King & Country
Captain
- Joined
- May 23, 2005
- Messages
- 5,101
Hi Guys,
As I’m sure you know by now this past weekend has been very, very special for all our friends at King & Country UK. I thought I would take this opportunity to both congratulate them and reflect a little on how far we have come in such a relatively short time.
This journey began back in 1995 when I received a phone call at our head offices in Hong Kong from our store in Pacific Place... “There’s a couple of English guys and a lady here who would like to meet you and discuss doing business in the U.K.”
As K&C had little or no business in Britain at the time I was intrigued and excited by any opportunity to improve the situation. That very day I met with Mike, Sue and their son Bob Neville for the first time. I liked them immediately – we had lots in common… Mike and myself had both served in the British military (Mike in the Royal Military Police… me in the Royal Marines), Bob had studied Product Design and Graphics at college, I had done Graphics and Illustration… As for Sue, well Sue was a Mum and even I had a Mum! Only joking darling, Sue was the vital ‘cement’ in this mixture.
Over the next few days Mike and Bob outlined their ideas, plans and suggestions for ‘Project UK’ as it was known at the time. They were bold, ambitious, challenging and… very exciting. I thought to myself… either this will succeed or it will go down in flames. But as I got to know the entire Neville clan better I began to share their enthusiasm… and their dream.
However, those early days, weeks and years were not easy… Mike and Sue (Bob was still with Adidas) ran the operation and did virtually all of the work… 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. It was long, hard and grueling and they faced a lot of opposition and prejudice.
Within the toy soldier hobby and business at the time there was plenty of distaste for K&C and our Chinese-made products. “Your figures look too Chinese… they’ve all got slanty-eyes... why are they not all glossy and shiny?” were some of the kinder comments. Simultaneously when K&C UK first began to appear at some toy soldier shows (especially the London ones) the ‘Old Guard’ would banish them to the farthest reaches and worst table locations. Likewise a few of the ‘Old Guard’ would also look down their collective noses at this presumptuous upstart with the Chinese-made product.
Those early years were hard on both Mike and Sue but they never gave up. Slowly but surely they persevered winning new friends and bringing new collectors to King & Country from all over the UK and beyond. It was fortunate for all of us that the Nevilles arrived on the scene just as K&C itself was developing, growing and improving its own products and widening our ranges. Both of us were at the right place… at the right time. Even more importantly both of us believed in each other and our capacity to grow together.
That faith is virtually unique in this business. Mike, Sue, Bob and now Tony saw something very different in King & Country. I like to think I saw something very special in them as a family and as individuals. From day one, K&C UK wanted to be ‘only K&C’ in terms of our figures and fighting vehicles. From time to time they’ve occasionally brought in outside product that complement K&C and is not produced by us. And they’ve always done it by agreement and with the full backing of the Hong Kong office itself.
But virtually 100% of their time and efforts are devoted exclusively to King & Country and what we produce. Today their success is self-evident… Their sales continue to dramatically increase year on year on year… The number of brand-new collectors they bring to K&C and the hobby also grows by leaps and bounds. And their taking over of the practically moribund ‘London Toy Soldier Show’ and turning it around so successfully has been a joy to see… both as a manufacturer myself and as a hobbyist. And here, I must just say a very special thank you and congratulations to Bob Neville…
Bob, I have known since the earliest days, but since leaving Adidas to focus on K&C UK and other business interests his input into the company has been stupendous. His creativity… enthusiasm… and boundless energy are second-to-none. In recent years I’ve got to work with Bob a lot more often and see him on a regular basis. He is a great ‘sounding-board’ for many of my own ideas and he is terrific to ‘brain-storm’ with… Bob, it’s a delight and a pleasure to be on the same team… and share a regular curry with!
Now let’s not forget the ‘baby of the family’, young Tony. Although relatively new to K&C UK, Tony is another vital part of the machine… his good humour… capacity for hard work… and operating skills in running the new North of England base are legendary. He’s a legend in his own lunchtime, in fact. Seriously but, he is a great guy and my co conspirator in ‘The Crimean War’ series which has been developed jointly as a K&C UK ‘exclusive’.
So, where do we go from here? To be honest, I don’t quite know! This exciting new development as well as countless other K&C UK innovations are helping to take this hobby and business into areas I never even imagined. However, with Mike, Sue (now retired), Bob, Tony and the wonderful gang at K&C UK as friends and partners I’m looking forward to it.
