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H0		#1 Posted : 26 December 2015 22:56:11(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Hi! German business magazine Wirtschaftwoche published a report about Märklin (German only): http://www.wiwo.de/unter...-im-kessel/12756750.html Google translation (page 1): https://translate.google...6750.html&edit-text= Page 2: https://translate.google...50-2.html&edit-text= Märklin will bring fewer new items in 2016 to achieve larger production runs. They will put more effort into MyWorld. There will be Märklin TV ads before Christmas 2016 (probably in Germany only). Business in the USA runs better than Märklin expected. Update (January 7, 2016): Information on T-Online (German): http://www.t-online.de/r...ehlt-wachstumsziele.html Estimated sales for business year 2015/2016: 96 million Euros (98 million Euros a year before). They expected a growth between 5 and 10 percent. Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros. Edited by user 07 January 2016 18:25:13(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Alsterstreek		#2 Posted : 27 December 2015 01:05:40(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/11/2011(UTC) Posts: 5,671 Location: Hybrid Home		Phew: Development and production of the new curved turnout costs 1 MEUR.
		Greetz - Ak My current "layout": https://www.marklin-user...aigne-Project#post592818
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PJMärklin		#3 Posted : 27 December 2015 04:36:55(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 04/12/2013(UTC) Posts: 2,210 Location: Hobart, Australia		Originally Posted by: H0 Hi! German business magazine Wirtschaftwoche published a report about Märklin (German only) Google translation (page 1): Hello Tom, Thank you for this interesting information. Regards, PJ
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H0		#4 Posted : 27 December 2015 08:21:41(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: Alsterstreek Development and production of the new curved turnout costs 1 MEUR. They often tell us that the moulds for a new steamer have about the same price (double for Big Boy). 1 MEUR will give you about 20 minutes TV ads in the prime time. More minutes if they go for the children channels.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Mark_1602		#5 Posted : 27 December 2015 09:01:10(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Hi all, That's a really interesting article. The new owners just can't stop being over-optimistic. At first, they thought that they could easily reverse years of decline and neglect, but they can't change the fact that the MRR market will go on shrinking slowly but steadily. By now, they've realised that there will not be any real growth, but the next fallacy in their business strategy is their belief that they can make fewer models but sell more next year. That used to work until the late 1990s, when most customers realised that the supposedly 'rare' items they had bought as 'limited' or 'one-time' series had been produced in large numbers of up to 30,000 or even more. Who will buy items with larger production runs in 2016??? I wish them good luck and I'm glad they've bought the Märklin company because they've really invested large sums of money. That will certainly help to keep Märklin afloat for the next ten years, but every MRR manufacturer will have a problem when the Baby Boomers can't buy any more. Even if Märklin can sell more MyWorld trains to kids in the near future, which is doubtful, it will take twenty years at least until those kids become good customers. Best regards, Mark
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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Goofy		#6 Posted : 27 December 2015 09:15:34(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 9,019		Originally Posted by: H0 Märklin will bring fewer new items in 2016 to achieve larger production runs. I guess it makes only few models will been present. Not really sure either about the CSx or MSx. Old models will have new road numbers instead.
		H0 DCC = Digital Command Control
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steventrain		#7 Posted : 27 December 2015 09:49:37(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 31,606 Location: United Kingdom		Originally Posted by: Alsterstreek Phew: Development and production of the new curved turnout costs 1 MEUR. About same price on per one newly tooling locomotive item such as Hornby, Bachmann etc. Murphy Models Development and production Irish diesel cost 900,000 EUR for about 5000 models from China. Maybe between 1 and 2 MEUR per new tooling marklin loco?
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kiwiAlan		#8 Posted : 27 December 2015 14:16:39(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,109 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: Alsterstreek Phew: Development and production of the new curved turnout costs 1 MEUR. That wouldn't surprise me. A lot of time will have been spent at the 'pondering' stage determining what radius to use (should it be R3/R4 or R5) and how the point can be used to go between various radii (they have got it set up to go between R3/R4 and R4/R5) and what other make up pieces will be needed - in this case they have come up with a single 15 degree piece that works in all situations. Then they have to determine how they are going to make the point so that all rolling stock - including being backwards compatible to 50s/60s stock - will run through it. Then despite the use of CAD to come up with the drawings, it wouldn't surprise me to find there has been two or three iterations of the mold to get things just right to make it easy to manufacture and meet the requirements above. Despite the CAD systems available there will still be a need for a certain amount of experimentation with early pre-production units to get things 'just right'. Even if the first plastic parts are produced by 3D printing there is nothing like having the proper molded part to ensure that things are going to work correctly. The costs add up at each stage. Just producing the mold for making the plastic base will be in the mid tens of thousands of Euro, based on my (limited) knowledge of making such items.
