GW Half-year Report

[fred.]

Carrying direct competition would be brave. It depends how much you think your marketing - i.e. that there is only GW works.

I was thinking as a first step carrying broader gaming stuff, that isn't in direct competition, things like Carcassonne, Settlers etc, or Collectable Card Games.

[Leon]

Carrying direct competition would be brave. It depends how much you think your marketing - i.e. that there is only GW works.

I was thinking as a first step carrying broader gaming stuff, that isn't in direct competition, things like Carcassonne, Settlers etc, or Collectable Card Games.

Possibly, a start would be to allow the shop managers the freedom to bring in products / do things they think would add sales/interest to the stores depending on local interest/trends.  Currently they seem to be treated like automatons, given a set of instructions and expected to follow them to the letter.  It wouldn't have to be rival products to start with, as you say card or board games could be options.

[raykey]

Popped into Bristol since I last posted to find GW had closed  the shop in the town centre so I  found I would have  to then go to Cribbs Causeway where they have a large cupboard, sorry economically sized shop so I thought sod it and went for a pint instead

[DanJ]

That would be Part 2 of my 'Fix GW' plan, where we would start to acknowledge the wider wargaming community and companies

But the GW model has for more than 25 years refused to acknowledge that there is any alternative to GW, they have been selling 'The GamesWorkshop Hobby' for so long they probably can't change the mind set now, it would simply be too radical a step for them.

[toxicpixie]

Yup, that's their key issue - it's not "A" hobby, it's "THE" hobby. The money has assumed that's always going to be a constant and have tried (pretty successfully until now) to reinforce and capitalise on that for maximum profits. That they've had some great game designers and excellent product (and some duff) along the way has only been a bonus. Unfortunately, that model now doesn't work - other games and manufacturers are doing the same thing cheaper to the customer, can distribute and sell and advertise almost as easily and much cheaper for their costs and GW have responded in the most short term, worst possible way - they've closed down anything that's not immediately profitable, hiked prices and driven more churn in background and rules to try and force users to buy in again and again at ever higher prices.

Which given there's now any number of alternatives, gets fewer and fewer core players and just exacerbates the loss of the purchasing base each time :/

[Luddite]

Agreed pixie.

OF course we all know that the GW business model hasn't always been that way.  They started out essentially distributing games (mainly RPGs and boardgames) imported from the US, so somewhere in the deepest bowels of GW there must be a memory of that time.

I guess their problem now would be the generally bad relationship thay have with the rest of the hobby; having enthusiatically wielded the C&D-hammer, and generally treated possible allies (like independent stores) pretty poorly.

I know many people have been saying it for years, but it really does look like the GW Empire is on the wane. 
As with all empires its collapsing from within (and in this case the fish very much is rotting from the head) and the 'barbarians' are capturing the territory it can no longer hold. 

There are many reason why this is a bad thing, but it also opens opportunities for other companies to take market share.

I guess for Pendraken, this would be picking up the Warmaster crowd?  But hasn't that largely collapsed since GW ditched the fantasy and screwed down on the historical (including sticking the boot into Rick Priestley)?

[Orcs]

I were in charge of GW

It would shift to predominantly 10mm miniatures. they would retail at £40 for a warmaster size unit.  Generals would be £5 each and vehicles £10.

Leon would have a gold plated Xbox,  Dave would be drivings a Rolls and Adelle would be a kept woman covered in diamonds !!

Meanwile us poor forum members would be selling our wives and children to feed our lead addiction  

[FierceKitty]

What am I bid for Ian? Do I hear 1 Vietnamese Dong? Payable over twenty years in installments? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a vaguely anthropomorphic automaton that says "No Aztecs" as frequently as French people say "service extra"?

[Orcs]

What am I bid for Ian? Do I hear 1 Vietnamese Dong? Payable over twenty years in installments? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a vaguely anthropomorphic automaton that says "No Aztecs" as frequently as French people say "service extra"?

FK I think that rather then try to sell Ian you need to give him away with a VERY LARGE dowry.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK. NO AZTECS


Leon, please block all votes for chocolate bars.....

IanS

[Leman]

Can you still get classics like Aztec and Old Jamaica?

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

I suspect that the Aztec was taken off sale as it was a complete rip off of the Mars Bar....

Now there's a solution - cast the Aztecs on Mars......


IanS 

[Orcs]

Now there's a solution - cast the Aztecs on Mars......


IanS 

I suspect we will have colonised Mars by the time we have 10mm Aztecs

[FierceKitty]

I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK.

IanS

Who's got the code book?

[Hertsblue]

In which language?