Warhammer 40,000 as a % of GW sales

[eldargal]

Something interesting has come out of the documents GW have submitted to the courts over the CHS stuff:


Q. So when I see under the 40K, where it
says 50.6 as the turnover value, what does that
signify?

That signifies that in money value Warhammer 40,000 is 50 per cent -- was 50 per cent of our turnover sales in the 2009 to 2010 financial year, based on despatch data valued at the GPI and with an assumed trade discount of 35 percent
So contrary to come claims going around the internet that 40k makes up 75-80% of GW sales it is in fact half. It would be interesting to know what the WFB and hobby ranges bring in. SG too, come to think of it.
It also makes it rather more likely, in my opinion, that the estimates of Space Marine sales are closer to the 20-25% mark that I've been told than the 40% plus that gets bandied about on the interwebz.

Credit to Trasvi on Warseer for finding this.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I wish CHS would just lose already.

[eldargal]

It will probably be another year before it ends, perhaps even more if appeals are ongoing. Personlly I'm hoping they just settle out of court. CHS do some good work and making conversion bits is not a crime, and GW shoudl want to avoid setting a negative precedent if they lose. So offer them a big wodge of cash.

But let's not have another CHS vs GW debate.:p Focus on teh 40k figure, this is the first time (or first time in many years) we've been given a breakdown of sales by system.

One of the things I find interesting is that the 2009/2010 financial year is before the WFB revamp. I've heard anecdotally that the revamp was a success, so it's possible that the % has dropped more in WFBs favour since then. Pity we won't know unless it comes up in future legal documents.

[Wolfshade]

It's because LoTR makes up 40%...

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Sorry, I'll keep my CHS studio hate on their threads. :p

It is interesting to see, does the percentage of their sales take BL and FW into account, or are they considered separate entities in this regard?

[The AKH]

Sorry, I'll keep my CHS studio hate on their threads. :p

It is interesting to see, does the percentage of their sales take BL and FW into account, or are they considered separate entities in this regard?

That's an important consideration, the percentage could very well jump if you take those two ranges out of consideration... although, short of stocking the FW model range, they are quite well represented at GW stores nowadays.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

And Black Library is stocked instore, which means that it must be part of their intake.

[eldargal]

Good question, both would skew the ratio towards 40k given that most of Black Libraries books are 40k and ditto for FWs range. Or they may be referring purely to GW proper sales.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I also find it hard to believe that LotR makes up 40%, it doesn't sell well at all in Shrewsbury.

[Wolfshade]

I also find it hard to believe that LotR makes up 40%, it doesn't sell well at all in Shrewsbury.

I forgot my sarcasm tags....

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Oh. Use italics. :p

[Wolfshade]

I'll certainly remember to do that in the future

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

'atta boy.

[Wildeybeast]

I wish CHS would just lose already.

I thought you had to stay neutral? ;)


It is interesting to see, does the percentage of their sales take BL and FW into account, or are they considered separate entities in this regard?

I was going to ask this question. There is also the issue of royalties revenue from computer games, RPG and card game systems to consider. One assumes they would be included in turnover which means whilst 40K is only 50% of turnover, the other 50 consists of Warhammer, SG range, BL, FW and royalties income, so 40K is in that context still a massive chunk of their business and for a multi-product company to have 50% of their sales generated by one product range shows how dependent they are on it and just how popular it is. IIRC, doesn't the period these figures are from cover the launch of 8th Edition?

[eldargal]

Well the fiscal year here runs until the 5th of April, WFB 8th was released in June 2010 so any hike would be inthe 2010-2011 figures.

[DrLove42]

Cos you can break down GW's sales into;

-40K
-Fantasy
-LotR
- Specialist Games (they do still sell them!)
- Limited runs (Dreadfleet)
- Modelling Equipment inc Paints

And then it depends on whether this factors in;

- Forgeworld
- Black Librairy

Either way it is clear that 40K is the biggest component of their sales, even if its not as big as anticipated

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Well, I think the original statement of 60-70% was a bit extreme anyway. That would mean that Fantasy doesn't sell well at all, which is obviously not true.

[Wildeybeast]

Well, I think the original statement of 60-70% was a bit extreme anyway. That would mean that Fantasy doesn't sell well at all, which is obviously not true.

Not necessarily. These figures are from 2009-10 which means, if this is correct:


Well the fiscal year here runs until the 5th of April, WFB 8th was released in June 2010 so any hike would be inthe 2010-2011 figures.

these sales figures represent the end of a Warhammer life cycle when you would expect sales to drop off a bit. The following years figures would no doubt show Warhammer in much healthy position sales wise. That said, I doubt even with a new edition they would overtake 40k as the dominant range. I would be interested to see how much the Hobbit will account for in next year's financials.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Yes, the influx of the Hobbit will certainly shift the balance.
I wish they'd just do a breakdown of everything. :p

[Wildeybeast]

I'm sure they do, they just don't make it public.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Time to..... BECOME A SHAREHOLDER! :D

[Wildeybeast]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that, but I've no idea how to do so or how much it will cost.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

Neither do I. :S

[Kyban]

Are they public?

[Wolfshade]

Yeah, they floated some years ago.
about £6.50 a share

http://www.lse.co.uk/SharePrice.asp?shareprice=GAW