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mrmarklin		#9 Posted : 27 December 2015 18:36:34(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 27/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 895 Location: Burney, CA		I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea that making fewer items in longer production runs will make more profit. Isn't there a limited market for each item? I'm not sure making more of an item translates into more sales of that item. Maybe this is code for using molds over and over , which I suppose means more repaints. But don't they already do this?
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H0		#10 Posted : 27 December 2015 18:54:54(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: mrmarklin I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea that making fewer items in longer production runs will make more profit. They always tell us that sales went down this year but will go up next year. Now they have a new plan to achieve this. IIRC they announced the new G 2000 in four different liveries in 2015. With only two or three different liveries they'd probably get higher figures per livery and lower production costs per unit. But the total sales will probably be lower compared to four liveries right from the start. So the new mould will take longer to amortise. Will those fewer models stay in the catalogue for a longer time? Many people say that new items should be listed for at least three years to give them time to collect the money. I think we will see the new items brochure in three or four weeks. That'll give us the answer.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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kiwiAlan		#11 Posted : 27 December 2015 19:18:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,109 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: H0 Will those fewer models stay in the catalogue for a longer time? Many people say that new items should be listed for at least three years to give them time to collect the money. My sentiment too. Do away with the MHI system, and make them full catalogue items that will be available for a reasonable period.
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Mark_1602		#12 Posted : 27 December 2015 20:49:00(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Hi all, I think Märklin should publish its news brochure during the holiday period in late December, when most people have some free time. Roco and Fleischmann do this now, and it makes sense. Secondly, they should change the colour of the boxes and get rid of that silly window; grey is the most boring colour of all in my view, so I think that blue would work better. If they can't even make such small changes, how do they want to turn the company round? The problem is that there is probably no way to generate more sales. Larger production runs will not work. If there are many copies of a given locomotive, it pays off to wait for discounts or buy it second-hand a few years later. Market values for such items will fall rapidly, so there will be little incentive to buy them when they are first released. There aren't that many children or young adults who might buy Märklin products nowadays. After the 1960s, the fertility rate in Germany fell to 1.2 children per woman over a lifetime, so middle-aged and elderly men had to replace the missing potential customers. Now the fertility rate is 1.4, but that's not sufficient and on top of that, most parents wouldn't encourage such a hobby because they would need to invest too much time and money. I have two children now, so I visit toyshops on a regular basis. Most toys for toddlers cost between 5 and 30 euros because that's what parents are able or willing to spend; TV ads can't increase family budgets. Model railroading has become a minority hobby, and that will never change again, no matter how good the marketing experts are. Märklin is still profitable and has wealthy owners, so there is no immediate threat, but ten years from now, sales will probably be somewhat lower than today. Best regards, Mark
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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jonas_sthlm		#13 Posted : 27 December 2015 22:24:23(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 12/10/2008(UTC) Posts: 890 Location: Stockholm, Södermalm		Maybe they would start listen to what customers want Who wanted Swedish ore engine like Dm3 where the details are not correct Real kindergarten
		Collecting Swedish items since the 80s / CS3+ / MSW / 60175 Booster / 60881 S88 AC / TC10 Gold / K, C-Tracks / Favorites Class Ra / modelltag.se - Forum modelltag.se - Facebook modelltag.se - YouTube
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Mark5		#14 Posted : 28 December 2015 07:07:16(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,420 Location: Montreal, Canada		As cost is an issue... there may be a chance the bigger production runs will mean lower costs for better models, some argue no. Less fragile detail, and more robust simplified surfaces would not be an impediment to sales, and could also lower production costs. If they became more affordable, then there might be more money for extra accessories they already produce. In the pet business, I am told, its not the pet they make money on, but the food and accessories. I would suggest making smaller more affordable "extension" or "two for one" packages combining an accessory such as a "free" signal with a locomotive. This could potentially get the hobbyist interested in investing in another dimension of his or her hobby after finding the satisfaction of having a signal, switch decoder, model, etc. ... - Mark
		DB DR FS NS SNCF c. 1950-65, fan of station architecture esp. from 1920-70. In single point perspective, where do track lines meet?