Once more many, many congratulations on this latest success and here’s to many, many more.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Andy C. Neilson
As I’m sure you know by now this past weekend has been very, very special for all our friends at King & Country UK. I thought I would take this opportunity to both congratulate them and reflect a little on how far we have come in such a relatively short time.
This journey began back in 1995 when I received a phone call at our head offices in Hong Kong from our store in Pacific Place... “There’s a couple of English guys and a lady here who would like to meet you and discuss doing business in the U.K.”
As K&C had little or no business in Britain at the time I was intrigued and excited by any opportunity to improve the situation. That very day I met with Mike, Sue and their son Bob Neville for the first time. I liked them immediately – we had lots in common… Mike and myself had both served in the British military (Mike in the Royal Military Police… me in the Royal Marines), Bob had studied Product Design and Graphics at college, I had done Graphics and Illustration… As for Sue, well Sue was a Mum and even I had a Mum! Only joking darling, Sue was the vital ‘cement’ in this mixture.
Over the next few days Mike and Bob outlined their ideas, plans and suggestions for ‘Project UK’ as it was known at the time. They were bold, ambitious, challenging and… very exciting. I thought to myself… either this will succeed or it will go down in flames. But as I got to know the entire Neville clan better I began to share their enthusiasm… and their dream.
However, those early days, weeks and years were not easy… Mike and Sue (Bob was still with Adidas) ran the operation and did virtually all of the work… 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. It was long, hard and grueling and they faced a lot of opposition and prejudice.
Within the toy soldier hobby and business at the time there was plenty of distaste for K&C and our Chinese-made products. “Your figures look too Chinese… they’ve all got slanty-eyes... why are they not all glossy and shiny?” were some of the kinder comments. Simultaneously when K&C UK first began to appear at some toy soldier shows (especially the London ones) the ‘Old Guard’ would banish them to the farthest reaches and worst table locations. Likewise a few of the ‘Old Guard’ would also look down their collective noses at this presumptuous upstart with the Chinese-made product.
Those early years were hard on both Mike and Sue but they never gave up. Slowly but surely they persevered winning new friends and bringing new collectors to King & Country from all over the UK and beyond. It was fortunate for all of us that the Nevilles arrived on the scene just as K&C itself was developing, growing and improving its own products and widening our ranges. Both of us were at the right place… at the right time. Even more importantly both of us believed in each other and our capacity to grow together.
That faith is virtually unique in this business. Mike, Sue, Bob and now Tony saw something very different in King & Country. I like to think I saw something very special in them as a family and as individuals. From day one, K&C UK wanted to be ‘only K&C’ in terms of our figures and fighting vehicles. From time to time they’ve occasionally brought in outside product that complement K&C and is not produced by us. And they’ve always done it by agreement and with the full backing of the Hong Kong office itself.
But virtually 100% of their time and efforts are devoted exclusively to King & Country and what we produce. Today their success is self-evident… Their sales continue to dramatically increase year on year on year… The number of brand-new collectors they bring to K&C and the hobby also grows by leaps and bounds. And their taking over of the practically moribund ‘London Toy Soldier Show’ and turning it around so successfully has been a joy to see… both as a manufacturer myself and as a hobbyist. And here, I must just say a very special thank you and congratulations to Bob Neville…
Bob, I have known since the earliest days, but since leaving Adidas to focus on K&C UK and other business interests his input into the company has been stupendous. His creativity… enthusiasm… and boundless energy are second-to-none. In recent years I’ve got to work with Bob a lot more often and see him on a regular basis. He is a great ‘sounding-board’ for many of my own ideas and he is terrific to ‘brain-storm’ with… Bob, it’s a delight and a pleasure to be on the same team… and share a regular curry with!
Now let’s not forget the ‘baby of the family’, young Tony. Although relatively new to K&C UK, Tony is another vital part of the machine… his good humour… capacity for hard work… and operating skills in running the new North of England base are legendary. He’s a legend in his own lunchtime, in fact. Seriously but, he is a great guy and my co conspirator in ‘The Crimean War’ series which has been developed jointly as a K&C UK ‘exclusive’.
So, where do we go from here? To be honest, I don’t quite know! This exciting new development as well as countless other K&C UK innovations are helping to take this hobby and business into areas I never even imagined. However, with Mike, Sue (now retired), Bob, Tony and the wonderful gang at K&C UK as friends and partners I’m looking forward to it.
Once more many, many congratulations on this latest success and here’s to many, many more.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Andy C. Neilson
