Ripmax in Administration.

[John Wagg]

I've just had a Whatsapp report that Ripmax has gone into receivership.

Does anyone know if this is true ?

 

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4399697

[Don Fry]

Not great news for the hobby. Sad thoughts for the staff and management.

[John Wagg]

Very sad. 

[David perry 1]

Sad end to an historic company  but extremely  sad news for us as modellers i should think.

[Geoff S]

There are not only fewer suppliers but there are even fewer model shops and on-line shopping may be more difficult if we have to rely on EU or US businesses.

 

It's really sad about Ripmax.  Are there any other UK based wholesalers of modelling accessories?

[Kim Taylor]

10 minutes ago, Geoff S said:

There are not only fewer suppliers but there are even fewer model shops and on-line shopping may be more difficult if we have to rely on EU or US businesses.

 

It's really sad about Ripmax.  Are there any other UK based wholesalers of modelling accessories?

My sympathies lie with the employees first and foremost. I guess that the product lines (if viable) will be sold on / taken up by others. I bags the Wots

J Perkins is, I believe UK based - they certainly have a base in the UK (not the same thing, I know).

Kim

[Roy Thompson]

A sad end true, but not totally unexpected. Let’s hope some of it can be salvaged.

[Zflyer]

Local model shops generally obtain their stock from Ripmax. Guess they  are going to struggle.

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Oh come on ! don"t gasp as if you are amazed, Internet and the Chinese flogging the cheap stuff that you/we buy slaughtered the model shops, it was only a matter of time, the drone market and its laws didn't help, and to end it all the young of today don't dream of flying, just the newest smartphone and it's games, twitter etc,,,

[Nigel Heather]

24 minutes ago, Roy Thompson said:

A sad end true, but not totally unexpected. Let’s hope some of it can be salvaged.

 

Trying to think who would buy them - Century UK maybe - all depends on how much debt they would have to take on.

[Kim Taylor]

25 minutes ago, Nigel Heather said:

 

Trying to think who would buy them - Century UK maybe - all depends on how much debt they would have to take on.

I think the truth of the matter is that they won't be bought as an entity. 

There will probably be a bunfight over the most profitable / popular products between maybe Century, J Perkins, or maybe a larger retailer will step up to keep the Wots / Black Horse et al available.

At the end of the day, the manufacturers will (probably) still want their kits / motors / LiPos etc. on the shelves over here, so a way will be found.

Kim

 

eta Futaba is the biggie, I guess - certainly if you already use it.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Kim Taylor

[KenC]

When you look at the growth of AliExpress, Bangood and Temu , there is this movement towards the people that make it selling it to you .  I have seen metal gear digital servos on Ali Express for £3 ... how on earth are the UK importers going to survive.  I see so many products and recognise them as stuff on sale here for £25  and available delivered and TAX paid  for £10. So many companies over here are no more than importers of this stuff and by buying in bulk their prices were better than ours.  This does bring  service and repairs into question , but if it lasts 3 to 4 years and costs half or less .... bin it and go again.

[GrumpyGnome]

Think they're in administration - completely different kettle of fish to receivership..... often a tool to allow breathing space to, for example, restructure/reschedule debts.

[Nigel Heather]

46 minutes ago, Kim Taylor said:

I think the truth of the matter is that they won't be bought as an entity. 

There will probably be a bunfight over the most profitable / popular products between maybe Century, J Perkins, or maybe a larger retailer will step up to keep the Wots / Black Horse et al available.

At the end of the day, the manufacturers will (probably) still want their kits / motors / LiPos etc. on the shelves over here, so a way will be found.

Kim

 

eta Futaba is the biggie, I guess - certainly if you already use it.

 

Yes for a lot of the items, Ripmax act as the distributer so I guess it would be a fairly simple matter for a different company to take over the distribution.  Of course with a big name out of play, there is less competition so distribution deals won't be so good so prices will go up.

[kevin b]

The cynic in me is not surprised.

