Topic: GW - More Profitable Than Google

[Jmash]

Saw this article on my news feed earlier today, from one of the national tabloids no less;

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/31/how-games-workshop-grew-to-become-more-profitable-than-google

Things have certainly come a long way since I was a lad and the hobby was seemingly quite obscure and niche. I think this cements Warhammer as 'the biggest thing you've never heard of ', despite how mainstream GW seems to have gotten I still think if I were to ask friends, colleagues, neighbours etc. they wouldn't have much of a clue.

[GamesPoet]

A colleague recenlty, when showing him a new game mat received via mail, said, "You mean it's like Risk."

[Victor]

I'll just leave the following link to a youtube-video here - it puts the subject matter into a new light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLyJYpDcFvQ

So it is not just the insane selling prices of their products that secure the high profits, it is also the exploitation of their employees ... Who would have thought. The original article mentions this, but suggests this is no longer case. Somehow I doubt it.

[Jmash]

Oh I never said they were good guys... just that they're loaded!

It's certainly not the first time we've hit upon undercurrents of their shady attitude towards staff and seemingly exploitative trends but I think that guy in the link hits the nail on the head, they're so big now that they can treat employees poorly, because if you want out then there's literally 1000's of people who will willingly fill your shoes.

Sometimes it really does make me question my choices when I buy their stuff... it's becoming a hard decision to make whether to continue.

[GamesPoet]

There's something to be said for spreading one's wealth around, and not getting completely caught up in them being the only part of the hobby in your closet.

[Jmash]

There's something to be said for spreading one's wealth around, and not getting completely caught up in them being the only part of the hobby in your closet.

For a long time I've avoided buying from GW directly, I've only done so once or twice in recent times when I struggle to find what I'm after elsewhere, but that was largely down to the cost hikes more than anything else. At the very least even if I continue to buy GW stuff I will make a bigger point of buying elsewhere from independent stockists because I guess it's a step towards supporting them rather than the GW juggernaut (albeit they clearly buy the GW stock but you know what I mean, independents sell other stuff too and have their own business model and employees etc.). It's just a shame I don't seem to have many local independents but there's plenty of UK-based stockists online with good reps.

It's a real shame when something you really enjoy and think is pretty cool still just turns out to be another profit-hungry corporation at the heart of it.

[GamesPoet]

I buy GW local whenever possible.  Purchased several items recently via Amazon, but not my preference.  Buy older models at times from Ebay.

Businesses who have a sense of ethics and responsibility are what I prefer, or the local owner who is trying to support himself and family in a hobby enjoyed.  It isn't always possible, like buying products not made in China, although I make the attempt.

My understanding is large quantities of figures in our hobby are made in China, wouldn't be surprised if GW's are as well, and that probably helps their bottom line too.  But maybe not.

[Warlord]

For at least 10 years they priced themselves out of what I am willing to pay for almost anything they make.

[Gankom]

Oh ya, to a degree its always been a discussion about if they've become less evil then not evil. And we can see how that seesaw is tilting with the new fan animation purge.

The prices are deeply frustrating. They've put out some fantastic stuff but the prices are crazy. And then they do something really good like an actual savings on a get started set, only to a few years later gut that as well. I miss the old battalion boxes that actually got you a mini army, instead of just a squad, hero and something else.

[Grutch]

I'm impressed with how GW made great financial leaps. One can argue they stole from everywhere to forge their IP, but even those entities they stole from were stolen from older material, myths, folklore, etc. 40k is by far the more recognized IP of GW over fantasy and it's a really fun and entertaining IP and it practically sells itself if the leadership can get out of its way.  In comes CEO Kevin Roundtree 5-6 years ago who turned the company around and has it on the rise. 

https://techraptor.net/tabletop/opinions/games-workshop-2016-turnaround

As for them being evil or not. I'd say they're an entity that wants to reap in profits so the big guys on the top, the investors, shareholders and such are happy, but also keeping staff employed, fostering growth so they can keep providing entertainment for years to come. They have to attract talents that has the desire to work for them producing top of the line product.  People complaining of exploitation bore me, you can choose to work at GW or another employer down the street, you can choose to put your abilities on the line, start your own business and decide how much you are worth compared to your employees and set the pay to your standard if you're so bothered about it.