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H0		#15 Posted : 28 December 2015 08:38:29(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		For many years Märklin tried to use motors that were better than those of the competition. For many years Märklin increased the number of new items to get the biggest possible share of collector budgets. For many years Märklin tried to make models with more and finer separately applied parts to win customers from Roco and Fleischmann. The sales were shrinking - and I'm afraid sales shrunk quicker than the market as a whole. And now it is all wrong. Simple motors, thin new item brochures, sturdy models will be the new strategy. Time will tell how well this will work.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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xxup		#16 Posted : 28 December 2015 09:06:06(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,473 Location: Australia		Originally Posted by: jonas_sthlm Maybe they would start listen to what customers want Who wanted Swedish ore engine like Dm3 where the details are not correct Real kindergarten I did.. And I bought two of them.. 37755 and 26800..
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Bigdaddynz		#17 Posted : 28 December 2015 09:34:20(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 18,665 Location: New Zealand		Originally Posted by: jonas_sthlm Maybe they would start listen to what customers want...... .......Real kindergarten Yeah right, like every customer agrees with each other as to what they want! Ask a 1000 customers, you'll most likely get 1000 different answers. At the end of the day we rely on Marklin making a judgement as to what they think most customers want, given the constraints of production costs v likely sales, and all the other issues a company like Marklin faces. It's easy enough to take potshots from the sidelines, but when you're the one having to make the right decisions, it ain't so easy!
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Bigdaddynz		#18 Posted : 28 December 2015 10:28:22(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 18,665 Location: New Zealand		Originally Posted by: H0 For many years Märklin tried to use motors that were better than those of the competition. For many years Märklin increased the number of new items to get the biggest possible share of collector budgets. For many years Märklin tried to make models with more and finer separately applied parts to win customers from Roco and Fleischmann. The sales were shrinking - and I'm afraid sales shrunk quicker than the market as a whole. And they tried to restrict the discounts dealers could offer customers, presumably to increase their profit.....
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foumaro		#19 Posted : 28 December 2015 10:42:07(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 08/12/2004(UTC) Posts: 4,420 Location: Attiki Athens Greece		[ Business in the USA runs better than Märklin expected. I hope we will get more USA items and maybe something new.Anyway a new double Alco is welcome too.
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GlennM		#20 Posted : 28 December 2015 10:46:29(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,886 Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England		Originally Posted by: Bigdaddynz Originally Posted by: H0 For many years Märklin tried to use motors that were better than those of the competition. For many years Märklin increased the number of new items to get the biggest possible share of collector budgets. For many years Märklin tried to make models with more and finer separately applied parts to win customers from Roco and Fleischmann. The sales were shrinking - and I'm afraid sales shrunk quicker than the market as a whole. And they tried to restrict the discounts dealers could offer customers, presumably to increase their profit..... It was my understanding that dealers purchased items from Marklin at a fixed price - price X, and that the recommended retail price was price Y, and that the discounting by dealers generally occurred between the RRP - price Y and the dealer price - price X, and that the main reason for Marklin trying to prevent heavy discounting was more to do with trying to preserve the value of the brand (heavy discounting of any brand affects the brand image over time) and also to stop the main customers from being upset at seeing items they paid full - price Y, for being sold on Ebay substantially cheaper after only a couple of months. The net affect of such discounting is that over time people stop buying new items at the RRP and wait for the discounting, thus under mining the basis of the RRP. If my understanding is correct then Profit Preservation is the order of the day
		Don't look back, your not heading that way.
