Thursday 16 January 2014

Games Workshop end of year half-yearly results.

Thanks to @wartrader on Twitter for pointing this out. The directors have put a brave face on it in the half-yearly report, but if I were them I think I might be a little worried.
  • Annual revenue down 10% from last 6 months of 2012
  • Annual profit down 30% from last 6 months of 2012
I quote:
"During the first half, the rapid transition from multi-man stores to one-man stores and the reduction of trading hours across the Group caused disruption in our retail chain. We also experienced some decline in sales through independent stockists.
"We view these as short-term issues and expect to see growth return in both channels. We continue with our store opening programme (27 stores opened, 20 closed in the period) secure in the knowledge that our one man model allows us to ensure new openings are profitable. In the future we expect to benefit from the more focussed selling operation across all channels against the background of a materially lower cost base."
And then there's the share price… since the above results and the LSE opening this morning, from sitting at mostly above 700 for a long time...


Games Workshop Group PLC
LON: GAW - Jan 16 12:44 PM GMT
550.00-173.00 (-23.93%)

17 comments:

  1. Ouch!

    Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch! :-J

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  2. I'm sorry for the employees who face being downsized - they're but working stiffs like the rest of us. I'm certainly not sorry for those at the top.

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  3. A friend of mine in the wargaming buisness told me just a few days ago that they're having trouble in attracting new young clients (competing for attention from the PS3/4 and XBox is difficulta) nd theat they're suffering now the greying syndrome. The response has been to put up prices and try squeezing the clients thinking that demand would be quite inelastic... but probably the crisis is also affecting the spending levels of the older segment and together with a dwindling client base, explains the fall in revenues. And last but not least, I saw last September that the first GW shop open in Madrid had closed... not a good sign

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  4. This news certainly explains the decision to kill White Dwarf, at least in its current incarnation.

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  5. One man shops, so staff go without toilet breaks? lunch? Or do they close for this period?

    Staffing, electricity and water account for 60% of a shops running costs so cutting staff by 50-75% is on the surface a huge saving.

    Staff morale drops as essentially they are now far more vulnerable to personal attack (to rob store) and the store is far easier to steel from. Before you know it the savings on the staff cost has been overtaken with lost sales due to shop shutting for staff to toilet break etc or from stolen stock

    What started as a money saving exercise ends up as a money loser

    Shame they did not hire me to tell them their ideas suck ;-)

    Ian

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    Replies
    1. Never mind what happens when the single employee calls in sick on Christmas Eve...

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  6. Bad news for the wider hobby - fewer kids playing warhammer now equates to fewer general wargamers in the future

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    1. Really? I think there are plenty of other games out there that are attractive to the younger crowd. Maybe now they will get the attention they deserve. We may well see a return to a more traditional games store with a wider range. We can only hope.

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    2. I'm not convinced. Do kids play warhammer, get bored with it, and go on to general wargaming? Or do they go back to computer games like all their mates?

      Might be something for a future post: "how did you get into wargaming".

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    3. I am - my brother and I started with GW before each drifting out of the hobby for a year or two then back into other scifi/fantasy then historicals.

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    4. If only 10% of kids come back into wargaming at a later stage that is still a good stream of new players coming in.

      My entire contribution to GW profits is buying one pot of paint several years ago - I agree that there is much to fault in the way they do business it is just that I think their denmise will leave a gaping hole in the hobby that no one else will be able to fill,

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  7. Since the GW store over here got single-staffed it's busier than before. To be honest that's all down to the new guy running the store since early 2013. He is as freewheeling as he can under GW policy. Previous staff would only allow praise of anything GW, with him I talked about the Spots the Space Marine snafu. Previous staff would only let you use the tables after buying something. He doesn't constantly tries to upsell and I've spent time there without buying anything and not being or felt pressured to do so.
    If only Nottingham would take inspiration from that. They need to open up.

    Anyway, here and everywhere there have been countless ideas and predictions. At some point someone will be right. I do think GW business model is so far from hobbyism that it's risky. And yes, their general attitude doesn't help. Apple and Microsoft can get away with it but that's a different industry.
    Would GW go down in one go, it would only mildly surprise me if actual parties were thrown. Surely the blogosphere will have a schadenfreude field day. And move to a new target. My guess in such a case? Wayland Games, possibly Mantic if they grow enough in the wake of a GW demise.

    If only GW would rediscover the balance between The Hobby(tm) and The Money.

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  8. I can't say I'm surprised, unless to say that I wondered what took so long. The decisions to essentially milk those loyal enough to stay seems like poor long range planning. As far as wargaming goes I started with "Army men". No rules just imagination. I transitioned to map and counter games, then some kind of booklet (perhaps WRG, I've lost it) and finally Warhammer 3rd. I now play mostly Two Hour Wargames as they encourage playing with what you have and making it work. I won't miss GW one bit.

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  9. GW were experimenting with the 1 person store almost 20 years ago (back then, I was the 1 person). It didn't work then, no reason to think it'd work now. And yes, it does involve no lunch break and shutting the store if you need the loo. Or take the takings to the bank for that matter.

    And the result of all this (at least locally) is that all those gamers who used to go into the store to play now come down to the club instead. Where we do our best to show them all the alternatives to GW. Oh well.

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    Replies
    1. Mike, just so you know, the post above has nothing to do with GW

      Ian

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    2. My French is equal to the task. ;)

      I have deleted the post to which these are a reply as it isn't relevant to the topic. It does appear to be of some interest, though, so if Francois would like to drop me a note /en Anglais/ explaining what it's about, I'm interested.

      Delete

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