We're taking a break from the shows next year...

[Leon]

We've been taking a look at the viability of the shows for a while now and we've decided to take a break from the show circuit in 2026.  Between me and Dave we've been attending them for 33 years now, racking up about 600 events between the two of us!

Why?
This is mainly due to the health issues I've explained here: https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,23911.0.html , but also because the cost of attending the shows (cost of sales, hotels, stands and travel), plus the annual cost of the van, means that there's very little left for the time and effort that goes into them.  This year we'll be away for 29 days in total, and we'll spend a similar amount of time getting the van packed/unpacked before and after the events, so it's 2 months of the year in total.

Can't you just do less shows?
We did consider only doing a few shows, but the relative cost of the van would then become a lot higher per show.

Could you hire a van instead?
We could but then we'd need to find storage for the full show stand, as it currently lives in the van between shows.  We'd also have to get it out and restocked from scratch every time, which is a big job.

Isn't that a big of a gamble?
It is indeed, the shows are fantastic for meeting new people and getting to chat to customers, so we may lose out on a lot of visibility.  But sometimes it's good to try something different and we'll be able to use it as a bit of an experiment.

What will you be doing with all of that reclaimed time?
As many folks will be aware, we've got a huge backlog of projects here so we'll be able to focus on those, along with a myriad of other exciting things:

- Getting all of the new releases sorted and out there.
- Running events in the shop more regularly.
- Getting some extra income streams in place, like new lines in the shop or rules expansions.
- Building our online presence through YouTube.
- Maybe attending some shows with just a game, to demo some of our rulesets.

What about your own show?
Battleground won't be affected, we'll still be running our local show!  We might not have a proper stand there ourselves, but we could look at taking some of the shop display racks along.  The good news is that we'll be able to focus solely on the event and keep building it up.


Getting out and about to see everyone is a real highlight and it'll be very weird to not see folks next year.  But we've still got four events left in 2025 where we'll see loads of you, and we'll always be available online, on the phone, or in our shop.

[Steve J]

Thanks for the 'heads up' on this and the reasons behind it, which are completely understandable.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

It sounds like a reasonable plan.

[sunjester]

This makes sense, especially given your personal circumstances. There was a constant debate as to whether shows were becoming unaffordable when I was on the show circuit, and that's 15+ years ago!

[fsn]

Understandable, if sad.

I have attended the St Helens show on and off for quite a while. Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems less busy every year.

If you're not going to attend shows, then please can we have the Pendraken Calendar so I can be constantly reminded of the wonderful people who feed my habit?       

[DecemDave]

You know way more than I do about running trade stands and this wont solve the health issue but you could be visible without taking the entire contents of the shop and workshop with you each time.  I was tempted to the small side initially not by 100 feet of Pendraken racks of goodness but just a small display case at a York show with painted Kallistra figures looking incredible and showing what could be done.   

[sultanbev]

"Building our online presence through YouTube."

That's an interesting comment, as I've recently seen an uptick in assorted model shops doing regular YT videos. So it's certainly a thing.

[Deedles]

Perfectly sensible. More time at HQ will surely help with extra time to focus on business profit opportunities . End if the day its that balance of time/cost v benefit , anhd its not enough of benefit . Given the health impacts it can only be a positive.

[Wonderdog]

Just means more time to finish editing Future War Commander right?

[Leon]

Thanks for all the positive comments, I think freeing up that much time is going to make a huge difference to our internal progress and we'll have loads of new things for everyone.

I was tempted to the small side initially not by 100 feet of Pendraken racks of goodness but just a small display case at a York show with painted Kallistra figures looking incredible and showing what could be done.   

We've chatted about taking a display game to some of the shows instead, as a different way of getting our products out there, so hopefully we can figure something out there and still be able to tempt in new 10mm gamers.

That's an interesting comment, as I've recently seen an uptick in assorted model shops doing regular YT videos. So it's certainly a thing.

It's something I've been wanting to do for ages now, we've actually built a proper video studio for it as well.  I did start a few test videos but wasn't happy with them, so I need to make a few adjustments and try them again.

Just means more time to finish editing Future War Commander right?

Indeed!

[Roy]

Leon, is that first link meant to just go to the forum menu, or to your thread titled "A Personal Note"?

For those readers who've not read the above mentioned, other post, here's a link

https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,23911.0.html

I just thought it odd that you referenced another post and given a link, but it went to the main menu. Apologies if I've got it wrong, as I don't mean to overstep myself.

[Roy]

In all honesty, and I've been saying this to my family for a number of years now, after having seen the power of the Internet to bring in trade to wargames companies during Covid after they've increased their online presence, I don't know why more don't concentrate on Internet interaction rather than trading at shows (not that I'm an expert, nor involved in any business).

Doing the Internet-side of a wargames business's visibility is still time consuming and hard work (I know from the little experience I had doing it) but it has the benefits of being able to be done at home (or the office) while in your pyjamas and being close to the fridge.

Anyway. Great post Leon. And thank you for giving your reasons and explanations - it allows people like me to live vicariously as a wargames business person.

[Roy]

Leon, is that first link meant to just go to the forum menu, or to your thread titled "A Personal Note"?

For those readers who've not read the above mentioned, other post, here's a link

https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,23911.0.html

I just thought it odd that you referenced another post and given a link, but it went to the main menu. Apologies if I've got it wrong, as I don't mean to overstep myself.

Ah. Apologies.