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kiwiAlan		#21 Posted : 28 December 2015 22:48:20(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,109 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: Mark5 As cost is an issue... there may be a chance the bigger production runs will mean lower costs for better models, some argue no. Less fragile detail, and more robust simplified surfaces would not be an impediment to sales, and could also lower production costs. If they became more affordable, then there might be more money for extra accessories they already produce. In the pet business, I am told, its not the pet they make money on, but the food and accessories. I would suggest making smaller more affordable "extension" or "two for one" packages combining an accessory such as a "free" signal with a locomotive. This could potentially get the hobbyist interested in investing in another dimension of his or her hobby after finding the satisfaction of having a signal, switch decoder, model, etc. ... - Mark One of the things that has bugged me is that the track extension sets 2490x are no cheaper than purchasing the individual items. I would have thought they could package and price them in a manner that could give a 5-10% discount on the individual items combined.
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xxup		#22 Posted : 28 December 2015 23:01:29(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,473 Location: Australia		Perhaps it is a strategy to stop people selling the tracks separately and making money?
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Mark5		#23 Posted : 29 December 2015 01:23:41(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,420 Location: Montreal, Canada		Hi Adrian, Are we talking about breaking up the set? - Mark Originally Posted by: xxup Perhaps it is a strategy to stop people selling the tracks separately and making money?
		DB DR FS NS SNCF c. 1950-65, fan of station architecture esp. from 1920-70. In single point perspective, where do track lines meet?
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Dimi194		#24 Posted : 29 December 2015 01:27:58(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 21/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 382		Originally Posted by: H0 Originally Posted by: mrmarklin I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea that making fewer items in longer production runs will make more profit. They always tell us that sales went down this year but will go up next year. Now they have a new plan to achieve this. Will those fewer models stay in the catalogue for a longer time? Many people say that new items should be listed for at least three years to give them time to collect the money. ^This please! In order for Maeklin to gain long term customers, they need kids to transition from MyWorld to Start Up to the full line range. However the prices of these models are very high, especially for a young adult. As a student my M budget for the year is only around $400-700 AUD (I suppose it'd be more if I wasn't also a Transformers and LEGO collector oops ). This means one engine and a few wagons is all I can afford per year, esp. if it's a nice Lok with sounds etc. I get M doesn't want to reduce the price (and IMHO you get what you pay for in the quality and the awesomeness of the models) but in order to allow people like me (the future of M) to save up for models, we require longer production (so they are available for a few years) and a better published ordering system (so if I secure extra funds in Q4 I can still buy a loco that was released in Q1 but in the next year, whereas now if I don't have the funds in Q1 it's too bad ) And better availability outside EU (but we've been saying that for years ) The hobby doesn't have to shrink into nothing if it can become easier for the younger generations (who still like trains, I assure you) to gain access and continue in the hobby.
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xxup		#25 Posted : 29 December 2015 02:53:05(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2003(UTC) Posts: 9,473 Location: Australia		Originally Posted by: Mark5 Hi Adrian, Are we talking about breaking up the set? - Mark Originally Posted by: xxup Perhaps it is a strategy to stop people selling the tracks separately and making money? Yep
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black_pete		#26 Posted : 29 December 2015 06:04:27(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/04/2007(UTC) Posts: 150 Location: Melbourne, Victoria		Hmmm, so Marklin are starting to do well outside of Germany and are performing better than expected in the USA ... that's fantastic. I'm not wanting to get too involved in the overall strategy but I do have a quick suggestion for their consideration ... Take full recognition of the fact that many potential buyers outside of Germany don't speak (or read) German and that better language support for the non German speaking market is a fairly intrinsic requirement for supporting ongoing continual growth. Yes Marklin have improved somewhat but the current restricted range of supporting material and less than stellar translations often observed leave plenty of room for improvement.
		Regards Pete expat Kiwi - now living in Melbourne SBB Era IV & V - Digital - CS1 - C Track
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Mark5		#27 Posted : 29 December 2015 06:33:10(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,420 Location: Montreal, Canada		I'm not sure US sales means much, given the overall percentage of sales and small market share. Strong US dollar could change with oil, foreign wars and politics. We are getting creamed here in Canada, with our oil and USA dependent economy. Nonetheless I fully support more language support. I cannot see how hiring a translator and making it available online would not improve their profile. That part is such an easy fix, in my view. No doubt there are forum members up to the job for doing a good job at technical translations. Should be done by one who is native or near-native speaker in English and knows what the text is really about. - Mark Originally Posted by: black_pete Hmmm, so Marklin are starting to do well outside of Germany and are performing better than expected in the USA ... that's fantastic. I'm not wanting to get too involved in the overall strategy but I do have a quick suggestion for their consideration ... Take full recognition of the fact that many potential buyers outside of Germany don't speak (or read) German and that better language support for the non German speaking market is a fairly intrinsic requirement for supporting ongoing continual growth. Yes Marklin have improved somewhat but the current restricted range of supporting material and less than stellar translations often observed leave plenty of room for improvement.
