"Just what is GW's plan, anyway?" Topic

A recent trip to the FLGS, coupled with the general outrage about GW in general, prompted me to post my own musings on my site rather than start yet another rant here.

I know GW has its fans as well as its detractors, so feel free to drop by and read it if you like. I won't force it on anyone here.

angrypiper.com/gaming/?p=349

Comments, as always, welcome there or here.

I think the main plan is to turn a profit.

I don't know, but I do know for sure that a bunch of guys on TMP will be able to provide you with 100% accurate and reliable information on that.

Lolol

Biggest problem with GW is the shareholders. They require a return on the investments.

Just talking to some gaming buddies about this the other day. We believe they are inflating their prices by 20-25% because the believe a large portion of their stock is selling at that discount anyway. Keeps their perceived value high and if some buys at retail, well cha-ching.

Apple has had the "only from us" business model until recently. Even then, no one is allowed to sell it at a discount.

I think GW's just trying to get the cat back into the bag and go with this model.

GW is like a guy who discovered a line that always works with the inexperienced chicks. He'll keep pushing the line until either he grows too old and creepy for it to work, or the girls grow up and figure out his game.

They are trying to get to the point where they do no work and you pay them big money to dream about a mini used in a game your thinking about.

or get you to pay $20.00 USD to $40.00 USD for a mini that should cost $1.50 USD. and you thank them for it.

It all started when the founders of GW sold it to Bryan "whatever you are paying for this figure, it's not enough." Ansell of Citadel fame.

Ansell passed it on a guy who made the company public, pulled in the LOTR license and then made off with a big bundle.

GW is under considerable pressure to keep the money pumping. LOTR was a big cash cow and created the illusion that GW was a major player, but it's just a niche company, they are stuck in a business model where they can't expand their range without cannibalizing themselves and as far as I can tell the Hobbit license isn't the huge payoff GW had hoped for all these years.

So we are stuck with the endless cycle of rehash and price rises. My guess is that some day GW will be bought by some major toy company who will then kiddify the whole GW experience into some prepainted gaming system, and that day people will start posting about how cool GW was in the good old days …

Same as it is every night Pinky………take over the world.

Rumours are. they are being sold

hence all the action to reduce cost and overhead (specialist games and reducing open hours and staff in shops Tec) and increase profit and stock

Rumours are there will be an announcement in next month or two

Again these are just rumours and no idea who is buying if true probably an investment group or something, suppose we will know soon enough if true

Al

Regarding lines like the Specialist Games, which I adore and will be gone soon, they are following classic business model practices, I'm afraid. As a former brand manager, we would set thresholds for minimum product sales. It it didn't meet the minimum, the product was discontinued. Unfortunately, I think their threshold too low but I am sure they have their science worked out on it.

I have never been a mainline purchaser of GW. I have bought the occasional larger scale figure and have bought stuff when cleared out such as metal dwarves and Orks when they were being cleared out by a local retailer at 40 or 50 percent off. I have bought the occasional 40K figure because I like them rather than wanting to collect for the game.

I haven't played the mainline games for two reasons. One is the cost for regular troops (before all the plastics came out) and secondly because of what I will call the Green Knight syndrome (what others call the Codex syndrome). You know, the one figure that cost 5 or 6 times the cost of another figure and you just had to have it because it couldn't be defeated? Yes it was more elaborate, beautiful, etc. but there was nothing that condoned the pricing other than the Ansell theorem.

Yes, we are in a niche hobby. Yes, GW is a large part of the non-historical niche but I think that GW sacrifices long term profits for short term ones (very common with many publicly traded companies). What they forget is that they produce consumer durables but they think of themselves as producing luxury items. What I mean is, they think they can charge what they want and still do well.

The problem is that when compared to other luxury items, they don't get long term repeat business from most buyers. If you look at most luxury brands, they depend on long term repeat business. Imagine if Rolex didn't get long term repeat business? They would have to depend on rabid product innovation to get repeat business. Well, GW has done some of this but can anyone tell me when the next LOTR event for them will happen? Not likely. I would be dumping stock if I had any.