 

They had been struggling for a while, then along came Covid.

Furloughing of staff (a cost save).

Property rates holiday (a huge overhead saving).

Cheap loans from the government (now need repaying).

 

Although some stock had been coming through the system it has been obvious for some time that spares for most of the existing products have not been restocked.

My personal thoughts are that the "good stuff" will probably return (extremely quickly) and that the biggest losers will be the government and the banks.

We have seen this all before. It isn't anything new.

I don't think (hopefully) that it will affect the retail shops too much as the money was flowing in the opposite direction.

I should think the rights to the Chris Foss stuff will probably not be transferrable and will revert back to him.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the KeilKraft stuff though.

 

[Cuban8]

Not nice when a name that has been around for over seventy years and has been part of all our modelling lives in one way or another as a once very powerful and influential force in the hobby appears to be coming to grief.

Perhaps something smaller and leaner will emerge after a thorough review of the business and more in alignment with the way the hobby world has evolved recently, with so much more choice other than a few big brand names sold at premium prices. A bit different certainly, but Hornby seemed to manage it, so we'll see.

I really hope so, we've lost far too many highly respected names over the years and that can't be good whether you're into 'planes, boats, trains, cars or whatever.

[Peter Miller]

I can remember back in 1954 going to Ripmax, a little shop in Camden Town.  Bought my ECC Telecommander radio there. Never did get a flight out of that. Also bought a Mills .75 and later a Mills 1.3 and even later an Allbon Jevelin.

 

I had a small inheritance from my Grandfather

[Don Fry]

14 hours ago, KenC said:

I have seen metal gear digital servos on Ali Express for £3 .

Fake though?

[Robin Colbourne]

To remain profitable in an ever changing world and an ever changing hobby, we should take a look at the companies that do appear to be succeeding.  Flite Test is one that springs to mind, as their Youtube presence and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) educational focus ensures that there is a new audience being exposed to their products.
To say that model flying is a dying hobby isn't necessarily true, its just that the newcomers can now fly in places other than an established club environment.  Autostabilisation, quiet electric models and R/C flight simulators mean that youngsters have a chance of success even if they do teach themselves.
For a company such as Ripmax to survive, they need to work out what they add to the value of their products as far as the retailer and customer are concerned.  If they aren't keeping stock in a UK warehouse that a local shop (if you can find one) can get in in days, then a customer may well find it easier and quicker to order online from whoever has the item in, or directly from abroad.

[MattyB]

13 hours ago, kevin b said:

The cynic in me is not surprised.

 

They had been struggling for a while, then along came Covid.

Furloughing of staff (a cost save).

Property rates holiday (a huge overhead saving).

Cheap loans from the government (now need repaying).

 

Although some stock had been coming through the system it has been obvious for some time that spares for most of the existing products have not been restocked.

My personal thoughts are that the "good stuff" will probably return (extremely quickly) and that the biggest losers will be the government and the banks.

We have seen this all before. It isn't anything new.

 

Agreed - I am amazed this has not happened before given the hedwinds they and all other hobby businesses are facing. I am not sure there is room for any more than a single major distributor given the lack of LMS' these days and the ease of ordering direct from the far east.

[Cuban8]

Ripmax did have its own chain of very good retail model shops under the 'Hobbystores' banner IIRC. I used to use the ones in Chelmsford and Waltham Cross regularly, back in the day. Surprised when they threw the towel in because as far as I saw, they were always busy and well stocked. I suppose they had competition from another well known chain that spung up all over the place and offered pretty much the same stuff but often at discount prices.

As has been suggested, too many companies in pursuit of an ever decreasing, but price and brand savvy, customer base.

[Jon H]

This is not a surprise to me at all unfortunately. 

 

I think the crux of it, as has been pointed out by others, is that the way we buy stuff has changed. In the old days we couldnt just order things from over seas as there were language issues, shipping, and even just finding the people in question. Ripmax did that job for us. Now though you just need a few quid for a website, google translate and a paypal account has the whole deal done. 