		DB DR FS NS SNCF c. 1950-65, fan of station architecture esp. from 1920-70. In single point perspective, where do track lines meet?
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H0		#28 Posted : 29 December 2015 06:46:10(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: Mark5 Should be done by one who is native or near-native speaker in English and knows what the text is really about. This has been a problem with many translations in the past: lack of MRR knowledge - and non-native speakers. In the last episode of Märklin TV they call the BR 01.5 "oh fifteen" in English. In the past there were worse examples, but since they still don't use knowledgeable translators this can happen again any time.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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chrisisrang		#29 Posted : 29 December 2015 08:53:14(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 173 Location: Hong Kong		Marklin perhaps reports generates 60% - 70% of its official sales through handlers/ dealers in Germany. However, in actual fact, not more than 40 - 45% of Marklin's products based on revenue eventually stay in Germany. You can pick your favorite dealer in Germany or the top 10 Marklin dealers in Germany and they generate a fair share of their sales through Internet and eBay.de from international customers. This strategy is no different for most other brands MRR based in Germany. The underlying objective is to protect the business of the German dealers and perhaps help them grow at the expense of the overseas dealers which is why you find that Marklin dealers outside Europe are a fast dying breed. How many new Marklin dealers have you seen emerge strongly, outside Germany, in the past 5 years? The answer will be none. In addition, Marklin and other MRR companies' discount strategy works very much in favor of the German dealers because they are able to discount prices further by taking off the EU VAT on exports. There s no way that non-German dealers can compete with German dealers even when supplying products to customers in their local markets. Dealers outside Germany are doing well because they have built a certain loyalty with customers based on excellent service and support. I am privy to Marklin's dealer discount structures which obviously I can not disclose on the forum. The strategy may server the German dealers well but it certainly discourages overseas dealers to invest in non-MRR brands that will offer much better return and opportunity for growth. UNLESS and UNLESS companies such as Marklin take the initiative of setting up subsidiary offices in large potential markets outside EU such as the US and Australia or even China to see this hobby, this segment will continue to shrink. How do you expect kids in countries such as the US to get exposed to this hobby? There is no point in having a namesake subsidiary like what they had for donkeys years in the US. The subsidiary should be doing real marketing and selling. I am not suggesting hundreds of dealers but at least have 15 to 20 good dealers in the US who are not only selling but also find it worthwhile to promote and grow the hobby. As the market leader or so called market leader, Marklin may now have the opportunity to grow the total addressable market for MRR which will in turn perhaps benefit them as well as some of the other brands. However, that's what market leaders typically do in any business. They help create and evolve new market segments which perhaps creates opportunities for competition but they tend to benefit the most. Companies like Marklin if they have to survive and thrive in the next 10 - 20 years will have to take a page out of what technology companies are doing today. They have hundreds and thousands of engineers in India, China and Taiwan developing silicon or writing code that will go into next generation products because the cost of a faction of what it is in developed economies. This is not just in the technology world but even in the area of digital animation and movie making...studios hire creative people in emerging economies to not only drive costs down but also increase agility and time to market. . It is easier said than done but companies such as Marklin will need to disrupt themselves...thinking hard how they can develop new models much faster and economically, drive down production costs without compromising on quality. I completely agree that doing larger production runs of a fewer models will not be the answer to arrest the decline in company's business. They need to think HARD and out of the BOX. If they keep putting the same old wine in new bottles then people are going to reject them. My two little cents......... Cheers, Chris
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H0		#30 Posted : 29 December 2015 09:33:18(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: chrisisrang They have hundreds and thousands of engineers in India, China and Taiwan developing silicon or writing code that will go into next generation products because the cost of a faction of what it is in developed economies. We don't know how much of Märklin's construction and production is being done in China and other Far East countries. We often hear from Märklin that production in China will be reduced. Roco and Fleischmann gave up production in China completely. On Märklin TV we often see construction work being done in Hungary. Originally Posted by: chrisisrang In addition, Marklin and other MRR companies' discount strategy works very much in favor of the German dealers because they are able to discount prices further by taking off the EU VAT on exports. There s no way that non-German dealers can compete with German dealers even when supplying products to customers in their local markets. When Germans want to buy MTH locos they can save a fair amount when ordering from US dealers. So the same problem exists for both ways.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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H0		#31 Posted : 07 January 2016 18:26:57(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Updated the first post. Information on T-Online (German): http://www.t-online.de/r...ehlt-wachstumsziele.html Estimated sales for business year 2015/2016: 96 million Euros (98 million Euros a year before). They expected a growth between 5 and 10 percent. Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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black_pete		#32 Posted : 08 January 2016 13:39:06(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/04/2007(UTC) Posts: 150 Location: Melbourne, Victoria		Originally Posted by: H0 Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros. Hmmmm ... very very hard to ignore a market showing a 50% growth factor !!!
