Target is now selling Lionel Lines Train sets.

[Deputy]

Dep--

You SHOULD forward your advice onto Target, I'm sure they would appreciate your insightful knowledge on marketing.  Actually, maybe not, I think they are doing OK.

 

Jon 

Jon: Sarcasm is lost on me Besides, having a bunch of Lionel trains left over on the shelves this far after Christmas is hardly "doing okay".

SOMEONE should get with it at BOTH Lionel and Target if they actually want to get trains in the hands of consumers. We have already posted on other threads about better ways Lionel can advertise. If the common folk can think of this stuff, why can't the geniuses at Lionel's marketing department come up with it???

Dep 

[njalb1]

Dep--

You SHOULD forward your advice onto Target, I'm sure they would appreciate your insightful knowledge on marketing.  Actually, maybe not, I think they are doing OK.

 

Jon 

 

LOL !

 

[mcattardo]

Last week I saw 9 sets @ $174. Yesterday, there were 6 sets @ $249.

[rthomps]

njalb1: Just because they are forced to advertise them at full retail, doesn't mean they will be SELLING them. They didn't sell during Christmas season, which is prime time for Lionel, so why would people buy them now???? And if they aren't selling them at all, then all those handouts won't be getting into anyone's hands anyway.

Dep

 

What I don't understand is how SOME people (DEP, maybe?) are sooooooo knowledgeable about Target's proprietary information.  How is that?

By MANY accounts, the Lionel Target sets did quite well throughout the good ol' USA.  Since the trainsets will be in Target year 'round, I 'spose that's why the prices rose quickly after Christmas.

Once again, I would like to know how the hackers on this board were able to get into Corporate Target's sales information.... 

 

[Bob Keller]

Guys, keep in mind that a handful of train guys have seen a handful of sets at a chain with thousands of locations, and which probably ordered 50,000 or 100,000 sets from Lionel. Finding a fraction of the original buy still on the shelves isn't a negative.

I know that there are some folks who can always be counted on to see the dark lining of that silver cloud, but unless Lionel shipped 75% of their sets with defective locomotives or transformers, this is probably a big win for the hobby and all O gauge manufacturers.

[GregM]

probably ordered 50,000 or 100,000 sets

 

WOW!  No wonder the 1000 sets ordered by Disney haven't sold out.  I would never have dreamed that the order was over 5000 sets myself. 

[Deputy]

RT: No idea what you are talking about as far as Target's proprietary information that I know. But it SOUNDs nice.

I am simply basing my opinions (which is pretty much ALL that you are reading in this thread from EVERYONE) on what is being presented here. "By MANY accounts"...could you be just a BIT more specific on that. Many accounts from WHOM???

What we are hearing on the forum from those that have been keeping an eye on their local Target stores is the sets were NOT selling well at all. Now we see Target attempting to unload them to clear their shelves of Winter stock, and getting opposition from someone (Lionel?) to them selling them at discount. The fact that Target tried to sell them at discount makes it pretty clear that they did not fly off the shelves as the optimists would have one believe.

IF, and that's a pretty big IF, Target did order the number of sets that Bob says they did, that is a considerable investment in Lionel merchandise. One can certainly understand Target trying to get some kind of return on their investment, even if it means selling them for less than full retail. The alternative is storing them until next year and then selling them again. I doubt Target had that as their master plan when they agreed to sell them. Stores like Target, Wallyworld, and K-Mart make their $$$ selling in volume. Note how the Christmas merchandise is ALWAYS on sale at heavy discount after Dec 25th, so they DON'T have to store it all year. Target probably just lumped Lionel with the rest of the Christmas merchandise, and that's why they want to sell it at discount. Is Target selling Lionel trains a silver cloud? Time will tell. It depends on whether Target decides that they made a decent profit. If Target sells Lionel next year, then you can figure the big Target experiment was a success. If not...welll

Dep
 

[Bob Keller]

And since none of us have inside info from the Target Corp., I'll lock this topic down until next year.