The merger between US company Master Replicas, Cards Inc from Hertfordshire and Corgi Classics earlier this year was a further positive step in bringing a wealth of new product licences, expertise and variety guaranteed to appeal to a wider audience but more importantly to core Corgi collectors. The new Managing Director Denis Horton brings a wealth of experience in the model and toy industry with him. Denis has been joined by Darren Epstein of Cards Inc., who has special responsibility for global business development. As this article is launched, Darren is due to appear on the satellite shopping channel QVC with an hour-long programme promoting Corgi.
As with all new companies, there is bedding in process and it can take several months before the projected benefits become effective and filter down to the consumer. Nevertheless, the union caused some initial consternation amongst you and from the many letters received in the Corgi Collector Club mail bag, the new policies introduced to bring strength to the Corgi ranges across the board have caused confusion and uncertainty.
Five months on, Corgi Collector knocked on the office door of the General Manager for Corgi Collectables Alex Balzaretti to ask her what progress has been made so far and what the future holds for you and your Corgi hobby.
CC: Having had an opportunity to look at the company as it existed, what are the aims of the new management and how do you see the changes being of benefit
- generally
- in terms of fulfilling the needs of the dedicated diecast model collector
AB: I think that people need to understand that a merger between two companies is hard to bed down. With three it takes a lot of work by a lot of people. I think that the new Corgi company has people within the business that specifically understand the worldwide needs of both collectors and the general consumer. There is a difference, of course, and collectors want to feel important and need to be listened to. Every member of the new worldwide Corgi team will be listening.
CC: Corgi have made some changes to the product release programme, which may have been misconstrued and sent alarm bells ringing in the marketplace. E.g. deferred or deleted product ranges. What was the reasoning behind these decisions and can you allay the fears of Corgi enthusiasts?
AB: I cannot emphasise too strongly that the Corgi diecast collector range is a core part of the new Corgi. We are not moving away from collector; we are not moving away from aviation; and we are not moving out of collector. This brings us to the rationale to all the changes. Over the last few years the company has just released too much product to market. It’s a problem for a company to focus on such a large range. In addition, not every collector can keep up. With such a large range, quality can slip and decisions are sometimes made to get product out when it is just not appealing to the marketplace. We want a great focused core line that is a quality product and the best. If I were a collector, I would be giving us three cheers, which is what most of the collectors I have met to date have been doing!
CC: In terms of product emphasis, where do you see the Corgi diecast model ranges in the future, given the wide scope of the three organisations which now make up Corgi International?
AB: We would like to bring back some of the tooling that has been released over the last 20 years. In fact I have had a lot of input from many people in the business ‘demanding’ this. A lot of product that has not seen the light of day for years is truly breathtaking and we want to re-release some of these lines. We also want to look at each specific range and see what we can release that would be perceived as ‘THE’ product under these categories and look to bring that to market. I was shown a 1:32 scale piece the other day in the office which was an amazing piece of diecast and guaranteed to continue the Corgi WOW factor. We would also like to release product relevant to the marketplace, be it classic or new diecast model lines.
CC: Master Replicas hold many of the top TV and Film licences. What plans do you have to extend these to Corgi diecast models and what percentage of the product ranges do you see them representing?
AB: We have started already. We have Harry Potter diecast coming out. This is as big a deal as Corgi releasing Bond in the 1960s. It’s never been done and it is hoped that it will be a perennial line. We have a lot of licences that we are about to sign and many of these are being extended to diecast. As soon as they are signed, we’ll let you know.
CC: We have had some members criticise the current emphasis in both the toy and TV/Film areas. What assurances can you give the collectors of trucks, buses and cars for instance, for whom the toys and character merchandise holds no interest?
AB: The company has many parts now. In fact the old company had two parts – collector and toy. It’s no different from what we intend to be doing in the future. Evidence shows that the diecast collector market is a contracting market and we want new buyers to enter it. Collectors should be pleased we are doing this as it means there is demand out there. For instance, take your core diecast model store. Most buyers are male and many have children. What better than to get those people to buy a Corgi product like Harry Potter. Having said that, we will be trying our utmost to target customers with what they want. However, anyone receiving a catalogue with 30 pages of diecast models and 2 devoted to toy items should not have an issue.
CC: We have a healthy worldwide membership including a loyal ex-pat fraternity in English speaking countries. Many are now experiencing difficulty in obtaining Corgi models illustrated in the UK trade catalogue, which they receive as part of their membership. The local distributors are often unable to order an allocation to fulfil their local requirements. E.g. OOC/1:50 scale bus models or UK orientated trucks. Often the models are only available to collectors by mail order from UK retailers. Is there a solution to this?
AB: I am not surprised by this situation. I am prepared to admit that we probably do not have the correct partners in some territories whilst in others we have some great ones. We as a company have to improve the distribution routes in these countries. If there is a demand in these countries, I want to know about it. If there is a lack of product in these countries I also want to know. Knowledge is the only key to improvement.
CC: How valuable do you see Corgi collectors being to the new company, both in the UK and worldwide?
AB: Without the collectors we cannot release product. Without the product, there is no company. Customers/collectors are the be all and end all for every company. We plan to be discussing with collectors ways of bringing better and more desirable product to market, as well as offering them product exclusivity on limited occasions during the year.
CC: What importance do you attach to the Corgi Collector Club’s role within the company’s general sales and marketing activity and how do you see it interacting?
AB: The Collectors Clubs are the mouthpiece of the company. As such we need to be more proactive in giving out news and views of what is going on within the company. For instance: new product offerings and announcements; collector forums and how about a ‘Voted For’ product for the year, in which Club members can vote. The top model could perhaps be released as a Limited Edition to the Club, going only to those who voted. In effect, as a company we need to improve the ways that we interact with Club members and that boils down to improved communication with the Club teams, so we can give you advance news of all Corgi happenings.
CC: In previous years there have been a number of decertified models on the market - a practice which has not been popular with many collectors. How to you plan to prevent this happening in the future?
AB: Simple answer. DECERT has ceased. It will never happen again. For whatever reason, it was a crazy decision. Let’s leave it at that!
CC: And a final word?
AB: We have had a few months of settling in and during that time, I have met a lot of different collectors and retailers via meetings and forums. I have had the same message for everyone. Corgi has had issues with some of the ranges released over the past few years and it will take time for many of the changes to be implemented and for the marketplace to stabilise as a result. It’s easy to lose someone who collects. It’s harder to create a collector. With this in mind, we want to make sure we don’t lose or alienate our core collectors. When someone stops collecting, they hardly ever come back and we most certainly don’t want that.
The next 12 months will be an exciting time in Corgi history and we want all our core collectors to be part of that excitement.
If any readers have any views you would like to express following our interview, please let us know.
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