Yesterday, Meccano and model railway manufacturing legend Hornby announced that it had reached agreement to purchase the brand name, tooling and intellectual property rights of Corgi – another legend of the British toy making industry – for around £7.5m.
‘Sic transit gloria mundi’ I thought, as my mind was cast back some 50 years to the time when I spent my pocket money on the little diecast cars – the ‘ones with windows’, as the Corgi marketing blurb went at the time.
I was also the proud owner of a Hornby ‘Dublo’ electric model railway set based on a great locomotive – the LMS liveried ‘Duchess of Atholl’. So, I got to thinking, perhaps this isn’t such a ‘passing of former glories’, more a consolidation of great brands to assure their survival well into the future.
Corgi could not have wished for a better parent. It was Frank Hornby’s Meccano company that launched another iconic brand of the interwar years – Dinky. Did you know a 1937 Dinky Toy model of a Bentalls delivery van exchanged hands for nearly £10,000 back in the mid 1990s? Goodness knows what it might be worth now.
The iconic brand that kept us kids out of pocket as we scrimped and saved for the latest model has certainly diversified its business over the years. Corgi now describes itself as a ’popular culture’ company, whose core business strategies are more closely tuned to gaining and maintaining key licence agreements with huge global brands – Harry Potter, Nintendo, Disney and the like. The diecast collectibles arm could have withered on the vine had Hornby not come to the rescue.
Hornby is clearly delighted with its acquisition; after all, Corgi is a near perfect fit and the company intends to build on the brand and turn its fortunes around. Hornby CEO, Frank Martin promises to focus on product innovation, improve the distribution network and drive sales growth both here in the UK as well as internationally. All power to his elbow!
Of course, this wonderful heritage of British toy making has not gone unnoticed by the traders in ephemera and collectibles. My eyes water at the sums these little gems fetch at auction. Notwithstanding the aforementioned Bentalls van from Dinky Toys, the famous JamesBond Aston Martin DB5, complete with ejector seat, which Corgi released back in 1965, now exchanges hands for hundreds of pounds; it cost about ten bob back then – 50p in ‘new’ money. Even my lovely old Duchess sells for nigh on £300 in good nick. Now, if only I’d kept the box.....
Les Hunt
Editor