Does Tamiya interact with their customer base?

[SuperChamp82 743]

14 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Interesting looking at demographics. I absolutely agree that Tamiya fans are getting older. However, I believe we are creating a new generation of fans. My son has an F103 and TT02 and some rere offroaders. I run TA07 and TRF102. We race HB and Ae offroad, but he believes Tamiya is the best. I agree. I keep spending money on my TA07 rather than buy an xray.

So while i think the demographics will change, i'm  not sure they will decline.

I see all the time that we run down the coming generations. They are amazing humans, let them do their thing. It will be different to what we do, but amazing nonetheless

Like minds as ever @Jonathon Gillham

Unfortunately the offspring maths doesn’t work more broadly 

Wealthy Western families are generally having fewer kids (of either sex) - and affluent Eastern families face different challenges in both directions 

In those circles the average is now less than 2 kids per couple - so a dwindling market starts ground up …

To blight Tamiya as a profitable, long term funeral would be unfair.   

Things will change as soon as we (as customers) decide not to buy 

Relying on a dwindling number of our kids / entrants sadly just passes the buck. 

[Killajb 1546]

On 6/17/2021 at 5:49 PM, Saito2 said:

Honestly, if it weren't for one maverick designer, Fumito Taki, it questionable what Tamiya's RC landscape would look like today. His passion and persistence (combined with perfect timing, as the RC industry was set to explode back then) is really responsible for the golden age of Tamiya RC. Even then, if Mr. Tamiya himself hadn't seen the shrewd business opportunity of combining their 1/12th plastic kits with electric RC (which Taki evidently was constantly engaged with), it probably wouldn't have gotten off the ground. 

Fumito Taki is a treasure.  Ironically, he's also the gentleman I had a sit-down discussion about re-releasing the Falcon with. 

[Willy iine 18805]

Next time I am in Japan I will visit the Tamiya Museum in Hamamatsu.   I've gone past there number of times, but never went inside to check out the place as I've been off and on with the hobby.  Hamamatsu is a treasure city for RC and electronic musicians (Yamaha, Roland, Korg all there)..

[Gazzalene 171]

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2021 at 11:53 PM, qatmix said:

The T3-01 not far out enough for you? 
 

Tamiya releases lots of new chassis, way more than any other manufacturer.  They are still popular and I find that kids / young people are aware of Tamiya kits.
 

I’ve been part of a small team organising a national Tamiya under 16’s race series that is already popular, and growing at a good rate. The TT02 is a brilliant first time kit, easy to build, easy to fix and the shells look like real cars, again a cool thing for the youngsters.

Regarding developments on release chassis, I’ve noticed changes in some of the hubs etc that I buy on my TRF’s over the years. 

The short runs make sense, it’s better to sell out and do another batch once you see the sales data, than have stock sitting in warehouses. The issues are that at the moment there is demand way higher than anytime since the 90’s and world freight etc is still under strain from the pandemic. This leads to longer delays and more chance of things selling out. Just look at the bonkers prices people are buying cars for on eBay.

As to feedback, as mentioned earlier it’s mainly going to be based on distributors feedback. 

 

 

 

T3-01! Come on please, its another toy. If want that sort of fun I would buy a Mardave Mini stock.

Why build a quirky "toy like/cheap/entry level" model. As said earlier why not make a decent crawler or basher,the markets there. They can get by with the same old stuff Because of the T on the box. And the crazies buying these NEW modern versions of the classics with lesser parts, thinking about the collectability. No issue with that just don't think it helps with motivation.I would love all these RERE`s to only come with blue or red plastic parts,see how that would effect sales and the market

[Bash 356]

I honestly think that they have to listen to a certain degree, as with the upgraded gears for the Juggernaut back in the day, and eventually releasing the CC-02, but definitely not to the degree of other companies. Horizon hobby had issues with axle housings breaking on the Losi LMT and Axial Ryft, mostly down to the cars being way overpowered and people driving it like a basher even though they most certainly are not IMO. Regardless, both platforms recieved updated axles and reports of breakages went down. Team Corally and Arrma seem to be the most active with interacting with their customer base, as both companies tend to do yearly updates to their 1/8 lines, and always seem to add what the customers ask for. I wish that more R/C companies would take the same route that TC and Arrma do with customer feedback, as the product development process will never solve every single issue with a product. 

 

[Singapore_959 18]

They listen to the distributors. And when I was at the Eurocup Finals two from T Japan came to have a look at the event. This was years ago. 
 

Is TC still run by Chris or is someone else now? I remember the Gold SS TC car to Japan and feeling that the Tamiya responce was not as interested as some of us hoped. It was a disappointment for me at any rate. Maybe they are more aware and interested in customer interaction these days. 
 

Personally I have more sympathy for dealers/importers than T corporate. Without the local dealers efforts our hobby would be much poorer. 

[Saito2 6686]

Hi @Singapore_959. It been awhile. I remember the TC Sand Scorcher and the response being less than stellar too. From what I remember, they were courteous but somehow perplexed by it. 

[acprc 1443]

On 6/24/2021 at 6:41 PM, Singapore_959 said:

They listen to the distributors. And when I was at the Eurocup Finals two from T Japan came to have a look at the event. This was years ago. 
 

Is TC still run by Chris or is someone else now? I remember the Gold SS TC car to Japan and feeling that the Tamiya response was not as interested as some of us hoped. It was a disappointment for me at any rate. Maybe they are more aware and interested in customer interaction these days. 
 

Personally I have more sympathy for dealers/importers than T corporate. Without the local dealers efforts our hobby would be much poorer. 

Still run by Chris and I remember the Gold SS well, I did the tyre lettering. I think the SS was just a bit of a shock to them but I bet it is still at Tamiya on display somewhere.

When I see the struggles that companies like Kyosho and HPI have had pushing the brink of failure I cant help but think Tamiya know what they are doing from a business model. They famously dont make sales figures public so no idea from that point but they continue to pump out huge ranges of different product (not just RC) with no signs of stopping soon.