a few photos I took yesterday.Walthers 2 bay hopper test shot:
N scale folks spend plenty on plenty of stuff . If Walther's choses to not tap into well by not producing what we care to spend money on , and through many forums the want list is loudly spoken , then so be it . It will be both our loss , but their choice . Life goes on .
Bachmanndoes not have a monthly sales flyer to fill every month. Walthers has comitted to a different pricing structure, not necessarily better or worse just differrent. If Walthers is not making some coin when the product is on sale they need new accountants (Enron graduates apply now) and product managers because the basic business model is fatally flawed. I want Walthers to succeed with products at a fair price but I will not buy a kit immediately upon release, unless I really cannot move forward without it. Walters items on a 25% off sale is as certain as the sun coming up in the morning. Modelers all know all about it and will always be counted on to act in thier own self interest, creating an impossible situation for LHS who need to stock product to generate regular sales but get trampled by the rush when Walthers runs a monthly sale and can do nothing more than restock at the sale price but may never recover that full price investment in Walthers product...
I knew I should have done this car years ago.
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Topic: NTS update 7/15/2010 (Walthers's lets the cat of the bag) (Read 24856 times)
