“Our retail location of the past 35 years, at 500 S. Broadway in Denver, closed on Sept. 11, 2016. But we will be reopening in early December as Caboose at 10800 W. Alameda Ave. Lakewood, Colorado,” the store’s website states.
Note that the store will be known as "Caboose", not Caboose Hobbies
So ... Caboose Hobbies is not rising again. Did they not get rights to the name "Caboose Hobbies" after all?
What it appears is this is a totally new hobby shop with a new name and bears little if any resemblance to the shop many have known for over 3 decades.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Hello all,
I won't judge until I visit the new store.
Just glad I don't have to go all the way to Colorado Springs for a brick and mortar store.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
riogrande5761 So ... Caboose Hobbies is not rising again. Did they not get rights to the name "Caboose Hobbies" after all? What it appears is this is a totally new hobby shop with a new name and bears little if any resemblance to the shop many have known for over 3 decades.
Hergythe store’s website states.
And the website is?
CentralGulfI read it as the original owners are reopening under a different name at a different location, but I could be wrong.
If you read the notice on the Caboose Hobbies website it states that it is now under new ownership.
The original owners decided to retire and sold the business.
Hopefully the new owner(s) will carry on the decades old tradition of a great hobby shop.
jjdamnit Hello all, CentralGulf I read it as the original owners are reopening under a different name at a different location, but I could be wrong. If you read the notice on the Caboose Hobbies website it states that it is now under new ownership. The original owners decided to retire and sold the business. Hopefully the new owner(s) will carry on the decades old tradition of a great hobby shop. Hope this helps.
CentralGulf I read it as the original owners are reopening under a different name at a different location, but I could be wrong.
Yes, I read that. I also read in the post above, that the name is now going to be simply Caboose, with no explanation. The owner, whomever they are, would do well to post some details. Vagueness breeds uncertainty, and uncertainty is bad for business. Just look at the other replies in this thread.
Edit:
After rereading the first post, I am not sure if the OP is connected to Caboose <Hobbies> or not. I assumed he was, but maybe not. More uncertainty.
CG
Hmm. Seems odd to (partly) walk away from such a time honored name as Caboose Hobbies unless they want to make a clean break in expectations in terms of size, inventory, and staff. There may be reasons of which we are unaware for why they are not using the good old name. Like having to pick up unemployment compensation for those who lost their jobs in the shut down? -- that is pure speculation by me by the way.
Caboose just does not seem distinctive. There is of course a Caboose Industries which makes ground throws. http://www.cabooseind.com/
Not to mention Caboose Stop, Red Caboose, Doc's Caboose, a brass engine dealer called "The Caboose," Loose Caboose, and just a host of dealers, shops, and manufacturers with the word caboose in their name.
Dave Nelson
Generally, businesses are purchased in order to get something the business owns, such as trademark, physical plant, manufacturing capability, patents, goodwill, inventory, etc.
It seems strange to buy a business which has sold down its inventory and whose only assets seem to be name and goodwill, then throw away the name (which is where the goodwill attaches).
If you look at the Home page for the Caboose Hobbies web site, it is entirely contradictory.
Featured prominently is a detailed statement about the purchase of the business and the re-opening as Caboose Hobbies.
Then, in small print on a sidebar, it states that the business is re-opening as Caboose. The Caboose trademark is cut off at the top like a bad hair cut.
The whole thing seems confusing. This does not appear to be a re-creation of the former Caboose Hobbies.
Rich
Alton Junction
My take is that there are probably a couple of dedicated model railroaders who have decided to take on the challenge but they lack a certain marketing savy.
Before we write their obituaries, let's give them a chance. Right now I doubt that they are getting much sleep.
Hopefully they are reading the forums.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Does it matter:
Hopefully this is a case of "If they (re)build it they will come.
Joe Staten Island West
From a photo I've seen, the new location is a former Auto Parts store with an impressive amount of square footage in a clean area.
Hopefully things work out for "Caboose". Always good to root for our endangered brick-and-mortar stores.
Best wishes and success to them
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Joe:
joe323Does it matter:
Yes, it matters to me. I wish people success in their endeavours. One of our club members has decided that he wants to start a model railroad business. Unfortunately he seems to know next to nothing about model railroading. That doesn't preclude me from wishing him success. Regardless of the outcome, he's got more gumption than I do.
joe323Does it matter: Hopefully this is a case of "If they (re)build it they will come.
Exactly. We don't know what we don't know about this transition and some of it is none of our business.
Unless the new owner is doing this for fun, he doesn't have the money to polish the web sites for a store that doesn't yet exist. He has to establish credit with the distributors, finish the interior of the store, perhaps buy all new display counters, desks, computers, storage racks, exterior signage and replace much or all of the inventory. Then there is insurance, accounting, employees and advertising. Being a model railroader and knowing how to stock a MR store are two very different things.
Everyone is freaking out about the name change, but after 70 or 80 years in the business, MB Klein became known as Modeltrainstuff.com. Was that a bad move?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
In realty who cares what the name is? In 40+ years I have never used caboose hobbies and most likely never will.
