Champaign-Based Hobbico Files For Bankruptcy, May Seek Buyer

Champaign-based Hobbico says it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and will look into a possible sale of the company.

Hobbico bills itself as the nation’s largest distributor of radio controlled and other hobby products, from model trains to drones.

But company officials say in a news release that an increasingly competitive industry and mounting debt require it to file for bankruptcy, and also explore a possible sale of the company.

Hobbico President Louis Brownstone said in the release that steps taken to date “did not sufficiently address our challenges and we decided to pursue a Chapter 11 reorganization and attempt to attract new capital investment.”

Meanwhile, the News-Gazette reports that Hobbico has sent a notice to employees telling them that mass layoffs, if they happen, could start in April,  affecting 332 workers at its Champaign-Urbana facilities.

The newspaper says the letters to employees were sent in accordance with state law requiring employers to give notice 60 days before any planned mass layoffs.

Hobbico has five facilities in Champaign-Urbana. It also employs workers at facilities in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, in Reno, Nevada; Penrose, Colorado; Mission Viejo, California; as well as Great Britain and Germany.