Go back to how this company started, the risks they took and the rough road they travelled to establish and popularize the IP and ask yourself how it could be done another way. If you have a solution, I'd like to see it.

We're in a niche hobby, so very few of us collect, model, paint and play with our little toys.  I think if the hobby were a bit more mainstream the prices would push down because that would draw more people in, and result in crazy profits. If hypothetically GW discovers a way to provide automated quality prepainted models that was 60% Eavy Metal quality, it would likely bring in larger audiences that didn't want to bother with the hobby side. Maybe it drives prices down a little and grows the gaming pool. 

Being a small hobby, it's expensive, as well as terribly time consuming.  I'm barely able to find time to paint a dozen kill team models for some games planned this September. But that's a choice and considering how long its taking me to finish anything I really don't care about the price of a box or two of models.  I buy them at the GW store, hoping it never closes because it's the only place I can go to play toy soldiers with strange strangers.

[Jmash]

We're in a niche hobby, so very few of us collect, model, paint and play with our little toys.  I think if the hobby were a bit more mainstream the prices would push down because that would draw more people in, and result in crazy profits. If hypothetically GW discovers a way to provide automated quality prepainted models that was 60% Eavy Metal quality, it would likely bring in larger audiences that didn't want to bother with the hobby side. Maybe it drives prices down a little and grows the gaming pool.

Are we still niche though? That's what I would question... We joke about it being 'the biggest thing you've never heard of' but then GW in recent years has gained a following of 'celebrity' fans (if you care about that stuff) that have an influence on the audiences, they've also collaborated with arguably the biggest name in comic books Marvel to produce the Calgar series, they're big on social media and are launching a streaming service with things like a live action drama series. They have always had massive success on the video games market and certainly in my area where over the years I've seen the store itself move around the town centre a few times, their most recent re-location has been to one of the biggest and by far the most prominent spot it has ever occupied. The crème de la crème that I saw just this week is that moonpig (a service that prints and delivers greeting cards) now has a range of 40K cards!

This is of course only my experience here in the UK but that being said I am very much a solo hobbyist - I don't go down to GW every weekend or engage with any local groups so can't comment on how busy it is and what audiences it gets etc. and I'm not big into social media so I'm not following every ounce of GW related content out there; but then surely that suggests that whilst I'm sort of on the fringe of the hobby pool, even I still see the enormous growth in popularity.

I for one would say that the hobby now is far more mainstream than it has ever been before, yet the prices that you suggest should come down, are still going up?...

[GamesPoet]

Less of a niche hobby in the UK than the U.S.  It is still fairly niche in the US from my perspective.

[Zygmund]

About how niche miniature games are. Maybe not so niche. Here is an interesting discussion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz3p7G-LcGw

Discussion on how niche miniature games are starts at 6:29, but you probably want to listen through the first misconception too. Because it kinda explains why miniature games might seem to be very niche, but there's actually much more goin on.

-Z

[Baron Isebrand]

Indeed I have heard the horror stories of working for GW. I find it very disturbing 

[Fidelis von Sigmaringen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKcAYMb5uk4

[GamesPoet]

About how niche miniature games are. Maybe not so niche. Here is an interesting discussion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz3p7G-LcGw

Discussion on how niche miniature games are starts at 6:29, but you probably want to listen through the first misconception too. Because it kinda explains why miniature games might seem to be very niche, but there's actually much more goin on.

Sorry Zyg ... I gave up on the guy cause he sort of was repeating himself and not moving along from one topic to the next.  I heard the 1st misconception being that most games are being played in a hobby store, but it seemed he was taking too long to get to the other two.

[GamesPoet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKcAYMb5uk4

[commandant]

He really could have benefited from a script.

[Zygmund]

Agree he meanders A LOT. Kinda background buzz when painting. Not so much an efficient info channel.

-Z