Stech WernerFor those who are avid enthusiasts in RC cars, you might have heard about the whole Hobbico Fiasco and how it was being declared a bankrupt. In the latest news, Hobbico has been bought over by Horizon Hobby, another big player in the RC universe. How will this affect you then? Let us go a little deeper into the context of the whole situation.
Who Is Hobbico And Why They Filed For Bankruptcy
Hobbico is one of the largest distributor of RC products in the world. It is not listed, hence it is completely owned by its own employees. Indeed, they have Tower Hobbies, OmniModels as well as Great Planes under their umbrella. They do hold exclusive rights to certain brands such as OS Engine, Onyx and a lot of other branded RC products.
As to why Hobbico filed for bankruptcy and the eventual takeover, not much is known. However, it is common knowledge that Traxxas did sue Hobbico for a copyright infringement.
How Would It Affect The Hobbico RC Brands
This is perhaps on most of your mind. To be honest, not much of a change is to be expected since Hobbico’s crosstown rival Horizon Hobby has taken over some of its brands. Indeed, we can expect to have a better exposure or marketing efforts from Horizon Hobby itself. This will perhaps help in a larger outreach for some of its brands.
Of course, some of the obscure brands might be liquidated as part of the company’s direction in cutting losses.
How Would It Affect The Customers
As end customers, we always welcome competition as it will mean lower costs for all of us. However, with the acquisition of Hobbico, some of the competition might be eliminated. As for now, not much is known about the impact of the acquisition on the end users. We just hope that the impact is as minimal as possible.
