After 77 years of trading, North West retailer Hattons Model Railways has confirmed that the business is to close.
Founded by Norman Hatton in 1946, Hattons Model Railways opened retail premises on Smithdown Road, subsequently moving to larger premises in the vicinity as the business grew, before the company moved to its present Widnes warehouse location on Montague Road.
In a statement issued on Monday January 8 2024, the company explained, “The decision to close was not made lightly and follows a thorough assessment of the current business landscape and retail trends. 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).”
A clearance event is now underway to clear remaining stocks. The company has also confirmed that several in-house projects are set to continue in the short term with batch two of the ‘OO’ gauge Hattons Originals Genesis coaches and ‘Warwell’ wagons set to be produced and released as planned. Plans for the re-run of Hattons’ exclusive ‘OO’ gauge SECR ‘P’ Class 0-6-0T are currently under review, while the third batch of Genesis coaches and re-runs of the Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST and Beilhack snowploughs will not go ahead.
A final closure date has yet to be confirmed.
◘ Visit www.hattons.co.uk for more information.
