Bigred
02-04-2014, 07:50 PM
This is quite the interesting thread (http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?389018-Im-a-gw-manager-ask-me-anything)over on Warseer.
The thread opens so innocently:
Im a gw manager ask me anything
I run one of the one man stores, ask me anything. Unfortunately I cant post proof because itll get traced back to me and we cant participate on forums
Then the first round of questions gets answered and its off to the races...
I've got a question to start you off. With all the recent talk of profits being down and the backlash against GW pricing and general doom mongering (on this and other forums), has their been any acknowledgment/acceptance that things are taking a turn for the worst from your superiors? Or is it just business as usual; "go sell those Dwarves".
Profits are down because we closed all the bunkers and big 4 man mall stores, however our costs are also down which in corporates eyes is better because it allows us to expand our brick and mortar stores which can saturate more and more communities. Honestly from my personal experience the only grumblings about prices come from the older players, newer players seem to have no problem with it. I did however ask when I was hired what the deal was with the price increases and apparently they had done a bad job of matching prices with inflation. So the box that mad them $30 dollars in 5 years ago money was only making them $25 dollars now. Which seems small but when you consider that is a 15% drop in profit per box it really hurts the bottom line and it is a business that answers to share holders they had to do the price increases. HOWEVER the new policy appears to be "hide the price increases in the releases" as opposed to "that 30$ box is now $40" which IMO works way better for me because its easier to justify a brand new plastic kit being $40 then the same old sculpts.
So what ate sales like? What systems/armies are outselling others and I'd you've been doing this a while, how much stock ate you shifting compared to a few years back?
For my store, and this is REALLY community specific and in NO WAY indicative of overall sales. Fantasy outsells 40k, but only slightly, nobody buys the hobbit. The least popular armies in my store for fantasy are vamp counts (1 player) high elves (1 player) dark elves (1 player) and brettonia (1 player) every other army has multiple players that come in often. For 40k its blood angels (1 player) grey knights (1 player) imperial guard (1 player) orks (1 player) and dark eldar (1 player). The biggest shift I'd say is that everyone really likes to jump on the new releases, (except dark elves and high elves XD) so when nids came out 5 people started nids armies, when triumph and treachery came out, thats all anyone played for a few weeks. But overall I'd say buying patterns are the same.
Is warhammer really selling as bad as some people say? Or is a lot of people talking rubbish?
My above kind of answered this but warhammer sells really well for me. The community tends to take on whatever their manager does. So if your local gw manager doesn't play fantasy, doesn't like fantasy then fantasy wont sell well. I'm in love with fantasy so that really helps boost my sales. Myy goal before I leave the company is to have 3k of every fantasy army painted so my stores display shelves are filled with a good mix of fantasy and 40k which really inspires people. PLUS triumph and treachery, idk if you guys have tried it, but it's hands down the best 3+ player experience you can have with either 40k and fantasy. So that's fantastic for community building.
What makes you think you're the only GW store manager (past or present) on the board? Or that you'd be better informed than anyone else? Don't you get most of your information about upcoming releases from Warseer anyway?
Didn't say I was. Well I do have an insight to the way corporate works and how our customers react to product decisions that the layman wouldn't have. I get most of my information from 40k radio because 90% of the rumors are wrong and wishlisting
To the OP: I have been into a few of the GW stores in my local area and had a chat about other (non-GW) games systems to the managers there. The response I get is always one of disgust and distain. Is this negeative attitude about other games something that is handed down from HQ. I was actually asked to leave one of the stores for talking about warmachine!
Full disclosure I have a cryx army, I play pathfinder on my days off, as well as a plethora of non gw board games. You gotta understand that our paychecks are directly linked to our sales, so if our sales do poorly we get paid less. So talking about non gw system can be a big no no because it drives people away. I personally have a policy of, "talk to me about it if you like, because I realize the world doesn't exist in a vacuum and other things are out there, however do not be going up to my customers and extolling the virtues of warmachine or other systems." Personally I'm not a fan of warmachine, because the FLGS that I go to play has a horrible community that reminds me everytime I play how much warmachine is better then 40k or fantasy, but yea to each their own. To directly answer your question, yes it's handed down from HQ but its like going to a toyata dealership to talk about ford cars.
I'd be interested to hear about sales numbers (both in general and specific ranges). If there is anything about future releases you can share, I'd be happy to hear that as well.
