"Own a brick and mortar location? Need Intell " Topic

Some "friend" / business investors have been discussing opening a game lounge. It would both cater to Tabletop, RPG and Card (MTG etc) players. Wondering if anyone here owns a store or could share how they are making it work. Were looking in the NY/NJ area to do this.

Drew

So, you need a heavy tax right off from business losses, do you?

Have you read up about brick and mortar stores?

NY does claim to have that nice little tax break for new businesses, but they are one of the highest taxing states in the nation.

NJ is probably similar, or worse, since I don't think they're providing new business tax breaks, or if they are, aren't advertising it.

What could possibly go wrong?

Might want to apply for a liquor license, just to have a little chance of breaking even, but of course those are probably shockingly expensive too, so…….

Lighting a bonfire in a metal trash can, and throwing your investment money in it might be faster, and less time consuming. Might as well rip the bandage off quickly, so you can begin to heal.

Don't let my cynicism discourage you though…….

On a positive note, a lot of times people try to reduce everything to dollars. Of course you are running a business and need to make a living, and there are far more lucrative methods.

But there is an intangible bonus that comes from doing something you enjoy.

To answer your question-

I think the strictly point of sales store model is dead. Online sales are going to be the new norm. This weekend I decided to buy Kings of War 2E. I had it in my cart on Amazon but instead I am driving to a store 30 miles away to purchase it. Why? Because they play it on Thursday nights and I could meet other players and get in a game. There is a local store within 5 miles where I could have ordered it, since they do not carry it. Why should I? That store does not support the games I find interesting and has been hostile to me running them.

My advice- provide an activity center that also sells product. Not a store.

It is certainly possible to eke out a living with a game store. But Ken is right. You need to have GOOD STAFF who will be nice, teach games and encourage noobs. That is not just "If you have a question let me know…"

Make sure your manager is a RETAIL pro, not a "nice gamer." the world i filled with "nice gamers" who don't know jack about running a retail business.

Have game nights for whatever sells – Magic the Gathering, X-Wing, Bolt Action, 40k or Risk.

Sell snacks and drinks too. They will keep the lights on along with clickies, collectibles and Yu-Gi-Oh (or whatever replaced it).

Be ruthless with stock. If it ain't moving, mark it down and bring in something that does. Remember it is about cash flow, not profit, to stay in business.

The reason so many game/hobby stores went out of business is, frankly, they were crappy businesses. Poorly run by amateurs.

I think the activity center approach might work. Painting classes, sculpting classes, terrain making classes. Let local talent put on the class, charge a few bucks and you get a cut. That might kick up sales of paints and supplies.

CCG nights – you probably won't sell many cards, but you could offer burgers, and snacks.

Put in a rock climbing wall and … umm, scratch that idea.

For the little ones, making WWI planes out of clothes pins (easy, relatively safe), intro to something easy like Canvas Eagles rules. The point there is to convince the parents that you're not glorifying war, but providing a creative outlet for their young ones.

You're going to have to do huge volume because I don't think your margins will be very big. That means something going on all the time.

That's my 2 cents, and worth every penny you paid for it.

@Mako11 Looking at the Coffee Shop route there but we have entertained going full tilt Bar. You are correct its a dangerous venture.

@KenofYork Thats exactly the route were taking. Retail is a dead issue for the mini guys, Magic and Pokemon cards still sell very well around NYC Metro, problem is finding places to play

@ExtraCrispy couldn't agree with you more. The goal is to run it like a business and not a frat house, which I have seen many game play spaced do exactly that. Plan to have a bean counter heavily involved as well. Retail still works but you nailed it on the head, Stock what sells. Shelf space is valuable. We are all heavily involved gamers in our 40's. The biggest issue I am seeing right now is the $/Sq in the area is astronomical if you want visibility. Like 1500sqft for $56 USD/sq per year… That's just brutal.

@Stryderg That's the vein were shooting for. Non stop fun.