 

I looked at this when i bought my Fokkerc Spitfire and compared it to the old days of buying a top flite equivalent. 

 

Back then, i would buy the kit, retracts, maybe even the engine (if i bought an OS), the radio, paint, fuel proofer, glue etc all from ripmax. Now i got the kit direct from Bulgaria, retracts direct from Spain and so on. I source glue from other places now, fuel proofer as well, get wood direct from slec, use savox servos more and more. Its just not the same and for every model i build Ripmax would get far less of my money. 

 

Another issue is i have not seen a killer product line from them in a while. OS and Futaba are good, but much of their other stuff has not really done it for me. Certainly black horse cant hold a candle to Hangar 9. Even if they came from the same factory (they do in the case of seagull) the brand just didnt have the same ability to command the high prices they now sell for. 

 

Hopefully they weather the storm. I need to buy some more rx's!

[Chris Walby]

22 hours ago, KenC said:

When you look at the growth of AliExpress, Bangood and Temu , there is this movement towards the people that make it selling it to you .  I have seen metal gear digital servos on Ali Express for £3 ... how on earth are the UK importers going to survive.  I see so many products and recognise them as stuff on sale here for £25  and available delivered and TAX paid  for £10. So many companies over here are no more than importers of this stuff and by buying in bulk their prices were better than ours.  This does bring  service and repairs into question , but if it lasts 3 to 4 years and costs half or less .... bin it and go again.

I think you are missing the point, if the deal seems to good to be true then it probably is (most likely its a fake).

 

Two things I hold close are service/support and reliability. Firstly I use LMS and 4max as I get good advice, not the cheapest, but in the long run saves me time so I am happy with that. Secondly I use Laser engines as I fly mostly twins and number one golden rule is avoid getting into a sticky situation than trying to get out of one and Laser engines are renown for their reliability.

 

I have a couple of electric models (Outlaw one of them) which is about 1.5 kg and capable of +150mph. I take my responsibility as the pilot in control very seriously as almost all of my models would cause very serious injury if it hit someone. Personally if I knew I had a fake component (servo, RX, etc) and an accident occurred I would feel responsible irrespective of the legal consequences. 

 

PS I have a cheap foamboard model, probably cost less than £25 total, great fun to fly and I would still be disappointed if I damaged/destroyed it due to component failure...dumb thumbs is another thing altogether. 

PPS I picked up a model that had taken the guy 18 years to build, flies well and I don't see why it should not be around in another 18 years if I look after it (might have just worn the Laser out by then..but perhaps not!)

[KenC]

Yes I was taught by a guy that flew LMA stuff in displays and was perhaps one of the best model pilots I have met.  However your comments are more about your own craving for security than modern reality I fear.    Pop over to Heathrow or Gatwick and watch the legion  of business men and women heading east to have their stuff manufactured, or pop over to Park Lane where the old Gavroche private rooms are now timeshares owned by eastern business people over here tying up deals.   If you could get George to cough up ( not that he would)  under the purple there is no doubt a deep shade of Yellow !

In my trade for over 30 years I used British made lighting , the company won a Queens Award for their flash equipment back in the late 80s early 90's ..... today they are bust , gone , because companies like Godox  ( as yellow as you can ) sell stuff over here without direct service   for a fraction ...and their units are great !   I once took a flash into Hasselblad  and they said " two weeks to service "   I replied " ah so its disposable" because in my business two weeks down time is worth more than the unit !   If you can buy several for the price of one , and they are equally workable,  history has proven the outcome .   Britain is notorious for middlemen, that small stretch of water is worth 35 to 40% . Look at car prices pre European Union when many were ordering in Belgium .  Yes China has its back street botch jobs, but since Fukushima and the issues almost all the way to Tokyo ( Futaba is about half way )  even Canon and other big names are looking to China  and Vietnam  for manufacture.