Just discovered that links don't work when not signed in to the forum. Hence why I ended up at the main menu when I first attempted the link.

Sorrrrrry 

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Just checked, worked for me....

[fred.]

Given the health update, I do support the not attending shows approach, and the view to using you tube and other online options for marketing. 

One thing that did occur to me over shows, is that the value of the show isn't just on the £s taken on the day. Its a few things 
1) What sales are made on the day of the show (but you should subtract the sales to customers like me, who would have bought anyway)
2) And new customers who find you at the show for the first time, and not just what they buy on the day, but what they buy over the following years

It's 2 that has the potential to be the most important, and not sure if there is anyway to actually calculate this. And in these days I'm not sure realistically how many wargamers first come across a manufacture for the first time at a show vs other sources. 

I'm now thinking how did I first know about Pendraken, and I'm not sure. Might have been through the BKC rules, I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't through a show. 

[Phaid_Knott]

When we ran a show (I'll not name where to protect the guilty) it was organised by a club member who was also a manufacturer. He would take into account the "type" of customers who came to the show (it was more of a historical even than a sci-fi/fantasy) and then invite the various Traders in a mix between how long they had been waiting for a space and the type of thing they sold (he tended to not invite the resellers as they didn't bring anything new to the show for the cutomer, plus we had the Bring and Buy for such things) as well as if they were local or not. He also ensured that any new Traders at the show weren't in direct competition with the existing Traders at the show (so a Trader selling a different range and scale could be invited instead), Lastly (and probably most importantly) he maintained the view that customers at a show would bring X amount of quid to a show, so inviting too many Traders just spread that spend out directly hitting the profits for the day (instead the possible Trader space went to Demos and Participation games.

Of course all this was "pre-internet" days, so for most customers it was turn up at a wargames show to see the miniatures or rely on a magazine advert and paying by cheque and relying on the vagaries of the Royal Mail. As he was well known by the various Traders he knew who to invite and who not to (as they could be a pain). The one thing I DO remember was we the club members moving the Traders into the hall and nearly getting a hernia by moving Irregular Miniatures (they had a wide range and thus a LOT of stuff). Plus we always made sure that the event had the Cafe open before the doors were open so the Traders (and Club Members) could grab a well deserved bacon buttie and a cup of tea/coffee before the chaos started when we opened the doors. I think these types of shows have begun to get a lot smaller in customers through the door (particularly with the historical side of things) due to the shift to sci-fi/fantasy (and all things GW) but mostly due to the ease of buying things online these days. I would say sometimes the organisers just invite whoever was next on the list (leading to ranks of resellers) which mainly sell discounted GW stuff and don't perhaps have the time and "insider knowledge" to organise the smaller shows. All this can affect the take for the day for the Traders, and with the costs ever spiralling it's no wonder that profit margins are squeezed to a point where that Traders are effectively doing the show for little or no gain (as well as there being one organised every single weekemd). This all ended up as a wall of text  

[Scolty]

Many thanks Leon for your very open description of your health issues. As I get older it is very clear and, I hark back to my dear old Scots granny, that your health comes first! I will miss seeing you at the Scottish shows, however I look forward to the new and exciting developments to come. I would also concur with what Fred said above in that I can't remember how I first came into contact with Pendraken (over 20 years ago!) and that it was probably on the web rather than at a Show.

[meconicuk]

If you're not going to attend shows,I think you should concentrate on promoting your individual ranges by making quality YouTube videos, showing off the individual figures/units/scenery, and the rulesets in use in a wargame. 

[Leon]

When we ran a show ... He would take into account the "type" of customers who came to the show (it was more of a historical even than a sci-fi/fantasy) and then invite the various Traders in a mix between how long they had been waiting for a space and the type of thing they sold.

There are some shows that still do this but it does rely on them having a large enough waiting list to be able to curate it a little.  Partizan and Hammerhead are good examples, as well as York maybe, but I think the others have struggled in recent years to get the traders along, for various reasons. 

We do similar with Battleground, I always try to bring in traders who are offering something new or different, with preference given to manufacturers. 

The visitor numbers per trader is something that some shows need to consider a bit more.  I've found 20ppt (people per trader!) is the tipping point, so below that and you're going to struggle to get the sales.  Something like Salute (7000 visitors / 130 traders) is over 50ppt but the costs of getting there need a high return like that.  Shows like Partizan, Hammerhead and York are getting over 30ppt I think.  As Battleground has grown, I'll only add one extra trader for every 25 extra people through the door, to hopefully keep moving the 'ppt' upwards.

If you're not going to attend shows,I think you should concentrate on promoting your individual ranges by making quality YouTube videos, showing off the individual figures/units/scenery, and the rulesets in use in a wargame. 

That's going to be a big part of next year, so previews of new ranges, showcases of particular ranges/lines, tutorials for all of our MDF products, that kind of thing.  Rules demo videos would be good too, but a bit of a logistical challenge as the author is at the other end of the country.

[fred.]

There are solutions to having parties to a video in different locations. Just needs a bit more editing. 

Some rules demo videos are far too literal videos of a game and as such can be quite painful to watch. 

Videoing the game locally -  where you have the good lighting etc. then adding a commentary over the top from the author could work well

Other things I'd look at are reviews from bloggers. There are loads of these for plastic kits - but no reason not to do similar for your ranges. Especially if you group or package things up a bit along a theme. There's no need for it just to be the latest releases. Or can be new stuff along with some back catalogue items. 

You have so much breadth to ranges that awareness of them all is challenging.