King & Country U.K.

 

Used to be, at the London shows, King & Country UK had a few tables. Then the gravitational pull began. Collectors seemed to be sucked from the huge main room towards the smaller side room housing King & Country. Before long K&C UK had to double their tables and double the staff. Then they trebled their tables and trebled the staff.

 

Now they need an edge-of-town warehouse. All this has happened in the last 10 years and somewhere along that road, along King & Country’s journey from a product to a brand to a marque, a seismic shift occurred in the hobby.

 

Shifts are nothing new … especially so in a hobby based on the past because developmental options cannot be found by delving deeper into that past. Genuine development means genuine progression and the shift heralded in by Frontline Figures and King  & Country (and many others since who manufacture in China) irrevocably changed the face of the hobby.

Mike and Sue Neville were in mid-life, business-oriented and fortuitously free to pursue a new enterprise. Theirs would be no half-hearted or suckit-and-see approach; they were energetic, full of ideas and proactive from the start. All of those qualities are vital but none guarantee success.

Success also demands an excellent product in abundant supply backed by advertising that, then and now, make the figures leap off the page. When all those ingredients came together in late 1994 King & Country UK became an irresistible force waiting to happen.

 

Yet it wasn’t easy at first. The rest of the industry here was a bit sniffy towards the Nevilles. The establishment – such as it was then – united around the clubby atmosphere of the London shows where Mike and Sue, perhaps because they represented a foreign product, weren’t particularly welcome. In late 1995 King & Country’s first military range in matt, “Arnhem -’44”, burst onto the scene and the gravitational pull began. Today, if the British hobby has an establishment, King & Country UK are powerful players in it.

Yes, at first glance, the success of King & Country UK can be attributed to the excellent products coming to them from China – ranges that virtually sell themselves. But that’s only half the story. From the start the Nevilles established a Collectors Club, a mail order system second to none and a customer-friendly approach which included regular product updates. This level of customer care immediately impressed collectors who felt valued and involved which, in turn, engendered brand loyalty.

As importantly, the Nevilles knew (as they still do ten years later) that for the ranges to sell themselves they had to be seen and seen regularly and by committing to all the major UK Toy Soldier shows they secured a regular shop window. They also, surprisingly, attend a number of “Toy & Train Fairs” which few other mainstream model figure companies bother with.

 

Their presence at such events are flag-waving exercises considerably helped by having two nonmilitary ranges (“Streets of Old Hong Kong” and “World of Dickens”) which appeal to a different market. The Nevilles also take along orders for regular customers to collect and just by being there, with the pick of their military ranges, they win new customers. This energy and enthusiasm – which has increased rather than waned over ten years – permeates every facet of their business and has played a major part in its success.

 

And all the time from head office in Hong Kong, Andy Neilson is releasing a steady stream of new ranges of ever-increasing standards. Even industry insiders, both grudgingly and admiringly, agree that King & Country have got it together, are focussed and deliver. But collectors have always known that.

Collectors also know that for the last year or two there’s been a buzz around the hobby about King & Country. The sculpting has a vibrant and new edge and the painting quality, in the opinion of many, beats anything else presently emanating from China. Right now, of those manufacturing there, King & Country is like a champion thoroughbred romping away from the chasing pack yet still able to find another gear or two just to please the crowd.

 

In the UK the Nevilles have upped a gear too. Their son Bob, who was indirectly responsible for getting the whole thing started, is now working in the business and developing new initiatives. When the 10th birthday cake is cut, because it’s that kind of business, the Neville clan will be looking to the future as much as celebrating the past.

 

And what do collectors have to look forward to .. more of the same? Well, yes, but at King & Country’s current altitude “the same” sounds as thin as the air. We know it won’t be the same; it’ll be bigger and bolder and better. There are innovations afoot and new ideas in the air. Certainly, there’ll be no standing still. That’s the nature of a company that constantly sets itself higher standards and relentlessly challenges itself to surpass them.