Somewhere down the line, they forgot they were in the hobby business. I am really surprise they haven't done the acquisition thing in the industry. With their capital, they could totally dominate the industry with the exception of the ability of other to start small operations to compete that it. And this is the crux of their other problem, there are very small barriers to entry in their marketplace. Granted, it is difficult to have the same scale of their marketing/idea mill and production capabilities. But it is not that difficult for someone else to come in and grab some market share as it is in other industries.

I am a big fan of their Specialist Games. Sorry to see they won't continue support in this arena.

I agree with Razor78, except they left out the term 'Gaming' before 'world'…..in the Brain's list…

That GW is trying to reduce, or even eliminate, their business relationship with independent retailers is about the only speculation I've heard that makes sense.

It's hardly unprecedented in the history of retail. Apple, among others, have in the past set it up so that you either have to go directly to them, or to a retailer who has jumped through the hoops to become an "authorized" reseller.

GW has worked for years to turn the perception of them into a brand, rather than simply one more miniatures company. From removing other companies' products from White Dwarf to the introduction of their own lines of paints, hobby tools, retail centers, and marketing copy which emphasizes again and again the "Games Workshop" hobby.

Closing themselves off to independent retailers and becoming their own ecosystem, if that is what they're doing, would be a pretty bold move; particularly in a niche market like tabletop gaming. I'm not sure how successful it would be, though I also don't see it spelling sudden doom for the company. Particularly since as you mentioned in your blog it simplifies the supply chain, and potentially increases % of profits per sale.

@CATenWolde: It's even creepier if you substitute "12 year old boys" for "inexperienced chicks". I'm just sayin'.

…which is why Apple holds just 5% of the global computer market, and only 17% of smartphones despite its iPhone product line…

Elimination of the independents can work if you have enough retail outlets. They do in the UK. They are woefully small in the USA with retail outlets. That means mail order. Personally, I think it's shooting themselves in the head to take that approach in the USA.

Thanks,

John

"…which is why Apple holds just 5% of the global computer market,"

Actually, no, the opposite. Since they adopted this new model in the late 1990s, they've seen their share of the PC market more than double, from just under 5% to nearly 12% today.

Some very good points here, esp. CATenwolde, Ron W DuBray, and Patrick R. Thanks for the read.

Time to go buy some Khurasan minis…

The difference between GW and Apple (*cough* aside from the whole technology thing *cough*) is that Apple creates innovative products that change the marketplace and people's lives, and constantly works to support and further that process over the long term. That's their raison d'être, and their business model follows it.

GW makes games and miniatures, and hasn't done anything truly innovative for over a decade. "Improving" their product largely consists of merely changing it so that new models become "necessary" to win. That works because they operate on constantly driving a "collector's items" model rather than a game company model.

A game company (like Hasbro) works to develop new games and sell these at high volume to the public in general. For the most part, these games are self-contained, and nothing additional is "necessary" to win. Some games become steady sellers and remain over the long run (Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble), while some are momentarily hot, but fade in the long run (Heroscape, TV/Movie show "theme" games, etc.). While they may offer so-called "collector" editions, the truth is they make their money on volume sales across a very broad market.

The problem with the Specialist Games brand is that these do not tend to offer the opportunity for the "necessary figure" that drives the "collector's item" sales model— they're self-contained games— but also don't have (or aren't marketed with) the broad market appeal of the Hasbro/Eurogame type product. So they don't fit either sales model.

Note, by the way, that I think games like Space Hulk could have a broader market appeal, but GW creates them only within their existing thematic and artistic approach. While this appeals to the GW fan base, those themes and art are outside the mainstream, even among general boardgame enthusiasts. A grotesque, nihilistic setting (whether futuristic or fantastic) carries with it an "ick" factor that precludes the product from a broader market. Furthermore, GW sells these things still adhering to the "painting hobby" plan, with components that require considerable preparation to even play the game. Open a typical board game, and aside from punching out tokens and maybe applying stickers, you're good to go. So Specialist Games are within a niche market of a niche market of a niche market— people who are willing to prep and paint game components, are looking for a self-contained game product, and like (or at least accept) GW's thematic and artistic milieu. That's not a prospect for sustained, broad, long term sales, and doesn't fit GW's overall model. I wish these games wouldn't be lost, but the only hope for their sustained existence is for GW to sell them off to another company who's willing to do a pre-paint or no-paint model (FFG?), or for that same company to accept a niche status (Mantic? Privateer Press?).