		Regards Pete expat Kiwi - now living in Melbourne SBB Era IV & V - Digital - CS1 - C Track
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biedmatt		#33 Posted : 08 January 2016 13:52:33(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/04/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,343 Location: Southwest Ohio		Originally Posted by: black_pete Originally Posted by: H0 Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros. Hmmmm ... very very hard to ignore a market showing a 50% growth factor !!! I think this is now because they are also selling directly to US dealers and not just through Walthers. I never bought anything that was distributed via Walthers, it was too expensive. I bought from German dealers on eBay. When Michael started buying direct, I ordered a few items from him instead of a German dealer, so I think that is your market growth. Not more US sales, just sales that can now be attributed to an American buyer and not a German buyer. I'm back to German dealers BTW, I do not understand the distribution setup, but we still wait months and months for product when it goes through an American dealer or distributor. I like to joke the 2016 new items is just Europe, we call it the maybe in 2017 new items. Edit: I ordered 48881 from Michael on 25 February 2015. His database still shows the backorder, so the order is not lost. Where is it? With a German dealer, once M releases the product, I know I will have it in two weeks time. I'm not someone who needs things immediately, but one day would be nice.
		Matt Era 3 DB lokos, coaches and freight cars from across Europe But I do have the obligatory (six) SBB Krocs ECoS 50200, all FX and MFX decoders replaced with ESU V4s, operated in DCC-RailCom+ with ABC brake control. With the exception of the passenger wagens with Marklin current conducting couplers, all close couplers have been replaced with Roco 40397.
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kiwiAlan		#34 Posted : 08 January 2016 14:38:02(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,109 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: black_pete Originally Posted by: H0 Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros. Hmmmm ... very very hard to ignore a market showing a 50% growth factor !!! yeah, but if 3.5m Euros is the doubled figure it wasn't starting from a large base. When the sales are small it is not too hard to get big percentage increases.
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mrmarklin		#35 Posted : 09 January 2016 01:00:50(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 27/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 895 Location: Burney, CA		Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan Originally Posted by: black_pete Originally Posted by: H0 Sales in USA went up 50 % for a total of 3.5 million Euros. Hmmmm ... very very hard to ignore a market showing a 50% growth factor !!! yeah, but if 3.5m Euros is the doubled figure it wasn't starting from a large base. When the sales are small it is not too hard to get big percentage increases. 3.5MM EUR is an interesting number. I would venture to say that the real sales figure is double that. Almost everyone I know who buys regularly (and through my ETE connections I know a lot of people), buys from German dealers directly. This would not be included in these statistics IMHO. Also, if my speculation is correct, then real sales are around 7MM--approximately 7% of Marklin's total volume. That strikes me as a lot different than the 1-2% share I've always been led to believe is the North American market.
		From the People's Republik of Kalifornia
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H0		#36 Posted : 09 January 2016 08:50:58(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Mr. Pluta gave a US market size of Euros 240 millions for 2008 (AFAIK based on dealer purchase prices). With +50% Märklin could be around 1.5% or 2% or so. The amount of direct imports is subject to speculation.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Goofy		#37 Posted : 09 January 2016 09:44:19(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 9,019		When Märklin was bankruptcy 2009,the customer was chocked. Suddenly people did start support Märklin by shopping extra train models. It reminds about truth inside of the market.
