Online toy company with Charlotte HQ to buy world’s largest retail hobby franchise

Catherine Muccigrosso
·2 min read
9

An online toy company with its East Coast headquarters in Charlotte is moving into the brick-and-mortar world, and has agreed to purchase the largest retail hobby franchise in the world.

AMain Hobbies, which also has a 50,000-square-foot distribution center in southwest Charlotte, has agreed to buy HobbyTown, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, with 106 retail stores in 35 states. Both companies specialize in radio-controlled cars, trucks, boats, helicopters and airplanes, as well as drones, specialty toys and games.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to be completed by late summer, were not disclosed by the privately-held companies.

While adding retail stores, the deal also means AMain Hobbies will now have three distribution centers to reach wholesale and retail customers faster, according to the company. AMain’s West Coast headquarters is in Chico, California, where it also has a 50,000-square-foot distribution center, plus two retail stores. The company was founded in 2004.

Online retailer AMain Hobbies with a distribution center and East Coast headquarters in Charlotte is buying HobbyTown, the largest hobby specialty retail chain in the world. Shown is a recent AMain event.
Online retailer AMain Hobbies with a distribution center and East Coast headquarters in Charlotte is buying HobbyTown, the largest hobby specialty retail chain in the world. Shown is a recent AMain event.

AMain.com Inc. was formed in North Carolina in 2019, according to state business registration records.

Charlotte was one of three cities in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia that AMain considered to be able to fulfill customer and retailer orders in two days or less, according to the company. Charlotte was chosen because of its taxes, talent pool and quality of life for employees moving from California, AMain said.

AMain has 42 employees in Charlotte. AMain and HobbyTown combined have 245 employees, not including workers at each franchise store, according to AMain.

AMain Hobbies has 42 employees at its southwest Charlotte distribution center.
AMain Hobbies has 42 employees at its southwest Charlotte distribution center.

About AMain and HobbyTown

With more than 100 HobbyTown franchise stores, it’s the largest brick-and-mortar hobby retailer in the world, according to the company’s website.

“We want to create a space where enthusiasts can come together, discover new things, learn and connect with others,” AMain Hobbies CEO Kendall Bennett said in a statement Wednesday.

HobbyTown, founded nearly 40 years ago, has four stores in North Carolina, including in Mooresville, as well as one in Columbia, according to HobbyTown’s website.

AMain Hobbies began shipping its toys and games, including radio-controlled cars and airplanes, from its Charlotte distribution center at 9348 D Ducks Lane in fall 2019.
AMain Hobbies began shipping its toys and games, including radio-controlled cars and airplanes, from its Charlotte distribution center at 9348 D Ducks Lane in fall 2019.

“Brick-and-mortar stores are vital to the hobby industry,” AMain Hobbies Chief Financial Officer Kevin Kiser said in a statement Wednesday.

AMain has an RC track, Silver Dollar RC Raceway, an outdoor state-of-the-art RC raceway in Chico and hosted the 2013 IFMAR Worlds race event. Last year, AMain Hobbies supported or sponsored more than 200 events worldwide.