That's the way I see it.

GW prices their stuff according to what folks will pay. Yes, they hit your price point. Many others will pay more. When their sales and profits decline because of their pricing, they will adjust. If they don't, they will go out of business.

It is simple really.

Joe Collins

…which is why Apple holds just 5% of the global computer market, and only 17% of smartphones despite its iPhone product line…

OT, but here you go:

link

The Macalope is worth reading whenever you're tempted to believe the latest self-proclaimed pundit spin on happenings in the tech world. When it comes to pricking gas bags full of hot air, those antlers are sharp.

Now, back to the GW commentary…

I've been watching GW for a while now and there have been some interesting analysis of them over the last few years.

It seems to me that GW has every incentive to raise prices and no incentive not too. I may be entirely wrong, but my theory goes something like this:

Tom Kirby -the guy at the helm- is one of the biggest shareholders at GW. He has every incentive to continue to drive prices up in order to continue to payout the generous dividends to himself (and the other shareholders of course..) that GW has a history of giving.

Even if this results in higher prices on fewer SKU's sold, there's also very little incentive not to drive the company into the ground. On the way down Kirby and company can continue to reap massive dividends. Further, if the company gets in dire straits, the IP is so valuable that the shareholders are almost guaranteed to float away with nice golden parachutes.

SBminisguy's remarks suggesting Apple's business model is unsuccessful is flawed. Apple's business model has nothing to do with low-profit margins (global footprint) realized from selling product in developing (global) countries. Apple is the leading technology company globally with respect to both revenue and market capitalization.

link

They lead the US with both PC Market (20% when including tablets) and smartphone sales (39%). When tablets are not calculated, Apple is a respectable 3rd among US PC manufacturers, as Parzival reports, at 12% of market share for new sales.

link

Apple does not sell 6 widgets to the global market for 5% profit margins. They sell 1 widget to the affluent end of the market for 40% profit margins.

GW's plan is exactly the same as Apple's. Distinguish oneself with exceptional product and develop brand loyalty. Sell to the affluent customers for high profit margins. Roll in money.

The problem is that GW doesn't produce an exceptional product. It's very nice, but very similar to their better competitors' product. The brand loyalty established with prior generations of GW gamers has a finite shelf life. Milking loyal customers will ultimately backfire.

Note, by the way, that I think games like Space Hulk could have a broader market appeal, but GW creates them only within their existing thematic and artistic approach.

Does GW advertise at all, anywhere outside of White Dwarf? I'm trying to think when I last saw an actual advertisement for anything of theirs.
Who knew that Space Hulk existed except for folks who were already in the niche?

Not being painted (and sometimes not even being assembled) doesn't seem to bother as many people as I might assume if I hadn't watched local 'tournaments.'

Their plan is to screw over their customers by providing miniatures that they can make for cheap and sell at way over price amounts.

"Does GW advertise at all, anywhere outside of White Dwarf? I'm trying to think when I last saw an actual advertisement for anything of theirs."

White Dwarf is their advertisement and they have even gotten their customers to pay for it.

There was once a time when it was a very good gaming magazine but that was around 15+ years ago.

Today it is not worth buying at all.

Just another way GW is screwing over their customers.

Oh and there latest way of screwing over their customers is by creating huge models that cost around $5 USD-10 to make and then sell them for $75 USD or in the case of the Wraithknight $115 USD dollars before taxes.

Huge profits for models that will have very little impact on the game.

Oh and lets not forget the flyers that they are selling first which once they are out will be followed by the Anti-Air units.

First the GW Fanboyz jump on the Flyers and buy 2-3 of them (3 if they are Chaos because the Heldrake is that good), then once everyone is running with 2-3 in their armies.