Now if it is your lhs then you may care, but it is a small group on this board. Besides it is none of our business what the new owner calls it. It's his shop and he can call it anything he wants.
I've seen businesses change management/ownership over the years, and one advertising 'trick' that seem to help with the transition, particularly when keeping the same name or something very similar, is to fade out the old and fade in the new. That is, to open the new store with the familiar Caboose Hobbies sign and logo. Then gradually decrease the size and prominence of the word 'Hobbies' and gradually increase the size and prominence of the word 'Caboose'. Or maybe gradually change fonts or something. After a while (maybe a year or two) the word 'Hobbies' will get so small and so insignificant that it can be dropped entirely and the new name will stick and nobody will notice.
Might work. Might not.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
BigDaddyMB Klein became known as Modeltrainstuff.com
On the net, yes. But locally their retail store is M.B.Klein and that's what you'd look for to get the store address: http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/MB-Klein-Retail-Store-s/1207.htm
maxman BigDaddy MB Klein became known as Modeltrainstuff.com
BigDaddy MB Klein became known as Modeltrainstuff.com
DAVID FORTNEYNow if it is your lhs then you may care, but it is a small group on this board
Actually, Caboose Hobbies had a worldwide customer base, in large part because of their specilaization in Colorado RR stuff (maybe it should be coloradorrstuff.com? ) and narrowgauge. So, a lot of folks may have an interest in this news. Caboose Hobbies was a bigtime sponsor at the National Narrow Gauge Conventions in the past, for instance.
Typically, there are numerous legal reasons why the new owners of an old business may need to change the name. Yes, sometimes an entity is bought lock, stock, and barrel and it remains the same. But unless every single piece of business and legal action is wrapped up, it's often the case a new name is needed. Nothing wrong about it being Caboose, legally different but close enough to indicate there is a relationship in terms of what came before. Unless you're an attorney privy to everything going on, there's really no way to know.
And David (and Dave and Antonio...) is/are correct, it's not a big deal. No need to imply there's something deceptive or sinister here. It's a small business, happens all the time in case you haven't noticed.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehman No need to imply there's something deceptive or sinister here. It's a small business, happens all the time in case you haven't noticed.
No need to imply there's something deceptive or sinister here. It's a small business, happens all the time in case you haven't noticed.
The OP has the words "OUR retail location"....and..."But WE will be reopening...". The use of the words OUR and WE suggests to me that someone affiliated with the old store is involved in opening the new store. Perhaps an employee(s), bought some inventory, fixtures, etc, but not the entire enterprise; hence the inability to carry on the same name.
Just speculating.
- Douglas
Holy crap. Model railroaders really will bellyache about anything.
I wish the new owners success.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
I wish them well.
I hope for another epic store! Not too many left around at all.
Old one was on my quasi bucket list, so hopefully the new one will be as well.
DAVID FORTNEY In realty who cares what the name is? In 40+ years I have never used caboose hobbies and most likely never will.
It only matters because the OP made topic saying Caboose Hobbies is resurrected; words mean things. The title appears to be totally misleading as it seems to simply be a new hobby shop with Caboose in the name.
Whether you used Caboose Hobbies is immateral. The old Caboose Hobbies had a reputation among shoppers there for many years for a reason. But it's gone so anything opening up with the same name or not is a new hobby shop which will have to earn a reputation on it's own merit, and that over time.
Bayfield Transfer Railway Holy crap. Model railroaders really will bellyache about anything.
So now people are bellyaching about bellyachers. Why continue the vicous cycle? Just saying.
The new Caboose Hobbies will not be owned by the orignal owner, Duane Miller. The new location being opened is under the ownership of Kevin Ruble. Here are two article links that may help explain. This first is just a general non-specific "Heads-up" artricle.
Article: http://www.denverite.com/caboose-hobbies-new-location-lakewood-22681/
Also, the new owner is from Evergreen, CO, the same Ruble that was the President and CEO of the Marquette Railway in Ludington, Michigan. Here is a good story about Kevin, in the Bottom of the article you'll understand why he (like many of us locals) need a local hobby shop: http://justaroundhere.com/index.php/all-sections/names-faces/it-s-nice-to-know-you/1183-meet-kevin-ruble
Cheers!
Duane and Joanna are retired and will not be part of the new store.
From everything I have seen, including photo's of the new shop, exterior and interior - the new shop share's very little in common with the old shop - only the word Caboose will be the same.
The new shop name is not named "Caboose Hobbies" and the old logo is not used. AFAIK, all the inventory of the old CH hobbies was sold off, so essentially this is a totally new hobby shop from the ground up and is in practical terms, a replacement rather than a resurrection. So this is not "the new Caboose Hobbies", bottom line and the title of this topic, "Caboose Hobbies Rises Again" is misleading.
That said, from what I've seen of the new owner setting up, it looks like it's being done up very well, a good sized store which should have a lot of shelves with merchandise etc. CH has big shoes to fill but it looks like The Caboose is giving it a real "go".
Do they have a new website? I checked the old Caboose Hobbies site yesterday and it has not changed since the 'new ownership' was announced.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch