I crunched some numbers and it turns out that the tiny shop across from where I live that stays open 4 days out of the week has got to be costing GW at least 5000 a month. (15 dollars an hour 40 hours a week for single manager and at least 2500 for 1000-2000 sq. feet of store space)
I can't imagine that store having more than 10-20 regular customers since it only has three tables, and I can't see them pulling in more than 500-800 dollars a week. (averaging maybe 50-80 dollars a week per costumer)
Honestly, I'm kind of surprised they manage to stay in business. I'm starting to think that they named their business after their store managers yearly salary, hence the recent drop to 30k...
Games Workshop stores are a good idea IMHO. They bite the bullet that other FLGS can't bite by (im my case) opening a store in the downtown where no other place could open(since the rent is absurd). I've played a couple of games in that store and I see new faces constantly coming in because of the big space marine and asking wtf are we doing. (That's how I started a couple of months ago)
They're keeping the hobby alive.
>>47691508
Yes, the bricks and mortar stores eat most of the money that GW brings in. In the pre-internet era they were a perfectly viable business strategy, but not any more. They account for about half of all sales, but more than half the expenses (not counting the development and manufacturing costs of the miniatures themselves), and a lot more than half of the employees. I personally believe that if GW is to thrive in the long-term, they will need to divest themselves of their stores.
>>47692057
people need a place to play, and they can't do that at home.
I just don't see how they manage to turn a profit at all, is what I'm saying.
>>47692360
The stores are assessed on how many starter sets they sell, if you want to help them out buy a getting started box.
>>47692360
Oh I agree, but I don't think that stores which are beholden to a mother company with no ability to diversify their income stream have any future. GW's efforts and money would be better spent in properly supporting FLGSs to carry and promote their range, in the way that WotC and FFG do. It's shitloads cheaper to provide that support than run the stores themselves, and if a store is failing to make money then GW isn't on the hook for it. It's not like small 1-man stores are particularly ideal for attracting people to the hobby anyway. Instead of the concerns of managing an army of redshirts and a mountain of expensive retail property leases, the company would be concerned solely with the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of miniatures (which is plenty to be doing). Running gaming stores is a costly distraction from the company's primary business.
>>47692360
Unfortunately most stores are one-man now and aren't really a place to play anymore. They'll have a demo table and maybe one playspace table if they were originally a bunker, but good luck getting the space, at least in my own experience.
>>47691508
>go to store to play
>manager says its a rule that you have to use the tables in the front of the store
>his clique are all the way in the back playing on whatever table they want
Well, fuck you too mister.
>>47692360
You don't play wargames at home?
>>47692057
>I personally believe that if GW is to thrive in the long-term, they will need to divest themselves of their stores.
>have a product whose sales depend on the existence of a gaming community
>destroy that community by getting rid of their meeting place
Getting rid of the physical stores would be incredibly short sighted in the long term. If you look at them as simply a way of selling GW's product then they may be inefficient, but really their value is in community building and marketing. There are plenty of people who buy from the online store because it may be cheaper and more convenient for them who probably would never have got into the hobby in the first place if they hadn't been invited to a gaming night at a local store.
Simply taking a look at the numbers each store brings in in revenue from sales, and comparing it to the cost of maintaining the store, is an incredibly simplistic and inaccurate way of judging their overall value to the company.you wouldn't happen to be one of GW's financial advisers, would you?
>>47692360
Why can't you play at home? I have two 4x6 tables in my basement at home.
>>47692057
Funny how they seem to completely dick on independent stores who want to sell GW stock though isn't it? I always found that weird.
The GW stores have such a bad reputation, that in many cases GW would be better of closing them, and courting a nearby flgs to do their bidding.
GW leadership is so far out of touch, its hard to imagine where they'll be in 5 years.
But OP, they'd make more money if they didn't make the hobby so expensive nobody wants to get into it
I have three 40k armies and have literally only given GW £30, the rest is proxy and second hand
>>47693673
Some people can some people can't.
Here are some situations that's could preclude people from doing it:
>living in a smaller apartment
>spouse doesn't want random people coming over
>you might not want random gamers coming over
>don't have a board and terrain
>have small kids - they nap and go to bed early
>live far away from the community
>limited parking
Sure, for some people it's a gr at option, for others it just isn't the way they game.
>>47693802
Probably a combination of arrogance and a desire to crowd out the competition - they like being the only game in town, and they can guarantee more sales from a GW than a FLGS - and we know their leadership, at least under Kirby, was exceedingly arrogant
>>47693631
That's why you redirect the investment towards supporting third party retailers, who are able to diversify and adapt so that they can run stores large enough to game in. Tiny 1-man shops with only a couple of tables aren't going to do anything to build the hobby, but larger ones are unable to survive selling GW product alone.
>>47693902
It's literally a case of hurting themselves by way of their own greed. The market has changed, there is a lot of competition now. Shunning a multi-game store in favor of "In print GW product only!"stores - that just eliminates a significant number of potential customers.
Blinded by greed is an old addage for a reason.
>>47693902
What do you guys actually mean by "supporting" third party stores? Paying them extra? Mutual advertising? What?
>>47694504
Apparently, GW charge massively for the right to stock their product
>>47694552
Not just charging, there's a large amount of very controlling conditions placed upon anyone wishing to stock their stuff in a physical or digital store, that make it actually a not great prospect without there being a garuntee'd market. Plus yanno, that whole thing with GW using whoever was succeeding at selling their stuff as a marker to put their own store down and just out-compete them at selling their own stuff.
>>47693859
See, I'd quite happily get back into 40K or WHFB if the minis were cheaper. I didn't mind paying big bucks for Dark Vengeance as a one-off purchase but when they're asking (correct me if I'm wrong here) £20 for five plastic thingummybobs then I'm not gonna bite and I'll be off to Ebay instead or look for cheap proxies. Now if it was £10 per box then I'd be more willing to look
>>47694504
GWs policy to third party shops is weird. Some of it makes sense (like you need to actually be a shop so no reselling for cheaps on the net) others is just dumb. If you go the GW webshop, you find products listed as webshop only. These are usually not in the shop. In a GW shop you can order them through a terminal and its getting shipped there for free.
Non GW shops are only allowed to order a small amount of them. There are some videos, related to it, by former GW resellers who complained about it. However things might be different today.
>>47695010
I wouldn't neccesarily say that the individual model cost is what makes the price so bad, but the sheer amount of minis (And the size of them) that you need to play a game. If they moved the scale down to something like Bolt Action then it would be much more economicle.