Then they will put out the Anti-Air units.

Making double profit once for the flyers and a second time for the AA Units.

You just got to love them.

Design and produce one miniature, and sell it for a $Billion plus.

Kind of like that new Lamborghini they designed, that only seats one person, called the Egoista, or something like that.

Does GW advertise at all, anywhere outside of White Dwarf? I'm trying to think when I last saw an actual advertisement for anything of theirs.
Who knew that Space Hulk existed except for folks who were already in the niche?

Excellent point, though I believe GW has advertised in comics in the past (I don't follow comics now, so I don't know if they do this today). Of course, I can't swear to that, either.

GW tends to rely on "see it on the shelf" and "word of mouth" approach for a lot of stuff. I think a broader marketing strategy might improve their sales, but perhaps they see a cost-vs.-profit model that doesn't support this.

But I still think that a version of Space Hulk that wasn't based on GW's thematic elements, but went either towards Halo or Aliens (legally licensed, of course) would be a hot seller. But then it wouldn't be an "entry" game to the 40K product line, which I suspect to some extent is how GW saw the second edition (at least). The third was just an experiment with quick collector's one-offs, as Dreadfleet appears to be.

A lot of GW's Specialist Games appear to have been "neat ideas I had for a game I'd like to play" created by their original cadre of designers. Since these fellows seemed to have left GW (the Perry's, et. al.), I suspect we'll see less or possibly even no such products in the future.

Not being painted (and sometimes not even being assembled) doesn't seem to bother as many people as I might assume if I hadn't watched local 'tournaments.'

There's a difference between "I intend to paint it, but haven't yet," which is the hobby market, and "Assemble and paint a game piece? Why would I want to have to do that?", which is the broad consumer market. My point is that GW very deliberately depicts the painted version of their product in marketing and on the box— the unpainted models are presented (if at all) in a small photo, or the box is simply labelled "Models come unpainted and unassembled. Paint, glue and tools not included," or some such wording.
(Note, however, when they have done broad release products in cooperation with board game companies— Milton Bradley's Battle Masters comes to mind— the products are prominently depicted in game play photos as unpainted, with painted images being offered more as a "you could do this, too," side note.)

The implication of such an approach places a heavy emphasis on the assembly and prep side of things in the mind of the general public, and acts to retard sales, whereas showing unpainted figs places the emphasis on the game play, and removes the "daunting" aspect of the hobby element. (To the average game buying public, of course.) It's not that you can't play the game with unpainted figures, or that people don't, or won't, it's that the simple implication that such effort is necessary for the game will tend to drive away consumers who otherwise might purchase the product— no different than the Mom or Dad or casual kid who will gleefully pick up a "Snap-Tite" model that needs nothing more than quick assembly and a few included stickers, but will walk away from a traditional plastic model that requires tools, glue, paint and water-transfer decals.

From a strictly business standpoint, GW really has little incentive to lower prices because they're only going to undercut their own profits. Let's face it, tabletop miniature wargaming is a niche hobby with no mainstream appeal, so charging less for their products isn't going to greatly increase the number of people buying them.

Sorry to take their side and play devil's advocate, but "it is what it is."

BTW White Dwarf is now in B&N bookstores, so GW is trying to broaden their exposure.

Just another way GW is screwing over their customers.

Pffft. That's a crock. If you don't want to pay the price, don't buy the product. If you can't afford the product, you have other concerns than why GW sells the way it does. If you do buy the product, then presumably you have decided that the product is worth the cost. You know what you're getting, you know why you're getting it, and you know that you're paying to get it. So, then, you're not getting screwed. You're only "getting screwed" if the product is something that you are either forced to buy (and I mean forced— by, say, legal mandate or some such) or which exists as a necessity, and has no competitive alternative… and, frankly, those are very rare products indeed. GW has nothing like that. Nobody has to play their games. Nobody has to take part in their tournaments. Nobody has to buy their models or their paint or their tools or their magazine. Buy it if you want it, or don't buy it if you don't want it. But either way, whining about it is silly.

GW's plan is exactly the same as Apple's. Distinguish oneself with exceptional product and develop brand loyalty. Sell to the affluent customers for high profit margins. Roll in money.

Then they burn the money by wasting it on propping up their retail chain…GW only thinks it's plan is to be like Apple.

Edit: I buy GW stuff because I like it. I buy Khurasan and Rebel Minis because I like those too. Although I buy a lot more of the later than the former!

Pffft. That's a crock. If you don't want to pay the price, don't buy the product. If you can't afford the product, you have other concerns than why GW sells the way it does. If you do buy the product, then presumably you have decided that the product is worth the cost. You know what you're getting, you know why you're getting it, and you know that you're paying to get it. So, then, you're not getting screwed. You're only "getting screwed" if the product is something that you are either forced to buy (and I mean forced— by, say, legal mandate or some such) or which exists as a necessity, and has no competitive alternative… and, frankly, those are very rare products indeed. GW has nothing like that. Nobody has to play their games. Nobody has to take part in their tournaments. Nobody has to buy their models or their paint or their tools or their magazine. Buy it if you want it, or don't buy it if you don't want it. But either way, whining about it is silly.

+ 100 internets.

so charging less for their products isn't going to greatly increase the number of people buying them.</Q>

I disagree. Back when the regiment sets were $22 USD back in the mid to late 90's, I bought a ton of them. I even bought the ones I didnt have an army for. As the prices approached $35 USD I pretty much have stopped buying more than one or two boxes a year. The switch to Finecast and its associated price rice pretty much killed any interest I had in buying more GW let alone buying new armies. Also look at the stealth price increase where they still charge nearly the same amount for the box but cut the number of figures in half.

If GW would cut their prices back to something more reasonable i would probably get back in. As it stands Ive switched over to historicals and Pulp games and dont miss GW that much at all.

I disagree. Back when the regiment sets were $22 USD USD back in the mid to late 90's, I bought a ton of them. I even bought the ones I didnt have an army for. As the prices approached $35 USD USD I pretty much have stopped buying more than one or two boxes a year. The switch to Finecast and its associated price rice pretty much killed any interest I had in buying more GW let alone buying new armies. Also look at the stealth price increase where they still charge nearly the same amount for the box but cut the number of figures in half.

Sure, to a certain degree lowering prices will increase sales, but the million dollar question is: Will it increase profits to a level that will offset the production, marketing, transportation and overhead costs of making more of the products? When you reach the 'market saturation' point, your return or profit will diminish. I'm not an MBA so I cannot answer this question, but someone at GW decided that the current price points give them the highest profit margin. Feel free to prove them wrong by boycotting them, but GW's "banking" (no pun intended) that our boycott will be offset by others dumb and happy enough to pay the prices they charge.

Pffft. That's a crock. If you don't want to pay the price, don't buy the product.

Generally I agree… but it does seem that, in part due to their requirements on store owners wishing to carry their products, smaller lines have been pushed off the shelves and out of consumer consciousness.
Little sections of Citadel in a large panorama of games have become entire walls of nothing but GW and no other games (except Magic) in sight.
It seems silly to complain that their corporate strategy has been too effective… it's great for them of course. But I do feel like my own gaming/hobby experience has suffered despite my removing any direct support I might have been giving them and generally trying to ignore them.

I believe "GW's" plan, in simplicity, was to catch the Hessians while they were still sleeping or something like that.

Good point victor !!! And it worked !!! link As far as Games Workshop … No comment …

This thread has inspired a response too long to be contained here so I put it on my blog.

proxiemodels.blogspot.com

I expect to be silenced soon.

"Pffft. That's a crock. If you don't want to pay the price, don't buy the product. If you can't afford the product, you have other concerns than why GW sells the way it does. If you do buy the product, then presumably you have decided that the product is worth the cost. You know what you're getting, you know why you're getting it, and you know that you're paying to get it. So, then, you're not getting screwed"

Yup I am not getting screwed since I brought most of my 40K stuff back in the early to mid 1990's when for the price of the new Wraithknight you could have gotten nearly a complete army.

