Tamiya And The Economic Crisis

[DynaHead]

Obviously our addiction to tamiya is based on how much expendable cash we have on these luxuries. So, considering the global economic crisis: how will tamiya weather the storm? And what might the strategy be? How will this affect the pricier models i.e. tanks, hi-lifts etc? Questions to ponder out of curiosity and fun. It seems that in the next six months, with the US heading for a depression, that there will be a 600 pound gorilla in the room in regards to our hobby. I'm already feeling the pinch and cutting back.

[Mad Ax]

Like any luxury supplier, I'd expect sales to have fallen off recently. Having said that, my LHS did a very good trade on Tamiya RC over the Christmas period - this surprised me, since I had a very lean Christmas and didn't buy or receive many presents (certainly nothing near the value of an NIB Tamiya!)

There was a fairly nasty recession in the late 70s / early 80s of course - and that's when Tamiya made some of their most memorable models and came out as world leaders in RC kits.

Perhaps people won't buy expensive models like tanks, tractor trucks, 3-speeds and CR01s - which will be a shame, since Tamiya have really made some great innovations in this market in the last two prosperous years. Maybe we won't see any new 3-speeds, tractor trucks or CR01s, and maybe the tank branch of Tamiya (which is already a loss-making branch kept on purely as a hobby company's hobby) will all but shut down until the economy recovers.

The important thing to remember here is that this is a global economic crisis - it's not isolated to one country, or even one hemisphere. When the US crashes, the Asian markets crash. This has a knock-on effect on the European markets. I don't know the economic state of Japan right now, but if I had to guess, I'd say they're in a better position than the rest of the world to capitalise on their own domestic market.

Only time will tell - I'm watching the world with great interest right now

[Nick83]

The financial crisis is not as bad as everything thinks. The media have everyone scared to death. I don't think it is going to have too much of an impact on the hobby or Tamiya.

Even if it gets a lot worse, it doesn't mean it will hurt the hobby. Priorities and money just shift around. People will be more likely to stay at home. Less likely to travel, take vacations, drive long distances, waste money drinking etc. They'll be sitting at home, probably building a Tamiya kit as something to do.

[DuaneB]

Hi,

I may be a bit off topic here but Tamiya do not do themselves any favours by sticking to the silver can motor. Most people new to the hobby judge the value of a car by its speed.

To give you an idea of the choices available to someone looking to get into rc -

I recenlty bought my father a chinese made 1/18th scale monster truck rtr with radio, charger and battery giving about 40 minutes of runtime for 300 dirhams - between 45 and 60 GBP depending on exchange rate.

An M03 kit with ESC and no electrics or radio is 400 dirhams.

The chineese truck has proved robust and is faster than any of my stock 1/10th scale tamiya cars - thats a 1/18th scale monster truck outrunning all of my cars - on road ! off road its clearly a fun chassis without any damping etc, but thats what its all about when you want to attract new customers, fast and fun fun fun.

Other than that tamiya have a great back catalogue to fall back on if they cut back on new developments.

The brushless tt01s must also be aplauded, when cheap fast fun cars are all around tamiya really need to release kits that are still fun once you have built them and want to run them.

Duane.

[Nick83]

Well, obviously the people in charge of Tamiya are near brain dead. Everything about their operation is flawed.

They make the hobby completely uninviting to newcomers.

Why should we have to buy ball bearings, servos, ESC's etc? Why can't they make kits that include everything? That would be so much easier. Or at least offer professionally done prepainted bodies.

And they really need to get into the RTR business a bit more. Most people are lazy nowadays and don't want to build kits.

Whatever happened to advertising? No one even knows about the hobby unless they know someone else that knows about it.

If Tamiya put kits in TV commercials or in Toys R Us or something, I can't imagine any male of any age not being very interested.

Tamiya appears to have no idea what it's doing, or just doesn't give a ****.

They could expand their business dramatically. Maybe they'd rather keep it small as to not invite better competition? There must be some reasons.

[twisty]

Everything is built down to a price,Tamiya have always tried to encourage newbies by producing kits of all types.

RC is only a tiny proportion of thier buisness.

Tamiya try to make thier RC kits strong(slightly over engineered for newbies/bashers) and things such as bearings,hot motors ect are available as hop ups,so you can upgrade as you wish/require.

As far as i see it,this credit crunch is down to the transition of power, created by people buying from the internet,very poor management by existing buisness and the media stirring anything up so they have a story to leer over and generally create fear.

My advice would be to switch off your TV`s and get building/racing/bashing/showing or just enjoying our hobby,in the safe knowledge you are doing your bit for the enviroment by not thrashing 1:1 scale motors

Model building is one of the best and most creative pass times,i am sure Tamiya will survive with it`s own creativity,look at the new innovative ideas they come up with ,time and time again.

