Friday 12 September 2014

What GW should do - "Think Different"

In case you didn't know I've bought Citadel Miniatures and GW products since the late 80's. I also have a blog, it's quite cool you can view it here. Those two facts alone qualify me to make 'suggestions' to Games Workshop and their subsidiaries in how they can grow their company/improve their products. So, free of charge I will be sharing some of my sage business advice to them and just you wait as 'we're bound to see them take forward my ideas with gusto. Of note though is that I started this article way back when and may have begun to disagree with myself along the way but I'm loathe to delete it, especially when I've nothing hobbywise worth sharing at the moment thus you must endure my ramblings.

By all accounts GW believes it's hit upon the most successful formula for their stores - the one staffer run shop. They seem to think it offers the best returns for their investment and I can see why but I think they need to look at a retailer with massive success, a similar fanatical customer base and similar 'drop-in' sensibility to their stores - Apple no less. Of course their markets are wildly different but in some respects Apple has made the stores greater than their wares. 100s of people go in, not necessarily to buy but just to be in store. GW has less 'footfall' but with the added dimension of getting people inside to participate in hobby aspects for potentially longer periods of time.

However, as you can see this:



or this:


Seems a very different prospect to this:






Obviously Apple has a lot less stock to sell and as filled as the GW store looks back in the 80s/90s this would have been practically empty of stock given the rack upon rack of blister packs. But surely there is something they can do to try and lift the look and feel? A quick look around google images shows a variety to their stores, with some having faux castle battlements but the predominant motif seems to be black. Now black is cool, all the kids will tell you and maybe black is the perfect colour for GW and it fits their logo better than anything else but there's an oppressive and dated feel to it [maybe even that iconic logo too for that matter] that I think could be improved. But it may be ideal for their 12-25 male target audience.

However, recent changes to their books have shown a shift to white in places to make some of the artwork standout and it's not like Star Wars Stormtroopers or White Scars for that matter get a raw deal for not being black.

Maybe it's the lack of space, but square footage comes at a premium and despite the healthy returns on a Finecast I can't see GW investing in bigger premises with one guy overseeing quite the way Apple does. However, this image by Dave Jessup from the G+ TableTop Fan Community shows that you CAN make a game store look not entirely unlike an Apple Store. This looks quite stylish, quite cool, a place I'd not only happily hang out in but be intrigued to go into.


One other issue is the Disney Store greeting that you get from the staff. Don't get me wrong, I like having a chat with the store managers but I think that "how can I help you today?" or "so, what brings you here?" faux American service industry needs to reassert it's own British identity that can engage with customers but not be immediately in your face with fake sincerity.


They need to create a more enticing atmosphere that will draw curious and nerdy onlookers inside. Maybe they even need to look again at their food/bevarage policy and have their own coffee facilities on site. Lets face it another couple of quid here and there from someone who may spend the day just painting in a corner and nipping out for their drinks is a couple of quid in GW's pocket that they didn't have. And it's not like they couldn't market that either!
 

Like I say, some random thoughts there, some contradictory but I think they perhaps need to look at  other retailers. They do sell a unique product and it has been noted that even with economic problems there have been times where GW has bucked the trend but equally there are some indications that sales are down. By looking at other shops, and with Apple they didn't even have any stores 13 years ago and now they're almost ubiquitous in major cities, they can see if there's anything new they can do. This isn't a 'we've always done it this way' moment, they need to reinvigorate the brand, stores and potentially diversify to build the customer base.

15 comments:

  1. I honestly think GW is heading towards shutting down all their stores. It's just not a sustainable business model. They've been selling their IP like mad to try and snag up all the digital markets they can, and invested heavily in their online store.

    There is actually a gaming shop in Seattle that has a bar built in. It's multi-room, sells beer/cocktails, and you can play tabletop games. That to me sounds fantastic :).

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    1. Sigh! I would love a gaming store here in the uk with a cocktail bar. Sadly our stores tend to be the size of shoeboxes. I wiuld happily spend an eve down there with a cocktail i hand playing a game of man dollies :) could prob even persuade the girlfriend to cone down

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    2. Tale of Painters did a review of the Wayland Games headquarters, they have a bar there: http://taleofpainters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/report-wayland-games-centre.html

      Obviously Warhammer World is the ultimate Mecca with Bugmans but I've aslo enjoyed going to both The Scythe and Teacup and the North West Gaming Centres which are in no way the high spec cool of the Apple Store I was comparing but they do have a friendly vibe and cafes on site with decently priced food.