I appreciate everyone's candidness.

There are a number of games cafes in the UK which seem to be surviving. The secret seems to be having good food and coffee as well as the games and a decent environment to play them in. also, not charging (or not charging too much) to play a game from the games library.

A setup with lots of little areas that deaden sound is good as well for playing a lot of games – I never liked the noise of open plan wargaming events.

Mike

@Blackhat, I like the idea of breaking up a wide open space into little areas. It reminds me of why I would frequent certain book shops. They felt warm, cozy and inviting. Plus, given how noisy players can get, your idea breaks up the sound, as you say.

I think you should charge for the table space by the hour as well. Minimum 2 hours. Say $5 USD per hour. It's not much but at least it allows folks who want to play a space to do so.

Don't want to discourage you, but it is very difficult to run a successful business, especially now.

Used to be 9 out of 10 failed in the first 2 – 5 years.

My guess is that is at least 19 out of 20, especially those of the brick and mortar kind.

Starbuck's makes it work, so perhaps you can too.

Who would have thought people would pay that kind of money for a cup of coffee?

On the plus side, you're in an area where people probably have more disposable cash that in a lot of other regions. which may help.

Running classes and charging for them, as well as perhaps charging for the use of tables and/or space for gaming might help a bit, if you can get people to agree to do that.

I do everything wrong, so don't ask me. I'm still kicking after four years.

Even so, don't do what I do and you should do okay.

neutralgroundgames.com

You might consider reaching out to the owner of Gigabytes in the Atlanta area to pick his brain. He seems to have refined the cafe/game store concept to where they have a fairly active and engaged customer base that is steadily growing.

If you can locate close to a middle or high school that is a big help.

My shop lasted three years so take what I say with a grain of salt. Things I wish I had done but FAILED to do:
Sell MTG singles.
Sell GW & boardgame bits online from boxes that don't move or were damaged.
Invested much less in RPG books and more in MTG, boardgames and some miniature lines.
Had a solid online presence for selling items that don't move in the storefront.
Own the building.

I have little to bring to this (otherwise very interesting) discussion, but this-

a solid online presence for selling items that don't move in the storefront.

is medicine for a lot of shops I have visited. If items in your stock are failing the white glove test, make them go away!

Ditto what McKinstry said. Gigabytes is a great location that has struck the balance between gaming area, gaming sales and food. It was full of people every time I stopped by.

Wow thank you all for lending a voice! A lot to consider.

We have 3 what I consider good shops here north of Detroit that are doing well.

First one has large Magic tourneys all the time and sells singles. They also carry a lot of 40K stuff and support open gaming in the store Big time.

Second one just moved to a larger location and is very heavy into board games. Again they have a large open gaming area and loaner games. They are also heavy into reselling everything from comics to old RPG stuff.

Third store has limited gaming one night a week but is strictly historical. their stregnths seem to be very active on line sales and they cater to high quality modelers with a outstanding selection of paints and other modeling supplies.

All found a nich to fit in, all have open gaming, and all are doing OK and surviving. Opening a store and sitting behind the counter expecting to have hordes flood in to buy your stuff does not work anymore. YOu need online sales, OPEN GAMING areas, snacks, and a knowledgable and friendly staff to make a go of it. Would love to see some of the Brit gaming club type operations here in the states but different cultures I guess.

As a add on, If you get a storefront, and are carrying a product, you need to push it. This means gaming nights and get help running leagues. Pressgangers (warmachine), Sergents (Bolt action), ect. Most are local and will set up and run legues for you free of charge. Giving a 10% discount for their game on the night they run also helps stimulate sales. Trick is YOU CAN NOT BE STATIC. You have to be pushing all the time. As others said snacks are a good profit pool and make sure to have seperation between gaming area and the store to help reduce stock loss due to the random thief.

Card games seem to be where it is at. Relatively high value, easy to display and popular. You can get 4 players on a 6x4. So IMHO thats the way to go, forget the figure gaming.