A loved family shop that started out on Smithdown Road 77 years ago has announced its closure.
For decades, everyone travelling through South Liverpool will remember spotting the huge yellow signs hanging above Hattons Model Railways. A landmark on Smithdown Road, Hattons was established in 1946 by Norman Hatton and first sold anything that was in demand to customers in post war Liverpool before specialising in model railways.
One of the industry's oldest and most well-known retailers, over the years the family business has become a trusted name among enthusiasts, collectors, and hobbyists worldwide, offering everything from the latest in diecast, to locomotives, collectables and more. More than just a shop, Hattons expanded to have a global online business and in 2016 decided to move to bigger premises on Montague Road in Widnes.
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But earlier this week, the ECHO reported how business was closing after 77 years and that the decision to close was "not made lightly," following an assessment of the current business landscape and retail trends. As part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we spoke to Managing Director Richard Davies, 45, about the history of Hattons and how it attracted customers from around the world.
Richard, originally from North Wales, joined the business back in 1999. He told the ECHO: "Normal was a prisoner of war towards the end of World War Two and after he was released he came back to Liverpool and rented a shop on Smithdown Road.
"He was basically buying and selling anything he could get his hands on, like firewood. There was still lots of rationing going on so there were still lots of supply and demand opportunities.
"He was a very good trader. He had a few years of that and then gradually, as the factory up the road Meccano was making lots of products that was being sold globally, Norman became a specialist in that and also a specialist in model railways."
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When Meccano went out of business, a lot of products were sold to Norman for a fraction of their worth and it took him years to shift all the stock. Through the years, many children and adults alike will remember looking through the shop windows at items they dreamt of buying.
Richard said: "You had local customers but Norman was really an early pioneer of was advertising in magazines and then selling through post. Lots of people would send Hattons cheques in the post and then there were sales through the telephone.
"Hattons was always very quick to adopt new ways to do business. The shop was like an old curiosity shop – you never knew what was going to turn up.
"Back in those days – before the internet – you didn't know what you were going to find when you walked in. Today, everybody is well informed when they go shopping."
Many will remember their first time visiting Hattons or the first purchase they ever made there. And for Richard, his first experience of the famous shop wasn't when he joined the business.
He said: "The first time I went into Hattons I was about ten-years-old. My dad was a Hattons customer and received a monthly magazine called the Railway Modeller and whenever that arrived through the post box I could always tell it was the Railway Modeller because it would land on the floor with such a big thump.
"I would jump out of bed and grab it before my brother could get it and I would always flick to the Hattons advert first because the Hattons advert was always known to be the best advert. I would save up my pocket money and we’d go and buy stuff from Hattons.
"We’d go there on a family day trip to Liverpool and the centrepiece for me and my brother was always the trip to Hattons. It had lots of traditional wooden counters and lots of glass display cades.
"Everything was locked away with price tags on it. There was like a ladder behind the counter for employees to climb up and get stuff from the higher level shelves. It was like something you'd only see in a film now."
As a child, Richard also enjoyed looking at the Hornby catalogue, but also remembers wanting to buy a Class 37 from Hattons with his paper round money. In his teens, Richard moved to Liverpool for university in the late 1990s and it was then that he got his first role at Hattons.
Richard said: "When I went in there it was actually to buy stuff for my dad in 1999, but it was walking in there and seeing how the phone was ringing and how it was busy with people looking that made me realise there was an opportunity to sell online. That day when I went in, I forgot to buy my dad his stuff but instead got into a conversation with the owner, Keith Hatton – the son of Norman – and that was where we did a deal for me to build them a website there and then."
Throughout the years, Hattons saw generations pass through its doors on Smithdown Road, from students and local collectors to customers from around the globe who helped make the shop a destination when visiting the city. Like many businesses in Liverpool and beyond, the shop had to adapt to new trends and technology to keep customers informed.
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Richard said: "Model railways does attract a wide range of people. In September you'd get new students arrive to live on the roads off Smithtown and I was one of them. It's often men who buy model railways but not always and customers still arrive from all over the world. Some people arrive and say I come to the UK once a year from Australia and my first stop is Hattons.
"When the internet arrived and when the orders started coming through it was kind of like seeing a little bit of magic. Up until then, in order for an order to be created, someone needed to do some work like answer the telephone, open a letter and put the cheque through the till but the internet just changed it, when a printer would print off orders as they came in. The problems it created was also more part of the fun – needing more people, needing bigger premises, making more deliveries."
At one point, Hattons also made their own range of products called Hattons Originals. Back in 2016, Hattons made the decision to relocate after 70 years to a new location on Montague Road, Widnes. Richard said the transition was a good move for the team and that the business saw their most successful years in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
But earlier this week, Hattons shared their "immense sadness" and reasons for closing after 77 years in business. A spokesperson from the business recently said: "Despite the company's best efforts to adapt to changing market conditions, it has become clear that continuing operations is no longer sustainable. As such, the decision has been taken to wind down in an orderly fashion (leaving no outstanding debts).
"Hattons Model Railways would like to express its deepest gratitude to its loyal customers, dedicated staff, and the entire model railway community for their unwavering support throughout the years. The company has cherished the opportunity to contribute to the passion and joy that model railways bring to people's lives.
"Richard Davies, Christine Hatton and the entire management team at Hattons Model Railways extends a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey. While the business may be closing, the memories and connections forged within the model railway community will endure."
On their website and Facebook page, the team also shared an additional message with customers. It reads: "It is with immense sadness that we share news of the upcoming closure of Hattons Model Railways, an institution in the hobby since 1946.
"Over the decades, we've been privileged to serve enthusiasts and share our passion for model railways with hundreds of thousands of customers. You may have several questions about how this has come about and how this affects you directly in regards to pre-orders, the trunk, pre-owned and more. We've put together a small FAQ which we hope answers most of these questions."
Richard said through the years there's been "nothing he'd rather do than work in the industry" and that their loyal customer base has made the decision to close the business "even harder." He said: "There's a lot of emotion that goes with our brand and there's been quite a big outpouring of customer sentiment when we made that announcement.
"When reading the customers testimonials, what comes through is about how Hattons had a great customer service but also great innovation and people have been listing things we were first to do online. That makes me proud that we weren't just box shifters, we were genuinely tuned in with the customers.
"I'm going to miss the colleagues, I'm going to miss the spirt we developed and the team here have always been very very adaptable to changes. And I feel terrible that we’ve run out of things that we can do to improve the business and we’ve had to call it a day.
"The hobby is still strong. Everything is changing in the world at the moment and I don't think that Hattons not being here should be interpreted too significant for the industry itself. Lots of people from Liverpool did contribute to the success of Hattons.
"Lots of different people have worked here and we’ve seen lots of different customers. We are all very very grateful for the contributions people have made."
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