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    3. Wentto wayland game myself after the tail of panters review, Great place to game.

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  2. I agree with Greg. GW should really be investing in the local shops that carry their products. Someone may stumble into one of those one-man operation stores, become interested and get into the game but it's the local shops where they will likely end up once they get rolling. The local shops have the space to play, they also carry the product and the best part is they have a community. There is no community to be had at these hole-in-the-wall shops they insist upon and they really only exist as a marketing item.

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    1. I agree. I think it is crazy how they do not promote FLGS's as it would create a vibrant community while also saving them a bunch of cash. The only benefit i can see from their stores is drop in foot traffic, but I am not sure how much money that actually brings in.

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    2. They did used to have 16 pages of addresses of these FLGs in te old White Dwarf. personally I thought this was an utter waste of space. Back in the 80's/90's it had it's place. I used to pore through the magazine for places to visit for when I was on holiday. I'd even nip to the library and look at the Yellow Pages and photocopy street maps so I could find the shops.

      However, with google maps and the GW website having a store finding map I saw no purpose for devoting all those pages to where to shop, although I've come across penty of people who disagree. Of course the new White Dwarf has dispensed with that so maybe common sense prevailed.

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  3. Well you been busy while I was in the @sshole of Scotland the last week Dave,sadly GW's drive to just milk every last penny out of us all is really starting to bit imho.

    Spacehulk a game which btw i had in the long ago & picked up again when it was released should be like the starter set something that GW use's to get new blood into the hobby' not something to have to sell a kidney to afford.

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    1. I've been busy writing 'opinion' pieces because my hobby progress has stalled, unless you consider playing Dawn of War II: Rettribution as the Tyranids 'hobby'?

      To be clear I'm not completely against GW making money, in fact as a British company that exports abroad I like the idea of the success they've had in becoming the leading wargames company, I appreciate that's no solace to the Australians who pay a massive premium to remain in the hobby. Still, I think they need to be smarter marketing themselves and I think they need to introduce lower value items - micro-purchases, so that shoppers don't always feel that they can't afford what's in store.

      Better to make a £3 sale than no sale at all!

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    2. Don't take me up wrong Dave, that GW like any company need to make money goes with out saying, the point I was trying to make was that imho spacehulk should be used like a stepping stone to get new blood into the hobby.

      So to do that it needs to be cheap, also if it was say 50 quid the likes of yourself would pick up a copy, why I might even pick up another copy myself if it was in or a round the 60 euro mark.

      Now do you see my point there's more copies that they would be selling that there not going to, plus the lower the price is on something the easier it is for young lads to get their folks to buy it which if the do might get some of them into the hobby, if they never buy it then they might never find their way in mate.

      So it works out in much the same way as your closing line above, hope that help clear up the point I was trying to make.

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    3. Indeed it does and I think we're in total agreement, 'starter games' is something that really needs to be brought back. In fact that's been a long planned post too, alongside what White Dwarf should be [outdated twice now and still not addressing the real issues] and a 'pocket money range.

      I think I laughed at starter games way back when they used to have them. Once you've bought into GW they make no sense but it's a cheaper entry point for some and it's the new customers that GW is really after.

      In fact most people think back on HeroQuest and Space Crusade, although not cheap but relatively good value, as their most fondly remembered games.

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  4. We must be in the minority in leeds as it has three staff most of the time but yeah I think the satallite stores have only one, but totally with you Dave in that it would be great to have larger premises and what you propose looks pretty cool, not sure it will happen though.

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    1. Highly unlikely, although there was a rumour just the other day that new shelving layouts/systems would be introduced. The Manchester store usually has more than one staff and has about half a dozen gamin tables as well as painting areas and that's in the Arndale Centre, where even Currys/PC World has recently downsized to a smaller store so who knows how profitable it must be.

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  5. Space Hulk, £200 anyone?

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warhammer-40K-Ltd-Ed-Space-Hulk-Sealed-2014-Genestealers-Tyranid-GW-Sold-Out-/191327863484?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

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    1. I admit I was tempted to buy spares thinking of this opportunity when I ordered mine this weekend. Oh well, I guess there's always another time for such products!

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