		H0 DCC = Digital Command Control
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Mark_1602		#38 Posted : 10 January 2016 19:00:21(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Originally Posted by: Goofy When Märklin was bankruptcy 2009,the customer was chocked. Suddenly people did start support Märklin by shopping extra train models. That's right, but they won't support Märklin that way any longer, so it will be very hard to keep sales from declining slowly in the next years. Some customers have been disappointed by certain models they bought during the insolvency years, so they don't trust the company's products any more. Best regards, Mark
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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PhillipL		#39 Posted : 12 January 2016 12:03:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/12/2012(UTC) Posts: 123		I am relatively new to Marklin but one thing I really like about them is that they do reach out to new modelers and young modelers with the MyWorld and Startup lines. They have a Startup website which I think will get kids attention as well. No other company except Piko has reached out to young model railroaders. The other big guys have mostly ignored this market. I think in the long run it will pay off for both companies.
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H0		#40 Posted : 12 January 2016 12:43:58(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Roco have their "Next Generation" line (age 6+) and they had their Playtime line. Märklin tried Circus Mondolino and the Alpha line in the past. With the age group 3+ Märklin and Piko now aim at younger children than before. And they aim at toy shops, but so far with limited success.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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steventrain		#41 Posted : 23 January 2016 22:15:07(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 31,606 Location: United Kingdom		Marklin continues to wait for a breakthrough. German link (You need google translate). http://www.lr-online.de/...urchbruch;art736,5364476
		Large Marklinist 3- Rails Layout with CS2/MS2/Boosters/C-track/favorites Electric class E03/BR103, E18/E118, E94, Crocodiles/Steam BR01, BR03, BR05, BR23, BR44, BR50, Big Boy.
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Mark_1602		#42 Posted : 24 January 2016 11:20:04(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Hi, Thanks for the link, Steven! What's interesting is that the new CEO says that Märklin is still profitable, though the results are disappointing. He didn't want to communicate any EBIT figures. Another point that is mentioned is that sales of the more expensive Märklin Professional H0 products in Germany have fallen substantially, and that in future, Märklin wants to invest into new technologies as well as the cheaper product ranges (Start Up, MyWorld) to attract younger customers. Märklin has sold more in the USA as well as in Eastern Europe. In the next paragraph of the newspaper article, the new Märklin boss goes on to blame the huge offer on the second-hand market for the decline of sales, saying that a lot of model trains are sold again or passed on to the next generation. In the final paragraph, readers are told that Roco's sales also fell last year. Personally, I wouldn't agree with his interpretation of the facts, but in the previous lines of my post I've only summed up what the article says. I think that Märklin's profit margin, which used to hover around 10 per cent during the insolvency, must be sustantially lower now because if it weren't, the new owners wouldn't talk about a difficult and disappointing year. There are also other factors that contributed to lower sales, such as Märklin's disastrous information policy, the new owners' unwillingness to sell off surplus stock at a large discount, or the warranty cases. Best regards, Mark
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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H0		#43 Posted : 24 January 2016 13:00:25(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: M-Classics What's interesting is that the new CEO says that Märklin is still profitable, though the results are disappointing. I wonder what "still" and "profitable" mean in this context. Märklin had a negative EBIT in the 2014 business year (four months only as they were changing their business year). Edited by user 24 January 2016 16:30:31(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Mark_1602		#44 Posted : 24 January 2016 13:35:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Originally Posted by: H0 Originally Posted by: M-Classics What's interesting is that the new CEO says that Märklin is still profitable, though the results are disappointing. I wonder what "still" and "profitable" mean in this context. Märklin had a negative EBIT in 2014. You only have data for the first few months of 2014 because those results have been posted on www.bundesanzeiger.de, but no figures are available beyond that, so you can't make any claims about the remainder of that year or about the 2014/2015 business year. We can assume that M* didn't do well in 2014 or 2015, but that's all. Yesterday I verified that a lot of new items made between 2013 and 2015 are still in stock at maerklin.de, so they can't have made a lot of money. It's their secret and their problem. I'm just a customer, and I only buy those items I really want to have.