Sales are down from last year (starter sets sell like hot cakes as well as new edition books), but the dip isn't anything the company wasn't expecting. There is also the dip from big box stores being gone, but again nothing that wasn't expected. And unfortunately, I know NOTHING that you guys don't know save for like 2 days ahead. I get my release information the thursday before the release happens so that's about all the advance notice I get. And its only because thats when my shipment for saturday arrives
Any feedback on the new magazines would also be great.
In store feedback for both zines has been great so far (remember they've only been out for a day so I'm sure someone will come in and be upset soon) Most people ADORE the weekly, seriously that magizine is awesome with all the designer input, but are lukewarm towards visions, which is to be expected. It seems to be: get the weekly, grab visions if it has my army.
It's a sunday - you should be at work
Sorry can't disclose where in the world I could be by dropping hints on time
What's the pay like for running a one-man? Do you find your store often ends up closed due to unforeseen circumstances?
33,000 a year with full benefits and on salary. The only time my store has been closed due to unforseen circumstances is when my grandfather died and I had to fly out the same day. Usually If I'm sick or planning something I have an on-call manager that will fill in. I'm also good about letting people know exactly when it will happen.
What are the rough sales figures of your store? Rough profit?
My store is on the lower end but 125,000 a year which nets about 50 after tax and rent my pay etc, though this can fluctuate and Im not privy to this information thats just my guesswork
What are the most popular lines/products? What kind of official warning do you get for new product lines?
Our paints sell like hotcakes as do horus heresy books, however just general fantasy/40k sells well, batallion boxes and such
How often do you recruit an entirely new customer ? What do you sell them? Do you ever get partway through a new sale and have someone balk at the price?
My goal is once per week, but it honestly depends on who walks in the door, I usually go for the starter set because its got a rule book in it, and I've never had any price balk because most people either know the price coming in or I'm very upfront about it.
is GW doomed lol.
Nope, if anything its making its' business more resilient by reducing costs
id like to know if anyone has asked for a refund on the latest Warhammer Visions mag?
Not yet, but again its only been out for a day! Although idk if i can give them a refund, because its a print magazine. So unless it was unopened whats to stop everyone from buying it, reading it, then returning it for full price.
No clue if it's the same at your store, but why are your opening hours so idiotic? Our local store is closed M/T and only open Noon-6 on Sun/Wed/Thurs. It's literally impossible to get to if you're employed unless you go on Friday night or Saturday... I'd love to play games there but open gaming hours are in the middle of the afternoon.
They're set by the individual manager and they usually fit their schedule. I can't give hints about my store but let just say my store avoids that issue because I realize that and think it's silly.
Question to the OP: Why do you want us to ask you anything?
Because you guys deserve some insight
Okay, that's a little mean... Though I do wonder why you want us to ask you stuff...
But okay... As a manager, you obviously love the Warhammer game, like most of us here, even if most of us are extremely disgruntled. I can't imagine you, as a person and gamer and hobbyist, agree with the direction GW has gone in some of their ventures, specifically the White Dwarf. You have to agree that it went from bad to worse to absolutely terrible now. How vocal are managers in telling GW or WD how terrible some things are? I mean, I would probably hassle GW or WD every time I received a copy.
Unfortunately there isn't a channel except during our quarterely managers meetings, however, the reason I wanted to be here is because I feel like all too often places like this become a sounding chamber and there is really hardly anyone to argue the other side. Not saying I'm being combative, not saying gw is paying me to be here (trust me i wouldn't be scared to death of them finding me if they were) but the doom and gloom can really blow out of proportion sometimes and really doesn't match what I encounter in real life in store. I don't know if you guys just run into bad managers or if im just endlessly cheery but yea. One thing I will say though is money talks, if something doesn't sell well or has issues it changes. Our glue had issues for awhile, it changed. People had issues with WD, it changed, they still had issues, it changed again. as I said earlier I'm a fan of the weekly WD and I think visions is great for people whose army it has. Also alot of the visions backlash is "oh we've seen this pictures" but you gotta remember its just got that lag between old release and new release so yea. I would say though that GW's online policy went from "lets try to interact" to "oh god avoid at all costs" and that has just let it get worse and worse and worse which is unfortunate because all you guys are is customers airing your grievances. Not trolls to be shunned.
How do other shops manage to pay their overheads while selling cheaper minis?
Is this a stab at prices? I'd need more clarification for this question
Is Mat Ward just trying to be wargaming's Andy Kaufman?
