What's in those stores....UK

[yuffie]

the sainsbury's had just put another 996U on the shelf this morning as both acers and the celine were still there

[djjd21]

oddly our local tesco had the exact same W1938-996N case yesterday brand new and unopened,inside contents were 6 x lmq,3 x lewis hamilton,2 x shu todoroki,1 x miguel camino,1 x fillmore,2 x acers to name a few.

[niftynigel]

After the prospect of new cases into shops this week in the UK it's gone a bit sour (again).

Whilst I was out and about, I managed to pop into a few supermarkets and Wilkinsons etc.

After getting new case W1938-996U (including Acer with torch and Celine Dephare), Tesco are now getting case W1938-996N (with 3no. Mel Dorado, 6no. Lightning McQueen, 3no. Holley and 3no. Francesco).

My local Wilkinson have just received two new cases of US style cards (not the clipstip ones Asst: W2325, but genuine Asst: V2796). They looked like a really early case as there was nothing newer than 15 - Race Team Sarge! It could be a V2796-999A, the very few US case?

Maybe Mattel did run out of stock (as was suggested) and they had to quickly source some from somewhere?

[yuffie]

thanks for that (rather depressing) update

neither surprises me, particularly the disney store - my local one in bath has had nothing but maters (quite possibly the same ones) for months and last week they suddenly had a lot of their own 2-pack diecasts, including security finn, various maters (wasabi, dracula, ivan), prince wheeliam, etc

along with the cars of the world and three box sets recently released it is clear where their interests lie now

as for smyths, although the one at cribbs causeway always has a lot of cars there is never anything new so i can understand if what they have doesn't shift very quickly

oh well, i will look in sainsbury's on the way to work tomorrow in the hope that the mcqueens's have gone and new box was opened just before i arrived - if not it's probably a lego minifigure or two plus a packet of double fill oreo's

[niftynigel]

Sadly, it's bad news.

Smyths, certainly the ones in the London area have confirmed that until they have sold most of their current stock, they will not be restocking. They have had Cars 2 merchandise on sale for months and many of those on pegs have had various price stickers added and torn off, so much of the cards are in poor condition. Shops have told me that they think that Smyths will follow Toys R Us and drop the range as there are more lucrative product lines. Time will tell.

Disney Stores have dropped Mattel Cars 2 this week, after having taken delivery of case 996S (and mostly sold out too). I thought they may hold on to Christmas, but they decided to promote their own range.

Hamleys are also considering dropping the Cars line. They have plenty of stocks of old (most cut cards). They actually told me that Mattel had run out of cases. Does this mean that cases 996T, 996W, 996Y and 997H, 997J have been redirected to mainland Europe (Mattel Holland)? There are loads of new Cars 2 singles on eBay from German, French and Dutch sellers. Maybe the shipment is due this week? Mattel UK aren't that helpful. They were quite surprised when I said that I'd picked up Acer with torch and Celine Dephare in Wilkinsons! Hmmm!

My local toy store has reported that they (as a group) have had cases on order for weeks and nothing has been delivered. They suggested that the estimated 2,000 cases that Mattel had were distributed to Disney Store, Wilkinsons and the supermarkets.

My local Wilkinson and Sainsbury have cited that Mattel claim to have exhausted stocks. To me, that proves there is a market as most of the cars have been sold from the shelves!

[yuffie]

it does seem like another nail in the coffin for the uk - i am not wholey surprised that supermarkets now look the most likely source of new cars but given they rarely have more than one case on the shelves at a time it means, unless you're a case opener or try to get info from a shop assistant who is unlikely to know or care, it will be even more hit or miss to find something new

whilst the radiator springs line looks nice as an opener they are not of real interest to me as apatr from one or two of the ones announced so far i already have them

nifetynigel - do you have any info on what smyths will be doing in the future and does anyone know the contents of the 996T, 996W, 996Y and 997H, 997J cases?

[cac1959]

Thank you for the update, niftynigel... it says something about Mattel's distribution when stores are no longer carrying the Cars product line... and it's not positive.

Here's hoping those of you in the UK will be able to find new Cars merchandise.

[iopl3887]

That LMQ is GIANT!!! <<<like this text

[niftynigel]

The current singles (standard) cases in the UK are W1938-996S and W1938-996U. These have been delivered to shops over the past three to four weeks. New cases (996T, 996W, 996Y and 997H, 997J) will start to be delivered from next week.

Toys R Us have confirmed that they will no longer be stocking Cars 2 singles, but have replaced them with the Cars 1 Radiator Springs Classic series. The first eight cars in this series should be in all TRUs by now. I picked mine up on Monday. Although the cards are of the international variety, they have the US UPC/barcodes and Asst: Y3399 (and corresponding SKU) numbers as in the US. They are priced at £4.99 GBP.

Department stores Debenhams, John Lewis and Bentalls along with Model Zone are discontinuing stocking Cars 2 singles/deluxe and doubles. Bentalls still have some doubles and deluxe in stock, but are selling some off in their sale/outlet store in Kingston. Once it's all gone they won't be restocking. Bentalls has been a flag bearer for Cars and Cars 2 so this is a big blow for collecting as they previously kept a large stock of everything.

The supermarkets ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tesco would appear to be the best place to get new singles as they are restocking as they run out. They are also the cheapest stockists now, usually £4.47. Not all branches of ASDA are stocking Cars stuff! None of them in my area, even the superstores!

Wilkinsons are also getting regular deliveries of singles and deluxe. The company recently ordered 984 singles cases for it's 364 stores. They are charging £4.60 GBP (singles) and £9.00 GBP (deluxe). They recently had case 996U. I'm hopeful that they will get new cases from next week!

All shops are still getting very old V2843-996H deluxe cases! As a result, I don't see any making significant reorders unless Mattel UK mixes some new models in there.

Disney Stores have had singles case 996S. Expect regular deliveries from now until Christmas.

[MrBrownstone]

hmmm, this hasn't been updated for a while...

is there any point in updating this given he current state of distribution? opinions please

are we better of restarting this when the new stuff comes out in sept / oct???

[niftynigel]

jonj -

Was the Officer Murakarmi you found in Sainsburys a US or international carded one or was it one of these hybrid cards with the plastic hanger?

Thanks,
Nigel

[djjd21]

sweet success jonj nice to see him arrive on a shelf finally

[jonj]

After speaking with one of my colleagues, they put the whole case out and disposed of the case outer so I was unable to see the case letter, looking at what was on the shelf though I was not a factory assortment but more of a chuck the heck what we like in, 2 max untold lmq and Francesco 1 x prof z 1 x rod

[yuffie]

Guys I have just found the security officer #32 in my place of work, wait for it sainsburys, I have just to locate the case it was in but it's good news that they are finally arriving in to our stores

wow. i always thought sainsbury's might be the best chance of finding news cars

[jonj]

Guys I have just found the security officer #32 in my place of work, wait for it sainsburys, I have just to locate the case it was in but it's good news that they are finally arriving in to our stores