Wargaming, the weak Pound and .....Brexit

[Sunray]

Lots of American tourists in the UK at present.  Free Nesters enjoying the strong US dollar.

I wonder if this has increased US sales with Pendraken ?

Against that the raw material is not mined in Durham, so is there an increase in the white metal costs as the Pound falls?

We have a good coterie of European gamers in the forum.  Are they buying up before the unknown of a potential no deal Brexit ?

I spend a week with a local Federation of Small Business.  Forward planning is impossible.

Now - without bringing the toxicity of Brexit Politics into the Forum, can we have an adult discussion as to how these changes impact our hobby?

[petercooman]

I just made an order to pick up at crisis.

Other than that, i don't really order more now as i do otherwise.

Must admit i'm a bit worried about the crisis show itself. Hope traders don't stay home. Studio miniatures already made an announcement that they want to take as much pre order as they can because they don't know how much stock they can bring to the show, and brigade models states 'if brexit allows it' next to their crisis entry in their 'upcoming shows' section.

[Leon]

Sales outside the EU have increased hugely this summer, August was the busiest we've ever had and it's mostly large orders from the US (as well as some larger than usual UK orders as well).  The cost of the metal fluctuates quite a lot anyway so it's about the same each month.  There was a spike following the vote in 2016 where it jumped about 20% in a month, but it's slowly dropped back down to a reasonable level.

As for Crisis, I'm not sure what's going to happen there.  I'm sure I've read that even with a No-Deal that we're still in the customs union until January 2021 at the earliest, so the traders travelling this year and 2020 shouldn't have to worry about the VAT impact on taking their stock across any new border checks.  It's more likely to be travelling delays and disruption for this year with it being so close to the Oct 31st deadline, but those should be ironed out by 2020 (you would hope!)

[petercooman]

I hope it's not a problem but we will see.

Just to be safe, i already sent 4 pre orders out for what i need 

[FierceKitty]

Maybe I should get my Vikings orders done while the balance remains favourable.

[Sunray]

Maybe I should get my Vikings orders done while the balance remains favourable.

Buy like there is no tomorrow.   The consensus is the Pound is too weak.  But the traders won't budget until EU-UK relations sorted as things too uncertain.
As for Brexit.  A no deal would be disastrous.  The paperwork for Leon attending  "Crisis" would be the same if the show were held in Moscow !

I sat last week and looked at the ATA certs, the MRN and EORI docs all needed to "export" from a non EU state into the EU.

[Techno]

Hmmmmm.....

I can see this thread causing some arguments !

I can quite understand James' thoughts.....But I don't want to see a Pro/Anti Brexit discussion starting....It'll just cause a lot of bad feelings.

Cheers - Phil

[petercooman]

As long as we keep it wargame related we should be fine i guess.

Had an aswer today to one of my pre orders , and again with 'if brexit allows it". All arguments aside, it's sad that our hobby can potentially suffer from this. A lot of these small scale bussinesses don't earn a lot as it stands now but just manage to float by adding a lot of hours and passion for the hobby in to it.

Like i said to the man from the preorder : politicians do politics, and we usually pay the bill!

[Dr Dave]

A pal of mine owns a Wargames company with employees. He sees the weak £ as good. Overall he sees Brexit as good for his company and staff. 

[mollinary]

A pal of mine owns a Wargames company with employees. He sees the weak £ as good. Overall he sees Brexit as good for his company and staff. 

I genuinely hope he is right - I fear he is not.

[Dr Dave]

I genuinely hope he is right - I fear he is not.

I think his biggest market place is the USA.

[Sunray]

Hmmmmm..... :-

I can see this thread causing some arguments !

I can quite understand James' thoughts.....But I don't want to see a Pro/Anti Brexit discussion starting....It'll just cause a lot of bad feelings.

Cheers - Phil

As I said in the opening remarks Phil, we are not discussion the pros and cons of Brexit - just a an adult debate about how Brexit may impact wargaming.
The weak pound is not just because of Brexit, but the hassle in the Gulf and because Crude Oil is sold in dollars

James

[Techno]

That's absolutely fine, James. 

As long as it 'stays here', as far as the discussion goes, there won't be any problem, at all.

Cheers - Phil

[Steve J]

For myself, not a lot as I don't buy stuff from the US and Europe, with the shipping costs of the former always prohibitive.  Plus I have my lead mountain to tide me over for a good few decades at my painting rate .

[Sunray]

That's absolutely fine, James. 

As long as it 'stays here', as far as the discussion goes, there won't be any problem, at all.

Cheers - Phil

Absolutely Phil.  Like the Fed Small Business Group I facilitate, we leave our "remain" and "leave" hats at the door.   And focus on how decisions way beyond our control will impact on the Wargame business/hobby.

I had concerns for example, about the whitemetal  that Pendraken moulds into figures. What is the country of origin?  If its outside the EU or a member.  Leon has clarified that the price does fluctuate, but Pendraken can't just absorb hikes in raw material.   Post Brexit there may be a mega rise in paperwork to shift good to Europe.

I am also aware of Government funding to help business prep.   The British Chambers of Commerce (Middlesbrough) should be able - once the politicians make the decision - to advise regarding "Crisis" and if couched as a "Trade Show to retain traction/market share in Europe" should even be able to offer fiscal assistance.