Plus many gamers are being forced into buying the latest model(s) since they do actually want to win some games and not lose all of the time.

Currently the 3 x Heldrake & two flying Demon Princes spam is where it is at right now.

If you don't run with this the chances of you winning is slim to actually none.

The new Wave Serpent have Eldar players figuring out ways to get as many into a 1850 point army. I believe that number is six plus.

So expect to see Eldar players going out and buying more of them.

Because if they don't they are hampering their chances to win.

No GW will not get another dime of my money and if I want something I will go to Ebay first.

Why pay their jacked up prices when I can get one of their Fanboyz to do it for me. Then when the Fanboy decides that they need the latest and greatest I just might pick up their old stuff for far less.

Griping about GW increasing its prices is pointless, because the raison d'être of a publicly traded company is to generate the highest possible return on their shareholders' investments. If GW's frequent price increases tell us anything, it's that in spite of the higher prices their product are still in demand. Somehow, people still have the 'disposable income' to buy them. Go figure.

It isn't about lowering prices so that you can wipe out your competitors. Shareholders don't care for that. All they care about are quarterly and annual earnings reports. And the thinking that lowering prices means higher profits due to higher sales volume is simply a fallacy.

Econ 101: Suppose you're selling a product with a $10 USD mark-up over wholesale and, on average, you move 200 units per month. This gives you a profit of around $2,000 USD per month (200 x $10 USD). You then decide that you want to increase your sales volume, so you reduce your mark-up to $5 USD above your cost. Sure enough, you find that you're now moving, on average, 300 units per month. Sounds good, right? Wrong! Because instead of making $2,000 USD a month, you're now making (on average) only $1,500 USD per month (300 x $5 USD). To make matters worse, because you're selling a 'niche' product, you're actually hurting potential future sales because by selling them cheaper, everyone who wanted one already got one.

Nevertheless, here's a nice 'rant' on the nature of the GW beast which summed it up quite well I think:

link

And yes, I too avoid GW stores because I can't stand being pestered by their overaggressive employees who act like used car salesmen on commission.

Disclaimer: I'm not a GW apologist, but as I said earlier "it is what it is."

OP here.

While this thread has turned into another rant about GW's pricing, that wasn't really my intent. My blog post was more about speculation as to whether GW was intentionally trying to exclusively distribute their product to the detriment of the small retailer. To be fair, I did whine a bit about GW before getting to my point, as I'm wont to do. But I just wanted to know if anyone else was speculating along the same lines as me when it comes to GWs motives and business plan, which quite frankly, I don't understand.

I've found there are three types of people when it comes to holding opinions about GW: people who hate them and all they stand for; people who unabashedly love them and will defend them, their ridiculous prices and their business model to the end; and people like me who like their games but no longer buy their stuff, as we feel it has become far too expensive for the product, regardless of whether we could afford it or not.

Thanks to all who read my post on my blog. KenofYork's post is also worth reading, for those who haven't.

I didn't mean for this to escalate into yet another GW hate rant vs. GW love fest. I'm still interested to hear what people think about my speculation. Seems more of you think I may have something than not, or at least, like me, scratch their heads with each new retailer restriction or price increase to come from GW.

GW priced me out of their market ages ago. Back in the early 00's I was really big into LOTR and, to a lesser degree, Fantasy and 40K. I loved LOTR and for a while bought everything they put out. I liked the other two, but I didn't care too much for the fluff or for the figures… the games were fun and it was easy to find gamers to play.

Then I got married, had children, and my gaming budget became a fraction of what it was. My 200-300+ a month allowance for gaming became 40-70 a month, then less. I simply didn't have the money to pump into GW.

I also become disenchanted with 28mm+ figures too. I still like the scale, but it seemed like I was tossing tons of money into it and just still having only bare bones forces. So I dropped the scale and left GW. Oh, I still have my LOTR figures, I love them too much to part with them! But I haven't added to that collection in ages.

When the Hobbit came out I thought seriously about getting back into the game. But then I saw the costs for the figures… just too rich for my blood! I'm not angry or bitter, honestly I could care less. Can anyone out there afford a Porche? Are you angry at them because they sell their cars at such high prices?

