The Backyard — The Times They Are A-Changing (In Distribution!)

Greetings all and Happy Friday!

If you’ve been paying even casual attention to the business side of the hobby over the last couple years, you’ve probably noticed the ground shifting beneath our feet — and not because your buddy finally upgraded to 4S. I’m talking about distribution. The “who gets product from who” part of the hobby that most consumers never think about, but that quietly determines what ends up on our shelves, on our workbenches, and in our shopping carts.

This week brought a big piece of news: AMain Hobbies announcing they are now the exclusive U.S. distributor for JConcepts. This news, along with them recently bringing several other brands under their umbrella, has given me reason to talk about it in this space.

In case you haven’t been watching them closely, AMain isn’t just a big West Coast retailer anymore — they’ve bulked up in every direction. With two major warehouses (one on each side of the country), they now have true national reach and quicker shipping. Add in the fact that they sell Traxxas products online — a massive traffic driver for any retailer — and it becomes obvious: AMain is positioning itself as a full-scale distribution powerhouse in the States.

And of course, you still have HRP Distribution — one of the longest-standing, broadest-reaching distributors in the U.S. hobby market. HRP has weathered trend cycles, brand shakeups, and industry shifts while maintaining a deep catalog and steady service to hobby shops nationwide. They’re not flashy, but they’re dependable, and in a landscape getting more turbulent by the year, that consistency counts for a lot.

Then there’s Horizon Hobby, which seems to be pulling more and more things under one roof lately. As rumors about their financial challenges continue to circulate, it’s not exactly surprising to see Horizon narrowing its focus to mostly its own brands and tightening up its distribution footprint. Whether it’s strategic consolidation or necessity, the effect is the same: Horizon today feels far more inward-focused than the expansive giant many of us have come to think of them as.

And finally, you’ve got the newest, fastest-growing players in the room: Motion RC, Fair RC, FMS Hobby and a handful of other global-first sellers pushing aggressively into the U.S. market. They aren’t distributors in the traditional sense — they’re hybrid retailer/importers with direct factory ties and serious online momentum. They move fast, their catalogs shift constantly, and they’re increasingly competing with legacy distributors and big-box hobby outlets on equal footing.

What we’re seeing is a move away from the old “manufacturer → distributor → hobby shop” pipeline toward something far more fluid. More exclusives. More direct-to-consumer. More global players. More hybrid models.

Is it good? Is it bad? Honestly… it’s a bit of both. But the biggest thing is that it’s new, and that alone is shaking things loose.

For hobby shops, it means staying nimble and building the right partnerships.
For consumers, it means more choice and more competition (usually good things).
For manufacturers, it’s a strategic decision: cast a wide net or keep a tight grip?

For me? I find it fascinating. The business side of RC has always had as much personality as the hobby itself, and watching these shifts in real time feels like we’re seeing the foundation being poured for the next decade.

We’re looking at a distribution landscape that’s dramatically different from what many of us grew up with — the days when places like Tower Hobbies effectively ruled the universe.

And who knows? Maybe all this change brings better availability, more innovation, and more companies fighting hard to earn our dollar. Competition has a way of doing that.

Until next time, keep it on all 4’s.