Welcome to the first newsletter from the Mini-Kiwiland Shop.
In January I already announced that I will start a weekly newsletter in April. I did have a different situation in mind though. The virus and upcoming recession situation will have an enormous effect on how things will be done worldwide. During the lockdown I had plenty of time to look at all options for the future of the Mini-Kiwiland Shop and Attraction and what direction to follow.
The upcoming Mini-Kiwiland Miniature Park was meant as an international tourist attraction, but this is a market that will be pretty much non-existing for quite a while. Still only temporary, but pretty much all potential sponsors and investors have withdrawn their support due to the upcoming worldwide recession. As the Mini-Kiwiland modellers are all volunteers we will keep on working on the many models, but we simply can not make any future plans for the time being.
The Mini-Kiwiland Hobby Shop should have been part of the attraction together with a cafe and souvenirs shop. I merely started the shop at an earlier stage, because I couldn't get items that we needed for modelling locally or for a fair price. I was quite surprised how model shops in New Zealand were operating compared to shops overseas. Even though I tested the market first bit by bit and offering brand by brand, it all seemed to be very successful and this inspired me to invest more time and money in the shop.
After a very successful 2019 I had big plans for 2020. More brands, more stock, more activities, show and events and even moving to a larger premises with a large showroom. The Model Shop needs to grow to become a proper shop for all modelling needs, but the potential and demand is out there.
All these goals remain and I'm actually quite confident that these all will be achieved. Acquiring more stock and brands were already arranged before the lockdown and will arrive in the coming months. Shows and events might be a problem, but moving to a bigger place could be easier when more commercial properties are coming available during a recession. I don't have any plans to open a small shop in a city or mall. I will be looking for a large showroom for selling products with a workshop for modelers. This does not necessarily needs to be within the Wellington region.
I still need to keep a close eye on how the market develops in New Zealand and overseas obviously. Updates like new brands, new product announcements, website improvements, market changes in New Zealand and overseas will be mentioned in the weekly newsletters.
I am looking forward to all developments we will be going through and hope to see you during shows and events later this year or in our future showroom and workshop.
Many thanks for all your support so far!
Kiro
In this newsletter:
We are already using a 3D printer for parts of models we are making for the Mini-Kiwiland attraction. Small things like window frames, gates, fences etc.
Of all the models we intend to make, we make a 3D drawing design as well. These can be used to print entire models in any scale.
It is our intention to offer 3D printed models of iconic New Zealand buildings in any scale for sale in the future. Our focus will be railway related buildings and structures such as a whole range of NZ railway stations and signal boxes, but also expect historic New Zealand hotels, bridges and even toilet buildings etc.
Our focus will be accuracy, detail and quality. At this stage we do not have a budget to upgrade our present 3D printer, but many designs are already in the making. When there is more news about our 3D printing intentions, it will be mentioned in this weekly newsletter. Murch
Here's an example of how new arrivals will look like in coming newsletters:
Some new stock from Faller has arrived during the lockdown including new 2020 releases. Below are a few examples.
For a list of all HO scale latest arrivals click here
Some new N scale stock has arrived from Faller during the lockdown. A few new 2020 releases and some backcatalogue. Below a few examples.
For a list of all the N scale latest arrivals from Faller that are still available for purchase click here
In coming newsletters I will also give updates on market developments. Even though the situation in New Zealand looks very promising, the economy will be hit hard. The situation in other parts of the world is much worse and will be hit a lot harder in the coming months. This will obviously have effect on the entire model shopping market worldwide.
Which brands will survive? What about international stock levels? What will happen to prices (overseas)? Exchange rates? Freight charges? etc.
And how will this effect New Zealand? Will this have any effect or will we just go back to normal? If not: What will be the new 'normal'?
The model shop market has already seen some significant changes since the arrival of the internet and markets continue to change regardless.
In coming newsletters I intend to describe the past and present market situation in New Zealand and compare them to other markets overseas like the USA, UK and Europe.
In March we received great news that we have been approved to become an official Marklin and LGB dealer. Marklin sees great potential in us for New Zealand and will offer us their support.
I have been listing Marklin and LGB products on our website, but a lot still need to be submitted. This will take some time. In the mean time users of the website can already place products on their watchlist, so I can have a better idea of what is in demand.
Marklin is especially thrilled that we are already promoting G Scale (Garden Railway size) a lot for the upcoming attraction, even though progress is slow at this stage.
Marklin is understaffed at the moment due to safety measures and can not ship to quite a few countries like Australia and New Zealand for the time being. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.
In coming newsletters I will create polls regularly to see what potential buyers are interested in. This does not necessarily mean polls about what kind of products, but also opinions about (going to) shows and events, how your (model) shopping has changed etc.
Polls will only be held among subscribers of this newsletter, who live in New Zealand. I'm especially interested in what New Zealanders think and what drives them.
Here's an example of how new release announcements will look like in coming newsletters:
Preiser has announced a number of new releases for 2020. Below are just a few examples:
For a list of all 2020 Preiser releases click here
The Mini-Kiwiland Shop is considered a safe business. This means I will be able to ship orders during lockdown level 3.
When level 4 ends there will be a peak of many sellers nationwide processing orders and shipping items. Couriers will have a busy time delivering parcels so expect delays.
I am able to process and pack orders before level 3 starts. This will give customers of the Mini-Kiwiland Shop a head-start.
During lockdown 3 all orders on the Mini-Kiwiland website will be processed as usual.
At least 10 extra products will go on sale every week, although this number did go down during the lockdown. From this week on I will start offering at least 10 extra products on sale again.
As sales have been improved a lot last year and in the first months of this year I will also be able to buy more bulk/clearance products for special prices.
These special offers are strictly while stock last and/or for a limited time plus on a first comes first serves basis, so act fast if you're interested!
Those who have an item that goes on sale on their watchlist will have the first choice as the selection is done a few days before the newsletter gets send and they will receive a notification from the website the second an item goes on sale.
So far users of the website have placed nearly 3500 products on their watchlist.
During the lockdown I was able to make some improvements on the website. Most improvements are not visible yet, but will be announced in coming newsletters.
Some improvements still need some fine-tuning, like users being able to order out-of-stock items (special orders).
Other improvements are more admin related. Like lots of sales statistics. Statistics that gives me a better idea for what to order and what not from suppliers. Which scales, brands, types of products have less stock risk and deserve have more attention for instance.
The admin part of the website is used for our entire financial administration and all other administrative activities like placing orders at out suppliers, automatic price calculations etc. etc.
I will keep working on making the website as efficient and as user-friendly as possible for administrators as well as customers.
Keep safe!