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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H0		#45 Posted : 24 January 2016 14:11:01(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		For Märklin the business year 2014 had only four months and it ended with a negative EBIT. Business years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 have 12 months each and we know nuffin' 'bout the EBIT yet.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Mark_1602		#46 Posted : 24 January 2016 16:07:04(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Originally Posted by: H0 For Märklin the business year 2014 had only four months and it ended with a negative EBIT. Business years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 have 12 months each and we know nuffin' 'bout the EBIT yet. You wrote 'in 2014', and that means 12 months in English. If you didn't intend this to mean 12 months, you should have specified that instead of posting misleading information. The results of four months don't mean much in a seasonal business anyway, and the new owners don't want to talk about the company's EBIT. By the way, I also consulted that German website and found that Piko made a small loss in one business year several years ago, but a small profit in another one, and those business years had 12 months. Roco and Fleischmann made a very small profit in 2015 according to press reports, whereas Hornby made a loss, so profitability in the MRR sector is generally low nowadays. Nevertheless, Piko's sales are increasing, which reveals that Märklin might do better in this shrinking market if they changed some of their policies.
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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kiwiAlan		#47 Posted : 24 January 2016 17:29:01(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,109 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: M-Classics Originally Posted by: H0 For Märklin the business year 2014 had only four months and it ended with a negative EBIT. Business years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 have 12 months each and we know nuffin' 'bout the EBIT yet. You wrote 'in 2014', and that means 12 months in English. If you didn't intend this to mean 12 months, you should have specified that instead of posting misleading information. The results of four months don't mean much in a seasonal business anyway, and the new owners don't want to talk about the company's EBIT. Is it misleading? We assume YOU have a memory. When did Marklin cease to be under the control of Her Pluta? From then to the end of 2014 would be about 4 months going by my memory, which would be the 'accounting year' as a result.
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Mark_1602		#48 Posted : 24 January 2016 21:37:56(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 24/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 704 Location: Luxembourg		Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan Is it misleading? We assume YOU have a memory. When did Marklin cease to be under the control of Her Pluta? From then to the end of 2014 would be about 4 months going by my memory, which would be the 'accounting year' as a result. Who's we? All the members of this forum? I wasn't mislead by this post because I'd read that information on www.bundesanzeiger.de before, but hardly anyone on this forum has, and neither have you, so it's misleading for most of our forum members. Actually, you have been misled into thinking that this refers to the last four months of the year, but it doesn't. It has nothing to do with the moment when the new owners took over, but it's due to their decision to change the period of reference for the business year. That used to be January-December (i.e. a calendar year), but since 2014 it's been May-April. Because of that, Märklin published the EBIT figures for the first four months of 2014. In fact, that change been mentioned before on this forum, but how many members are aware of this and would automatically assume that the negative EBIT in 2014 only refers to the first four months? In fact, your reaction proves my point about misleading information, but it doesn't prove your point about memory. Ultimately, Märklin is responsible for all of this confusion. In this article quoted above, the new boss says that M* is still profitable, but he can't have been referring to the business year as it's not over yet. When I was a kid, there used to be a famous slogan on the blue boxes: "Märklin - because the system is so clear!" There wasn't any uncertainty or ambiguity back then ... Edit/PS: The takeover of the Märklin company was announced in the press on 21 March 2013. Edited by user 25 January 2016 09:30:57(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
		Best regards, Mark I like Märklin items produced in the 1960s or early '70s, but also digital locos & current rolling stock.
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petestra		#49 Posted : 25 January 2016 00:02:35(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 27/07/2009(UTC) Posts: 5,824 Location: Leesburg,VA.USA		Well, let's be real guys. I do not think that Simba-Dickie would take possession of a company with the idea of losing money. Yes, it could but I do not think so. Yes, my and your favorite company is here to stay unless I'm just a helpless old dreamer. Peter
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H0		#50 Posted : 25 January 2016 08:31:48(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,267 Location: DE-NW		Nobody wants to lose money - grashoppers do not want to lose money, the Siebers do not want to lose money. I do not see sustained development, to me it looks like an attempt to get a quick ROI. I don't say the Siebers are grashoppers, but it seems their primary goal is profitability - they are not trying to make Märklin a leader in quality or a leader in technical superiority. Former managers called Märklin the "innovation pacemaker". I do not see that with working wind-shield wipers and motorized coal in the tender. Nice gadgets, but no must-haves. Let's hope Märklin stays around for a long time - and still resembles the Märklin of the last century.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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