I have a Ward rant, lets just say that you shouldn't buy into the common narrative
While on training programs, do GW managers cavort and dance horridly beneath cyclopean statues of unthinkable outer gods, when the moon is gibbous?
No training programs anymore
Why is the sky blue?
Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.
Does Tom Kirby have a fake moustache that he likes to wear occasionally to twirl while cackling?
Nah he's actually a pretty chill mild mannered dude
What's brown and sticky?
Agrax earthshade
How long 'til the mods delete this post?
a day?
Rest of the questions from you have the answer of No
Because they don' have the infrastructure of GW that they have to pay for, nor do they make and manufacture models on a fairly large scale, etc , etc, etc...
Oh yea thanks for the clarification, yea the smaller miniature companies really ride off of GW coat tails, in my experience its rare to see someone play one of the other systems without having played a gw game. GW makes paying hundreds of dollars for miniatures ok, the other companies base their business models off of that. Being able to say cheaper then gw is a huge selling point, or more competitive then gw etc etc
Some choice passages:
Didn't say that. Meanwhile i'll ask again: if you're legit, what purpose are you serving here?
I believe I already put it in earlier posts.
But to reiterate.
GWs policy towards online interaction is that it's a waste of time, we can't stop the community from being venomous so we'll just ignore it and keep making models.
I disagree with that and I wanted to show that some goodwill and interaction with the community can go a long way towards dispelling rumors and conspiracy theories. Especially because I spend half my day at my store shooting down or not having a proper answer for whatever zany rumor bols or faeit has decided to run with. (Like finecast disappearing tommarow or gw stealing metal models in the night)
Do you get the impression from the communications you get from those further up the corporate management ladder that there is a disconnect between management and gamers? I.e. from some of the decisions and rumours we see, we get the impression that those making the decisions don't know anything about the hobby itself.
There is about a year and a half production time from what I've been told, and the thing that takes the longest is the models, so the production process goes Models>Rules>Balance. So if they make a box and it has knights, and super knights in it for brettonia there is no way around including those super knights in the book. Now that's not to say the sculpting team throws new sculpts at the design team and says here have fun, but there is no way to "Scrap" or remove a unit from a book whats the sculpt has been made, especially if it's attached to another unit in a dual kit. You also have to remember that by the time these armies come out, the meta has completely shifted,which explains the feeling of disconnect. Can they do more to alleviate this issue? Of course. Have the decided it's worth the monetary cost to do so? Apparently not
And following on from that, do you get any feeling of contempt from upper management towards the customers, as we occasionally see rumours of?
I don't see outright contempt but I do see frustration. It's difficult to see your hard work ripped apart by anonymous people on forums when they don't have the whole story of why things are. To me this problem can be solved by having an active online presence and being more transparent. It's also difficult for me personally when I have people come in with ebay armies or "kitbashed" (read: made from spare sprue bits from other kits) centerpiece models and have them rub them in my face. But to more directly answer your question nobody at GW hates the customers, there are just some bad eggs that can really ruin your day.
Serious question: Are GW staff unionized?
Nope, there isn't a need too, we are paid well above what could be considered fair.
There is much more... go read it and come back to discus.
The thread opens so innocently:
Im a gw manager ask me anything
I run one of the one man stores, ask me anything. Unfortunately I cant post proof because itll get traced back to me and we cant participate on forums
Then the first round of questions gets answered and its off to the races...
I've got a question to start you off. With all the recent talk of profits being down and the backlash against GW pricing and general doom mongering (on this and other forums), has their been any acknowledgment/acceptance that things are taking a turn for the worst from your superiors? Or is it just business as usual; "go sell those Dwarves".
Profits are down because we closed all the bunkers and big 4 man mall stores, however our costs are also down which in corporates eyes is better because it allows us to expand our brick and mortar stores which can saturate more and more communities. Honestly from my personal experience the only grumblings about prices come from the older players, newer players seem to have no problem with it. I did however ask when I was hired what the deal was with the price increases and apparently they had done a bad job of matching prices with inflation. So the box that mad them $30 dollars in 5 years ago money was only making them $25 dollars now. Which seems small but when you consider that is a 15% drop in profit per box it really hurts the bottom line and it is a business that answers to share holders they had to do the price increases. HOWEVER the new policy appears to be "hide the price increases in the releases" as opposed to "that 30$ box is now $40" which IMO works way better for me because its easier to justify a brand new plastic kit being $40 then the same old sculpts.