JMO

cheers

Simon

[Origineelreclamebord]

I think Tamiya will survive. They are a large company and will struggle less; they have plastic kits, rc models and stuff like educational kits. However small producers of cars or aftermarket parts may have a harder time. For example Schumacher is not a very big company with only rc cars, mainly competition or high-end kits and will probably struggle to survive.

Tamiya indeed needs to let go a few things like the silver can, bushings and friction shocks and keep the same price they have now because they are overpriced compared with other companies, on the other hand you do get a very clever and reliable construction and if you buy RTR proven reliable electronics. Plus their sometimes kit included ESC seems to be able to handle a LOT.

As innovative thinking will be stimulated by an economical crisis I think tamiya may be pushed into it. On the other hand, low-end kits like the Rising Fighter pop up, which use low-tech of the low-tech stuff, like again the friction dampers and I believe also bushings?

Anywhows, Tamiya will not go down unless they are literally blind for what's happening outside their office

[retroman]

I agree with Nick83- The media have a lot to answer for...... Very quick to jump in when there is some scare mungering to be had. The only time you hear anything positive these days is on the local news.

I agree that Tamiya should start putting bearings, and oil shocks in all kits. I suppose it could be reasoned that they make more money again on the kit by selling dampers and bearings as hop up parts, but then again they don't!! Take a TL01 for example, a full Tamiya bearing set for that costs a whopping 70GBP (or at least it did last time I looked in my LHS) and a set of TRF dampers will see off another 50 to 60GBP. Go on ebay, buy a full bearing set for 8GBP, and a set of non Tamiya alloy bodied oil shocks for about 17 GBP!!

The only argument I can see for including friction shocks in a kit, is that they are easier to put together for a beginner. I was a little miffed that my King Hauler came with friction shocks....I admit that they are very pretty alloy ones, but come on, that kit costs a small fortune.....

My Friend has his own RC shop, and one budget RC car that he carries is the Ansmann Smacker. I had a look at one last time I was there, and I was trying to work out how they put all that in the box for under 100! Comes with oil shocks, the lot! I think there is a good market for the RTR stuff, but the one thing that Tamiya does have over the cheap RTR's is the detail in the bodies. Some cheap RTR's just look awful to me

[secretsg]

Toy industry is actually very resilient to economic downturns. Tamiyas aren't a real expensive hobby compared to what's out there. (Unless you are into vintage kits which doesn't help Tamiya sales anyway.) People might not buy that new truck, take overseas vacations but they'll still spend on some toys during the year. From what I noticed here in Canada, hobby sales have not dropped in any significant amounts. The higher us dollar and Japanese yen plus higher kit prices from higher labour costs in China are the major factors in sale losses.

[Tamiya1/10]

Tamiya USA, if operated like most US company, will likely layoff people, early retirements, stop all company travels, no bonus or 401K contribution until further notice, ask for better terms from its suppliers and ask US Congress to a share of the $700billion or now $1 trillion hand out else Tamiya will stop making any thing and be consolidated by Kyosho. I guess we are all to blame for the mess that we are in with a special mention to all investment bankers whom create money without really creating any real tangible value and now the house of cards are coming down and typical Joe or Jean is paying for it.

[tomo320]

In the UK a decent night out is 100 (same price as one of the tamiya cars), as a new follower of these cars its really cheap. My jobs 'in the air' but it always has been (same as everyone), there are jobs and as pants as it is there are jobs out there..

Dont let the media and your hopeless government get you down with what you see on the telly, the real cars will suffer, Tamiya will plod on.

[Ian_Gsi16V]

I've recently got back in to the hobby, im not a serious collector, just enjoy the building of the cars and a good blast with them every now and again.

Main reason I have taken it up again is to try and distance myself from my other hobbie which is full size cars (although interest in this has been fading for a while now), main point is it seems like quite a cheap hobby so far !

Im sure Tamiya will survive though, im not sure of the history of tamiya but im sure its seen more than 1 recession.

[taliesin]

Tamiya will weather this crisis just fine.

Japanese firms have a completely different philosophy than some of the corporate giants that created and encouraged this mess in the first place. Tamiya has carefully considered its targeted market and positioned itself within that market for the long run. They have not sold their soul for short term profits at the expense of fads or trends, and they have a very solid and proven customer base. They don't have to be all things to all people, just enough of the right things to the right people. Fans like us.

We have to remember that RC is a small part of what Tamiya sells. They are the world leader in static models for a reason, and even in terrible economic times people spend money for small pleasures. People are not going to completely ignore their kids, and it is harder to say NO to a $20 model tank than a $300 RC car. They will survive. Prudent business choices always improve the odds of survival and they have a history of sometimes misunderstood choices that they were willing to stand behind despite criticism. And here they are today. Those of us who enjoy the RC aspect generally have a little more disposable income, or are at least willing to spend some money on our hobby. We aren't the average Walmart audience. At least I'm not, I don't know about you guys.