Anyway, this is pointless. GW has a business model that seems to work for them. They are taking the risk of selling their products at high prices because they assume that their customers will pay them:

Every year we seek new and better ways of making our products and improving the quality. This is not simply a personal obsession; it also makes good business sense. We know that, for a niche like ours, people who are interested in collecting fantasy miniatures will choose the best quality and be prepared to pay what they are worth.

link

More money allows them to pay their staff and investors and invest in new product. But it is a risk though. One day they'll reach the point of diminishing returns where they've raised prices to the point where their customer base balks and won't pay any more. I'm guessing that they haven't reached that point yet.

Heck, they had a profit of 8 million pounds and their operating costs were about 40 million pounds with 60 million in revenues. Not too shabby!

PDF link

And they're up 5 million pounds from last year too… call it "The Hobbit" bump I guess.

Although I would grant having 17 million in payables is a bit annoying, it isn't out of line for most companies. Heck, they're doing WAYYYYYY better than the US Federal Government!!

Heck, they've declared a modest dividend for share holders!

link

They are a going concern and they know it. So they'll make more money, just not from me. Although… their shares of stock are looking very interesting to me.

Plus many gamers are being forced into buying the latest model(s) since they do actually want to win some games and not lose all of the time.

Oh, please. That's not "forced", that's "personal obsession." Since there is always the option of "playing something else" or "using proxies", there's no "force" involved.

As for the prices going up has no one noticed that the price of everything has gone up? I have. In 2008 the price of a gallon of milk locally was about $2.50 USD. It's now $3.00 USD. Bread was about $1.20 USD. It's now $2 USD for the generic store brand. And don't even ask about the price of gasoline. Those are staples that people have to buy to survive, and they are bellwethers for the economic situation, which is simply this: your money is worth less now than it was worth five years ago. There are numerous reasons for this, many of them political, but the fact remains that comparing the price of something today to something you bought in the '90s or even in 2004 is a flawed basis on which to accuse the seller of that object of any nefarious practice, because the numerical amount of money doesn't reflect the value of the object; it merely reflects the devaluation of money that occurs over time or with certain meta-economic events. If the cost of doing business goes up, for whatever reason (increased labor costs, higher taxes, rarity of materials, shipping costs, you name it), then the price of the product has to increase accordingly. One might as well whine that a house in 1960 cost $6,000 USD but today sells for $600,000. USD It's a flawed point of comparison. The real question is whether or not a price has risen in so-called real dollars (or real pounds, if you prefer), and even then the question remains as to whether you're comparing apples to apples— has the product improved or changed in significant ways that increase its value? Are you comparing a loaf of processed white bread to stone-ground honey wheat? These are real issues that have to be considered in such a discussion, if one wants to seriously address the issue and not just rant without understanding.

GW love fest.

Oh, please. Who's loving on GW? I'm not. For the record I don't play 40K or WFB (in fact, I despise 40K). I did have the LotR products, but traded all but the Mines of Moria set off, not because of cost but because I realized I'd never get around to painting or playing what I had. I own Space Hulk 2nd ed from 1990-something, Warmaster stuff, Bo5A, and Dreadfleet (bought on clearance from my FLGS)— and much of that stuff has been acquired either through trades or local clearance sales.

My posts above have included criticisms of GW's business model and thematic elements. But on the other stuff, I'm just pointing out that the ranting on GW's price and business model seldom involves any real understanding of what is going on, and as 28mm Fanatik correctly points out, is rather pointless.

Frankly, I don't see that anyone here has expressed "love" for GW or offered knee-jerk defenses of the company or its products. But the silly notion that the company is somehow "evil" or nefarious in its business model, when all they do is make and sell glorified toy soldiers, is beyond logic. That doesn't mean the business model is either good or bad or merely passable; it just means that the rants about it are foolish.

