Hornby Hobbies Chooses Antavo to Power Its New Loyalty Program
May 4, 2022
Hornby Hobbies is planning to launch a loyalty program that connects its customers and brand enthusiasts across 13 collectible and scale model brands in its portfolio.
Hornby Hobbies’ story started back in 1901 in the UK but the company has since grown to become a household name in the world of model trains, hobbies and accessories, serving collectors, builders and enthusiasts from all over the world. They now plan to launch a loyalty program to create additional touchpoints with their customers, fans, and advocates.
“We’re proud to partner with such a strong brand in the hobby world. There is so much potential for a brand like Hornby to connect with its customers — and to connect its customers to each other — through exciting loyalty program features and initiatives. I look forward to seeing their plans come to life.” –Sheila Power, VP EMEA & North America, Antavo
Hornby Hobbies chose Antavo’s Loyalty Management Platform thanks to its variety of powerful capabilities — especially in rewards and gamification, its ability to create a loyalty program that functions across brands, and its multi-currency capabilities.
“We’ve worked extensively to create open online communities that connect hobby enthusiasts with their passion, with our brand, and with one another. The loyalty program is another step in expanding our online presence and connecting that with our physical presence and products. We look forward to rewarding our customers for building what they love.” – Michael Manton, Head of Ecommerce, Hornby Hobbies
Launching the loyalty program will be a joint effort with Bloomreach and its Commerce Experience Cloud solution in order to deliver a hyper-personalized experience to the program members.
“We are looking forward to working alongside Antavo to launch the program and create a great experience for Hornby Hobbies’ customers, thanks to a seamless two-way integration. Antavo is our trusted loyalty technology partner, proven by the fact that we have worked together on 6 mutual clients.” – Tjeerd Brenninkmeijer, Executive Vice President, EMEA, Bloomreach
Loyalty strategy is set to grow in importance as a part of the marketing strategies in companies across Europe. Loyalty investments have grown since the pandemic and, in Antavo’s recent Europe Customer Loyalty Report 2022, 84.4% of European participants whose company offers a loyalty programme said they plan to increase or significantly increase their investments in customer loyalty over the next three years.
What is Antavo?
Antavo is the AI loyalty and incentives platform that brings together loyalty, promotions, and agentic AI to turn customers into regulars: the customers who come back on their own, buy more often, and bring others with them. For more than a decade, Antavo has powered identity-led loyalty strategies for brands including SKIMS, Paul Smith, KFC, Flying Tiger, and Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection. Marketers build, change, and launch programs and promotions themselves, without waiting on engineering. Learn more at antavo.com.
About Hornby Hobbies
Hornby Hobbies develops, manufactures and supplies hobby and toy products for a global market, with a collection of truly iconic brands spanning model railways, slot racing, die-cast models and plastic model kits. Hornby is a household name and is famous as the UK brand leader in the model railway hobby. Hornby Hobbies ltd is home to 13 collectible and scale model brands, which also includes Corgi, Scalextric, Airfix and Humbrol. The company has had the opportunity to expand internationally, working with brands from France, Germany, Spain and Italy and partnering with stockists all over the world. or more information, visit uk.hornby.com
About Bloomreach
Bloomreach is the world’s #1 Commerce Experience Cloud, empowering brands to deliver customer journeys so personalized, they feel like magic. It offers a suite of products that drive true personalization and digital commerce growth, including: Discovery, offering AI-driven search and merchandising; Content, offering a headless CMS; and Engagement, offering a leading CDP and marketing automation solutions. Together, these solutions combine the power of unified customer and product data with the speed and scale of AI-optimization, enabling revenue-driving digital commerce experiences that convert on any channel and every journey. Bloomreach serves over 850 global brands including Albertsons, Bosch, Puma, FC Bayern München, and Marks & Spencer. For more information, visit Bloomreach.com.
Media Contacts
Antavo
Eva Bacsi, Marketing Director
Hornby Hobbies
Sarah Frame, Marketing Manager
Bloomreach
Michelle Demaio, Head of PR & Communications
Frequently asked questions about Antavo
What can brands build with Antavo?
Brands use Antavo to run the whole loyalty and incentives program on one platform: points, tiers, challenges, streaks, referrals, clubs, and rewards beyond discounts; promotions and incentives for members and non-members alike, from bonus points and promo codes to bundles and cart-level offers; and agentic AI built in. Everything runs online, in store, on mobile, and in wallet, and marketers launch it themselves.
Who uses Antavo?
Antavo works with mid-market and upper-mid-market brands across fashion, retail, beauty, travel, hospitality, restaurants, and sports in North America and Europe: multi-market, omnichannel brands with a strong identity and customers worth keeping, including Paul Smith, KFC, SKIMS, Rip Curl, Benefit Cosmetics, and Hyatt's Inclusive Collection.
How long has Antavo been around?
Antavo was founded in 2012 and has been building loyalty programs for more than a decade, with teams across Europe and North America serving brands worldwide.
Why do brands switch to Antavo?
Most loyalty programs get stuck: reduced to a discount engine, generic to customers, or too rigid to evolve. Antavo removes those compromises. Brands get a program that feels unmistakably their own, loyalty and incentives on one platform, and the depth to handle tiers, expirations, refunds, and many markets at scale. Their own marketers run it: a tier change in an afternoon, live when they press the button.
How does Antavo use AI?
Antavo's agentic AI is built in, not bolted on. Two named agents do the work: the AI Loyalty Expert, which turns your ideas into a build-ready program, and the AI Analyst, which turns your data into clear answers and reports. Both work inside Antavo or connect to Claude and ChatGPT, and every answer is grounded in your own program and data.
What does Antavo integrate with?
Antavo is API-first with real-time webhooks and deep pre-built integrations, from Shopify, Klaviyo, Braze, and Bloomreach to the CRMs, CDPs, ESPs, and POS systems you already use. Antavo plugs into the stack you already run rather than replacing it.