So what ate sales like? What systems/armies are outselling others and I'd you've been doing this a while, how much stock ate you shifting compared to a few years back?
For my store, and this is REALLY community specific and in NO WAY indicative of overall sales. Fantasy outsells 40k, but only slightly, nobody buys the hobbit. The least popular armies in my store for fantasy are vamp counts (1 player) high elves (1 player) dark elves (1 player) and brettonia (1 player) every other army has multiple players that come in often. For 40k its blood angels (1 player) grey knights (1 player) imperial guard (1 player) orks (1 player) and dark eldar (1 player). The biggest shift I'd say is that everyone really likes to jump on the new releases, (except dark elves and high elves XD) so when nids came out 5 people started nids armies, when triumph and treachery came out, thats all anyone played for a few weeks. But overall I'd say buying patterns are the same.
Is warhammer really selling as bad as some people say? Or is a lot of people talking rubbish?
My above kind of answered this but warhammer sells really well for me. The community tends to take on whatever their manager does. So if your local gw manager doesn't play fantasy, doesn't like fantasy then fantasy wont sell well. I'm in love with fantasy so that really helps boost my sales. Myy goal before I leave the company is to have 3k of every fantasy army painted so my stores display shelves are filled with a good mix of fantasy and 40k which really inspires people. PLUS triumph and treachery, idk if you guys have tried it, but it's hands down the best 3+ player experience you can have with either 40k and fantasy. So that's fantastic for community building.
What makes you think you're the only GW store manager (past or present) on the board? Or that you'd be better informed than anyone else? Don't you get most of your information about upcoming releases from Warseer anyway?
Didn't say I was. Well I do have an insight to the way corporate works and how our customers react to product decisions that the layman wouldn't have. I get most of my information from 40k radio because 90% of the rumors are wrong and wishlisting
To the OP: I have been into a few of the GW stores in my local area and had a chat about other (non-GW) games systems to the managers there. The response I get is always one of disgust and distain. Is this negeative attitude about other games something that is handed down from HQ. I was actually asked to leave one of the stores for talking about warmachine!
Full disclosure I have a cryx army, I play pathfinder on my days off, as well as a plethora of non gw board games. You gotta understand that our paychecks are directly linked to our sales, so if our sales do poorly we get paid less. So talking about non gw system can be a big no no because it drives people away. I personally have a policy of, "talk to me about it if you like, because I realize the world doesn't exist in a vacuum and other things are out there, however do not be going up to my customers and extolling the virtues of warmachine or other systems." Personally I'm not a fan of warmachine, because the FLGS that I go to play has a horrible community that reminds me everytime I play how much warmachine is better then 40k or fantasy, but yea to each their own. To directly answer your question, yes it's handed down from HQ but its like going to a toyata dealership to talk about ford cars.
I'd be interested to hear about sales numbers (both in general and specific ranges). If there is anything about future releases you can share, I'd be happy to hear that as well.
Sales are down from last year (starter sets sell like hot cakes as well as new edition books), but the dip isn't anything the company wasn't expecting. There is also the dip from big box stores being gone, but again nothing that wasn't expected. And unfortunately, I know NOTHING that you guys don't know save for like 2 days ahead. I get my release information the thursday before the release happens so that's about all the advance notice I get. And its only because thats when my shipment for saturday arrives
Any feedback on the new magazines would also be great.
In store feedback for both zines has been great so far (remember they've only been out for a day so I'm sure someone will come in and be upset soon) Most people ADORE the weekly, seriously that magizine is awesome with all the designer input, but are lukewarm towards visions, which is to be expected. It seems to be: get the weekly, grab visions if it has my army.
It's a sunday - you should be at work
Sorry can't disclose where in the world I could be by dropping hints on time
What's the pay like for running a one-man? Do you find your store often ends up closed due to unforeseen circumstances?
33,000 a year with full benefits and on salary. The only time my store has been closed due to unforseen circumstances is when my grandfather died and I had to fly out the same day. Usually If I'm sick or planning something I have an on-call manager that will fill in. I'm also good about letting people know exactly when it will happen.
What are the rough sales figures of your store? Rough profit?
My store is on the lower end but 125,000 a year which nets about 50 after tax and rent my pay etc, though this can fluctuate and Im not privy to this information thats just my guesswork
What are the most popular lines/products? What kind of official warning do you get for new product lines?
