Frothers Unite! UK

Games Wankshop's products are increasingly seen as luxury items, regardless of their cheaper production methods. Those customers that do buy their crap seem to have not updated their collections to the constant range changes, prefering to use what they have and reduce their own lead mountains, rather then fork-out money for new stuff. Or they're shopping around for much cheaper alternatives. Why shop at Morrisons, when you can go to Lidl?

Interesting reading, in particular notes 4 and 6. Need to compare this half-year result to prior years' FS.

Derek H wrote:But they're putting a positive spin on it all

Following the implementation of the structural changes just annou nced we expect to benefit from the more focussed selling operation across all channels against the background of a materially lower cost base.

How can you tell...?

So... please correct me if I'm wrong:

Sales are down, profit is down even though they hiked prices up, they are going to recover profit by slashing staff numbers?

Perhaps, finally, they really are going to get into financial trouble this time. You know, like everyone has been predicting every year for the last two decades.

THE Bob wrote:So... please correct me if I'm wrong:

Sales are down, profit is down even though they hiked prices up, they are going to recover profit by slashing staff numbers?

Perhaps, finally, they really are going to get into financial trouble this time. You know, like everyone has been predicting every year for the last two decades.

I don't think so, if you compare last year's final report to, for example, the final numbers for the 2005-06 year, the picture is quite good. Revenue went from 115 million at end FY06 to almost 135 million at end FY13. Pre-tax profit went from 3.7 million at end FY06 to 21.4 million at end FY13. Based upon the half year results to 1 December (which therefore excludes the crucial Christmas period) I would say that FY14 will be definitely be down from end FY13, but if they end up with pre-tax profit in the 14-17 million range they are miles ahead of where they were at end FY06,07,08, and 09. They will probably be in the same ball park as FY10-12.

I can't find any FS on-line farther back than FY05-06, but I'd love to compare where they are now to where they were in 2000. My guess is that their growth in terms of revenue and profit has probably been very good.

They are not in any danger at all and most certainly won't be for a very long time. Revenue would really have to drop through the floor for them to be in trouble and that just does not look like happening based upon the evidence. They have a good strategy which seems to me to make a premium priced product that is bought by two core markets: the die hard fan boy who will buy it no matter what and the youngster (12-16) whose parents buy him/her a shit load for a year or two and then it's abandoned. It's a viable strategy in the short to near-term because there is a constant procession of 12-16 year olds to target. For the long term (10+ years away) I think the danger will be technology innovation (such as virtual reality or hologram technology) that makes tabletop gaming too much work except for the dedicated hobbyist (which excludes their main market, the casual gamer who dabbles for a year or two).

If I was GW I would start to move to basic pre-painted (two or three colours for example) or primed figures for rank and file troops that can be played with out of the box or tarted up and only have specials/characters as unpainted figures. Hell, I'd even offer those as pre-paints/primed and make the unpainted ones a special order from Forge World. I think their main problem is that they still see themselves as a hobby/model maker instead of a toy maker.

Usual caveats, just my personal opinion.

I agree with your take on that Hastati.
If someone could tell him for me, I would be grateful.

Hastati, Steders said you were a right cunt! And by right he meant you weren't wrong.

Hastati wrote:
If I was GW I would start to move to basic pre-painted (two or three colours for example) or primed figures for rank and file troops that can be played with out of the box or tarted up and only have specials/characters as unpainted figures. Hell, I'd even offer those as pre-paints/primed and make the unpainted ones a special order from Forge World. I think their main problem is that they still see themselves as a hobby/model maker instead of a toy maker.

Usual caveats, just my personal opinion.

But does a hobby/model maker have to evolve into an all out toy maker to stay in business? They must make a lot of money off the back of all those paints.

Doremi Fasol Latido wrote:

Hastati wrote:
If I was GW I would start to move to basic pre-painted (two or three colours for example) or primed figures for rank and file troops that can be played with out of the box or tarted up and only have specials/characters as unpainted figures. Hell, I'd even offer those as pre-paints/primed and make the unpainted ones a special order from Forge World. I think their main problem is that they still see themselves as a hobby/model maker instead of a toy maker.

Usual caveats, just my personal opinion.

But does a hobby/model maker have to evolve into an all out toy maker to stay in business? They must make a lot of money off the back of all those paints.

yup, and they'd still sell the same amounts to everybody to paint their characters, wouldn't they...
pre-paints IS the way it will go...

pete wrote:pre-paints IS the way it will go...

Do you really think so?
Surely it would depend on price. If mummy and daddy aren't buying the boys their unpainted models because of the price, then presumably they are less likely to buy even more expensive (I can't see the price of pre-paints being less than unpainted) models?
I can see why pre-paints may be lucrative to some extent (the middle-aged collector who has more disposable income than a 14 year old boy and just wants to get the figures on the table), but I wonder how much of the market that demographic accounts for? My instincts tell me not that much. But I am happy to be proved wrong if someone has sample sales figures. The bulk buyer may indeed spend more in one whallop, but how many bulk buyers are there compared to the teenage gamers who gets a blister-a-week from mum and dad?
Or am I missing the point on the market for pre-paints?