Fun comes in a smaller scale

Hub Hobby Center Inc. is a Twin Cities area business that started as a small, conventional hobby shop and ballooned into a pair of hobby, toy and game superstores that offer everything from slot cars and train sets to radio-controlled helicopters and boats to classic car replicas that cost up to $450 and more.

Not to mention model rockets activated by a gunpowder propellant, collectible Madame Alexander dolls that cost more than your weekly grocery bill and aisle after aisle of puzzles, games, and arts and crafts.

Oh, yes, and a full ration of nostalgia: There are slingshots that are a tad more sophisticated than the weapons we constructed out of tree branches and rubber cut from inner tubes back in the day. And rubber-band guns with a slight resemblance to those we made with clothespins attached to the scrap lumber we cut into gun shapes with a handsaw.

And leave us not forget the classic Tinker Toys and Erector sets, and an arsenal of cap pistols.

It all adds up to a business that has defied the economic trends of the past year.

The company, with a 14,300-square-foot store in Richfield and a 12,500-square-foot outlet in Little Canada, hoisted its sales nearly 5 percent in 2008, to $4.3 million. That growth came despite a slight decline at the smaller Little Canada store, which was offset by a 10 percent jump in Richfield.

And in the first two months of 2009, sales are up at both stores: 6 percent in Richfield and 3 percent in Little Canada.

"As people pull back, they spend more time at home, so they're looking for home-oriented activities," said Todd Andersen, 50, Hub Hobby's CEO and co-owner with Bill Barker, 51. "And my gut feeling as a parent is that they tend to try and buffer their kids. So they're buying games and toys for the kids and the families."

Wendy Hammond, assistant manager of the Richfield store, put it simply: "Hobbies are therapy in a down economy."

Radio controls

Hub Hobby Center started in 1979, when Barker bought the business. At the time, it occupied fewer than 3,000 square feet and focused mainly on toy trains, model kits and slot cars.

But he soon latched onto the emerging craze of radio-controlled cars and planes, and began expanding the business, first into a 5,000-square-foot space in Richfield, a second store in Robbinsdale and the third store in Little Canada. The Robbinsdale space was closed in 1993.

The jump from hobby shop to superstore began in the mid-1990s with the addition of toys and games, most of which appealed to the male of the consumer species. And we're not talking just a smattering, but rather entire product lines.

Thus, the maze of floor-to-ceiling shelves showcase not only Hot Wheels for the kids but also a garage full of classic car models for Dad. Included is an Aston Martin V12 that sells for $449.99 and a Corvette C5R that goes for $930. I'm given to understand that otherwise rational adults are willing to pay such prices.

Then there's about 3,000 square feet of radio-controlled cars, planes and boats, not to mention a miniature Blade MCX helicopter that'll fly up and look you in the eye for a mere $130.

There are 500 to 600 board, card and other games; 28 feet of shelving just for jigsaw puzzles and six rows of Star Wars, Tiger Tanks and other model kits. Plus 80 feet of slot-car shelving, 50 feet of model rockets and 2,500 square feet of model railroad sets.

It wasn't long, until Andersen realized that the business was pretty much focused on just half the population. Which is why there are now about 2,500 square feet of doll houses, Magical Castle Fairy play sets and other items for young ladies. And 140 feet of eight-foot-high shelving filled with arts and crafts and beading and scrapbooking supplies for the moms.

The reason: While the store carries the latest, leading-edge lines of hobbies, toys and games, the business does not have an automated point-of-sale system. So how are inventory decisions made?

"They're pretty much based on empty shelves and the staff's instincts about what the next hot items will be," Andersen said.

It seems to be working.