The Wam was always a business in its original form. I never had an issue with the concept of the original sale (to a record dealer, as if combining a hifi forum and that was ever a good idea...), it has been the business decisions since then that have brought it down.
Oh, and
I've never been to one, but it always struck me that this was a stroke of genius on the part of James Palmer and the original group that started HFWW. A show where a large collection of genuine enthusiasts could demonstrate their own stuff to other genuine enthusiasts - nobody, to the best of my knowledge, had ever done such a thing before. From what I can gather, it was and continues to be an enormous success. Any dilution of the original concept would be a tragedyI rarely take much interest in the forums but I would like to know how safe the yearly show now at Kegworth is likely to be? Are the people putting the time and effort into organising this strongly tied to the Wam management or tied more to continuing a successful bakeoff-type show?
I've never been to one, but it always struck me that this was a stroke of genius on the part of James Palmer and the original group that started HFWW. A show where a large collection of genuine enthusiasts could demonstrate their own stuff to other genuine enthusiasts - nobody, to the best of my knowledge, had ever done such a thing before. From what I can gather, it was and continues to be an enormous success. Any dilution of the original concept would be a tragedy
Does this mean it is considered to be a commodity worth significant sums of money owned by Hi-Fi WigWam Ltd rather than, say, an enthusiast organising a bunch of enthusiasts for their own enjoyment? Is it financially valuable in the sense the financial profit is worth the effort? I can see that it might be profitable in other ways. What is likely to happen to it if the current owners of HFWW simply stopped and went off to earn a living in other ways?It was the Chester Group that organised and ran the first Scalford Show but decided that it wasn't going to make sufficient money, so sold it to James.
Who really knows. Even if the forum had new owners, it doesn't guarantee they will have the funding to secure the show. Nothing is an absolute and we just have to wait and see.Does this mean it is considered to be a commodity worth significant sums of money owned by Hi-Fi WigWam Ltd rather than, say, an enthusiast organising a bunch of enthusiasts for their own enjoyment? Is it financially valuable in the sense the financial profit is worth the effort? I can see that it might be profitable in other ways. What is likely to happen to it if the current owners of HFWW simply stopped and went off to earn a living in other ways?
Rudi is gone. Blackbeard too.
Quote “what would happen to it if HFWW current owners decided to simply stop and went off to earn a living elsewhere”
Then it’s all round to Ricks for homemade chips
Not famous. But used to be unique on the bake off rota, until Tim copied it. Never had to throw any in the bin! But that's hardly surprising considering the guests, eh Steve.Not the famous 'home made chips' There only bloody chips mate
Does this mean it is considered to be a commodity worth significant sums of money owned by Hi-Fi WigWam Ltd rather than, say, an enthusiast organising a bunch of enthusiasts for their own enjoyment? Is it financially valuable in the sense the financial profit is worth the effort? ...
The costs are significant whichever way you look at it. The exhibitors do it purely for the craic. Usually 2 nights room costs plus insurance plus travel. It stacks up.I remember the James, HFWW's original owner, saying that Scalford mostly wiped its face, paid for an annual curry night for the mod team and helped fund the forum for part of the following year. I suspect it was a tad more profitable than that but who knows?
There are obvious opportunities for monetisation of the show, but I think they'd have to be introduced gradually to avoid alienating what's left of the membership that's willing to exhibit (aiui, at significant cost to themselves).
Nobody could afford those!I bet it did, especially if you had a Scalford muffin addiction.