News
Hornby swoops for Corgi
Ronnie Dungan May 1 2008, 8:31am
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Hornby has bought Corgi in a cash deal worth some £7.5m.
The deal follows hard on Corgi's recent sales of its Cards Inc trading card business to Esdevium.
Corgi MD Denis Horton, explained: "The sale of the Corgi die-cast collector business will allow us to focus on our key licences (Harry Potter, Nintendo, Beatles, James Bond, Disney, Star Trek and Halo) and two strong pop culture brands (PopCo and Master Replicas) that concentrate on the younger consumer and retailers that cater for the younger gateway collector.
"We felt it was the right time to ensure liquidity in a tough market period and to focus on the customer who is dedicated to pop culture."
Hornby said it expected the deal, which will be funded from existing bank facilities, to be earnings neutral for the current financial year.
"We will focus on product innovation, improving the distribution network and driving sales growth both in the UK and internationally," Hornby Chief Executive Frank Martin said in a statement.
"The team at Hornby has the expertise and a successful track record in managing a portfolio of famous hobby sector brands that have flourished under our stewardship. This team will be complemented bAs py the expertise of the Corgi employees who will be transferring to Hornby. Together we have set in place a detailed integration plan to ensure that we improve Corgi's performance rapidly. We will focus on product innovation, improving the distribution network and driving sales growth both in the UK and internationally."
Comments
“Hornby Corgi”
Posted by: John Fielding - May 2, 1:10pm
This is cynical but I'd guess that within 3 years, Hornby will be ridding themselves of Corgi saying that they wish to make a return to their "core business", move "back to basics" and all that predictable PR baloney.