@luvindemtrains posted:This very interesting. I am not a businessman by any stretch but I can clearly understand why one would throw all or most of their eggs in the HO basket. However the companies we O Scalers have come to enjoy and rely on took a chance with O Scale and stayed with it in some form or fashion. I'm assuming because they are still in business they are doing well. Not to mention a business such as Sunset who is not nearly as big as Lionel and MTH but they continue to support O Scale. And Atlas though they have more offerings in HO scale still supports O Scale as well and I would imagine do pretty good. Additionally, if the said companies would start small and offer 3-rail equipment with 2-rail modification options they could see if it's worth the air they breath to continue. That combination would obviously maximize their efforts. I guess I'm saying you never know until you try. Scaletrains, a relatively new company, took a chance by buying S Scale equipment and we know that there are more O Scalers than S Scalers. I'm sure I'm missing something but welcome enlightenment.
Dave
This conversation comes up every so often and continues to be interesting to me. Atlas will probably continue to produce what they believe to be profitable O scale products. They have their other scales to support the business / make some profit. The new MTH appears to have "right sized" themselves relative to O product demand. Small guys are relatively low overhead and can probably adjust as the market continues to evolve. The big question is what's the future for Lionel. In spite of having some sort of financial backstop, will they be able to cover their large overhead??? Probably not just selling the products we dedicated O gauge and O scalers want. I have no idea of the volume they move in total dollars per catalogue for just O? They too have expanded they market and gauge offering to have some sort of diversification but I suspect they will have to probably scale back the part of the corporation that is dedicated to just O scale and pursue an O approach closer to the new MTH. I'm not sure if we are not already seeing that; the last catalogue or two has felt a little anemic to me. One positive is what appears to be a new level of interest in O by under 40s. Not entirely sure if it's new interest or just that the under 40s are more inclined to post on Instagram and youtube? A concern to me is what appears to be the on-going dramatic decline of O retailers. I try to spread my buying around, several great-one's in Detroit have gone off the air in the last few years - Wild Bills and P&D, the one in Pinkney (Skip) a few years before that.