Besides, I cannot afford a European vacation this year or next. I cannot afford a new car even though my old one has 200k miles. My pay just got frozen by an act of the State Legislature for the next 2 years, but at least I still have a job with the State Government. And so will all of my coworkers. Nobody got laid off. Its a good sacrifice even though its unpleasant.

But what I can afford is a Rising Fighter kit for $85. I may need to rob the radio gear from one of my other cars but again its a good sacrifice. It puts a smile on my face to build the kit, and I can spend a little mad money to upgrade it as I go. I won't complain too loudly about the friction dampers and bushings even though I will end up buying upgraded parts later on. It allows me to enjoy my hobby with only a small sacrifice on my part. And if I need to run bushings for a month or two, I can stand it. Meanwhile I will be enjoying my new kit. Its a small pleasure, but hey, it works for me.

So when the airlines, hotels, and eateries can't pull my dollars, when GM, Ford and Chrysler are struggling to stay afloat, and I can't afford the car I really want and need, and when I know I have to tighten my belt for at least the next 2 years, Tamiya is still going to get at least a few of my dollars.

That ain't a bad business plan. There are plenty of folks out there in the marketing world who would give a lot to hear that kind of response for their clients or employers. All they have to do is figure out how to do what Tamiya has done in the past to get that level of customer satisfaction.

They'll survive just fine.

[grizy]

The recession is a reality. A lot of people have already lost their jobs and it will get worse before it gets better IMHO. Some of us are in "secure" jobs and will continue to earn a wage, bit I personally don't expect a wage rise this year.

If the cost of living rises faster than pay rates something has to give and that will be beer, hobbies, holidays or whatever. We all have bills to pay and families to support.

Afaik Tamiya's main income is from static models. Some of them are expensive but there are kits to fit all price ranges. Tamiya might be in for hard times but (as previosly mentioned) they have been through recessions before and survived. I will always find a bit of cash to continue the hobby.

As for the RC kits Tamiya sell.

It would be nice for them to come with proper bearings, faster motors etc, but that would increase the price of the kits. They already do RTR kits for those who want everything included and most online shops do bundled kits. If you are an experienced Tamiyer you will automatically look to buy bearings and you may already have servos, esc, etc. If not then you might be better off building a kit then looking for hopups that you can add while you get used to driving the thing.

Just my 550,649 Zimbabwe Dollars worth

[WillyChang]

I wouldn't worry about Tamiya... don't sound like they're hocked to the eyeballs in debt & ongoing liabilities, which is the #1 reason for companies getting in strife. They are a family-run company with no need for fancy leveraging to maximise the value of their balance sheet (= makes big fat fees for the corporate consultants who really have no idea anyways).

Japan economy has been bouncing along the "recession" borderline for like 20yrs now, their cash interest rate is near zero with little room to drop. Bad economic conditions is probably endemic in Japanese society by now - its been going on half a generation!

otoh... so far only HPI has pioneered their "Economic Stimulus" cashback scheme (only in the US ) which gotta be commended if you're in the market.

[Mad Ax]

In the UK a decent night out is 100 (same price as one of the tamiya cars), as a new follower of these cars its really cheap.

Where in the UK do you live, and what do you class as a decent night out..?

I live in Bristol and I have really great nights out almost every week for less than 20. That includes walking to the pub, buying a few rounds and having a chargrilled burger and chips on the way home. Even if I went out for a meal and then went clubbing, I'd not spend more than 50 - in fact, I couldn't afford to spend more than 50 on a night out! I'm not trying to do you down, if you enjoy expensive nights out and can afford it then go for it - but I think for most people in the UK, a 100 night out is a once-in-a-while luxury (just like a new Tamiya).

I do agree with others that the economic crisis isn't as bad as everyone makes out. Yesterday I was talking to some guys in the hobby industry who seemed to think that soon we'll all be living in tin houses and our legal minimum wage will drop. I don't think that will happen just yet. The crisis has affected the entire globe, so there's no major differentials to cause a huge current of money flowing out of one economy and into another. In other words - we're all in the cacky, so relatively speaking, nobody is actually any better or worse off than they were before. In theory

[HereBeMonsters]

I think the "scalable" nature of Tamiya will see it do well compared to other brands.

A lot of people I know are "converting" to Tamiyas as the kits can be bought much more cheaply than other brands, then hopped up according to what you need.

[TenzoR]

There will be buyers, just less

I was planning to buy a new R/C this year but due to circumstances, I will hold off. I've begin to sell some of my non-tamiya projects as well and held off my Tamiya projects.