It comes down to this: is GW profitable, or is it not? If it's profitable, then its business model works. If it is not profitable, then it doesn't work. So far, it seems that GW's model is profitable. Could it be more profitable? That's the million dollar question, isn't it? And if you can answer it, you're wasting your time typing on an Internet forum— you ought to be standing in front of the GW BoD pitching your plan… or forming your own company to beat their socks off. Because if you can indeed prove that you can make a company more profitable than it is now— any company— you are worth your weight in gold to that company. Otherwise, you're just blowing hot air.

Parzifal: GW is certainly profitable. And my comments about GW lovers vs. haters wasn't directed at anyone in particular. I was just saying it wasn't the main point of my post on my blog wasn't prices (although I did do some of that), it was to speculate on what, if anything, is their end goal. Is it just to be profitable by raising prices? Maybe. Or is it to be profitable by being exclusive? That's what I was getting at.

Because if you can indeed prove that you can make a company more profitable than it is now— any company— you are worth your weight in gold to that company. Otherwise, you're just blowing hot air.

Not really sure if I'm the target of this or not. I hope not, since I never claimed to know how to make GW more profitable, and GWs profitability was never in question in my post. I also agree with your sentiments here.

I just didn't want the thread I started to turn into the (to me, anyway) secondary point(which it has)of GW defenders vs. GW attackers (perhaps more accurate terms than lovers vs. haters). We have all seen and probably all been involved in those at one point or other. I was just wondering if anyone else speculated along the same lines as my original blogpost. The ranting about their business model may be foolish to you, but I assure you it wasn't the main point I was trying to make. Apologies for my natural tendency to complain while making my point. :)

Death to GW. With no apology.

Oh, and I would love to purchase a Hasbro/MB version of 'Space Hulk'….:) ('Alien Attack'???)

The whole of the mini industry and hobby are tiny in the scheme of things, including GW. GW is trying to use a business model based on real world hugeness(is that a word)
which is where they make the mistake. Maybe they are the biggest in minis gaming but a very tiny player on the big stage and maybe they should realize that and try to work to their strengths.

BTW unless they build stores in the US they would totally lose the markets without independent retailers promoting their games. It also costs more than GW wants to pay for prime spots in US retail zones such as malls and well travelled strip malls.

My blog post was more about speculation as to whether GW was intentionally trying to exclusively distribute their product to the detriment of the small retailer.

I don't think so, at least not yet. Both of the FLGS's I frequent (in southern California) are well stocked in their products, and sales are good enough that they reorder frequently. Also, GW products get preferential placement compared to other games like Warmachine/Hordes and FOW; their products are featured in the more visible areas of these stores and they also take up more shelf space than the next closest product (usually Warmachine or FOW). ‘Direct order only' items are unavailable of course, but the core products and other basics (GW paints, brushes, etc.) are all distributed in these stores.

You might argue that independent FLGS's are even more essential to GW's marketing strategy than before, because all the GW-run stores that proliferated over the past 10 years in malls and strip malls proved to be a dismal failure and have closed down. There used to be 3 in my vicinity in addition to the Battle Bunker in Westminster. Now only the Battle Bunker is left, and I have not seen any of the one-person mini GW stores that I keep hearing about.

They've been opening US stores at a fairly steady pace, and don't show signs of stopping any time soon, though I can't speak to how prime the locations of these stores are.

If they are planning to become a self-contained brand they do need to give some serious thought to ending their, "You come to us, we don't come to you," approach to marketing and actually raising brand awareness outside of people already familiar with GW.

I don't see signs of GW going anywhere. They are fully entrenched in all the game stores I patronize, and frankly, some of the newer game systems have prices that are in line with GW. I was looking at minis for Malfeux (sp?) ,Mercs and Infinity this weekend and was pretty shocked by the price points of $8 USD to $20 USD for single figures. 50 and up for unit boxes of as little as 4 figures. I was looking at a box of figures for Distopian Legions and my petception was that the $60 USD dollar price tag for 10 figures was a good deal! Games Workshop is far from the rogue villain we per dive them as. Like it or not, they are a market leader in this hobby, and evidence points to the fact that the hobby is more than willing to overpay nearly anyone. I think as long as Games Workshop doesn't open retail stores on Internet forums, they are facing little real resistance.