Interesting article on the Hornby model maker business.
This 2nd article: Financial Times website and yes you might be asked to register at this site
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article????
the article doesn't seem to be available without registering?? 
I had no problem opening it.
I also had no problem opening/reading it.
You can be quite sure that the supply chain problems have also had a negative effect on the profitability of other makers. All are pretty much in the same boat, as is evident from slipped shipping schedules for nearly all of them.
This, of course, leads to increased dealer and consumer frustration and uncertainty, and that takes a long time to mitigate and/or overcome. Not a terribly good situation for anyone.
The best advice I can give to consumers is just to continue to be as patient as possible and to budget anticipated hobby expenses to account for the somewhat inevitable delays. Most all of us have more than enough trains to "play" with already, so it's just a matter of dealing with these things as best we can, or making alternative arrangements for the use of whatever discretionary income you may have available or planned for.
I was in a London Hobby Shop in September and patrons and staff were talking about Hornby delivery problems then. This is OO gauge, Hornby no longer makes O.
Consumer aggravation is exacerbated by the pre-order process, where manufacturers expect consumers to put money up front and then there are delays and poor communication about delays.
As a result of previous acqusitions, Hornby has ownership of several well known and respected brands including Rivarossi, Lima, Arnold and Jouef. These are, of course, in addition to models released under its own name. I own a number of recently produced Rivarossi models of Italian protoypes. They are truly exquisite and of superior quality. I look forward to a more settled situation for the company.
Bob