Our paints sell like hotcakes as do horus heresy books, however just general fantasy/40k sells well, batallion boxes and such
How often do you recruit an entirely new customer ? What do you sell them? Do you ever get partway through a new sale and have someone balk at the price?
My goal is once per week, but it honestly depends on who walks in the door, I usually go for the starter set because its got a rule book in it, and I've never had any price balk because most people either know the price coming in or I'm very upfront about it.
is GW doomed lol.
Nope, if anything its making its' business more resilient by reducing costs
id like to know if anyone has asked for a refund on the latest Warhammer Visions mag?
Not yet, but again its only been out for a day! Although idk if i can give them a refund, because its a print magazine. So unless it was unopened whats to stop everyone from buying it, reading it, then returning it for full price.
No clue if it's the same at your store, but why are your opening hours so idiotic? Our local store is closed M/T and only open Noon-6 on Sun/Wed/Thurs. It's literally impossible to get to if you're employed unless you go on Friday night or Saturday... I'd love to play games there but open gaming hours are in the middle of the afternoon.
They're set by the individual manager and they usually fit their schedule. I can't give hints about my store but let just say my store avoids that issue because I realize that and think it's silly.
Question to the OP: Why do you want us to ask you anything?
Because you guys deserve some insight
Okay, that's a little mean... Though I do wonder why you want us to ask you stuff...
But okay... As a manager, you obviously love the Warhammer game, like most of us here, even if most of us are extremely disgruntled. I can't imagine you, as a person and gamer and hobbyist, agree with the direction GW has gone in some of their ventures, specifically the White Dwarf. You have to agree that it went from bad to worse to absolutely terrible now. How vocal are managers in telling GW or WD how terrible some things are? I mean, I would probably hassle GW or WD every time I received a copy.
Unfortunately there isn't a channel except during our quarterely managers meetings, however, the reason I wanted to be here is because I feel like all too often places like this become a sounding chamber and there is really hardly anyone to argue the other side. Not saying I'm being combative, not saying gw is paying me to be here (trust me i wouldn't be scared to death of them finding me if they were) but the doom and gloom can really blow out of proportion sometimes and really doesn't match what I encounter in real life in store. I don't know if you guys just run into bad managers or if im just endlessly cheery but yea. One thing I will say though is money talks, if something doesn't sell well or has issues it changes. Our glue had issues for awhile, it changed. People had issues with WD, it changed, they still had issues, it changed again. as I said earlier I'm a fan of the weekly WD and I think visions is great for people whose army it has. Also alot of the visions backlash is "oh we've seen this pictures" but you gotta remember its just got that lag between old release and new release so yea. I would say though that GW's online policy went from "lets try to interact" to "oh god avoid at all costs" and that has just let it get worse and worse and worse which is unfortunate because all you guys are is customers airing your grievances. Not trolls to be shunned.
How do other shops manage to pay their overheads while selling cheaper minis?
Is this a stab at prices? I'd need more clarification for this question
Is Mat Ward just trying to be wargaming's Andy Kaufman?
I have a Ward rant, lets just say that you shouldn't buy into the common narrative
While on training programs, do GW managers cavort and dance horridly beneath cyclopean statues of unthinkable outer gods, when the moon is gibbous?
No training programs anymore
Why is the sky blue?
Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.
Does Tom Kirby have a fake moustache that he likes to wear occasionally to twirl while cackling?
Nah he's actually a pretty chill mild mannered dude
What's brown and sticky?
Agrax earthshade
How long 'til the mods delete this post?
a day?
Rest of the questions from you have the answer of No
Because they don' have the infrastructure of GW that they have to pay for, nor do they make and manufacture models on a fairly large scale, etc , etc, etc...
Oh yea thanks for the clarification, yea the smaller miniature companies really ride off of GW coat tails, in my experience its rare to see someone play one of the other systems without having played a gw game. GW makes paying hundreds of dollars for miniatures ok, the other companies base their business models off of that. Being able to say cheaper then gw is a huge selling point, or more competitive then gw etc etc
Some choice passages:
Didn't say that. Meanwhile i'll ask again: if you're legit, what purpose are you serving here?
I believe I already put it in earlier posts.
But to reiterate.
GWs policy towards online interaction is that it's a waste of time, we can't stop the community from being venomous so we'll just ignore it and keep making models.
I disagree with that and I wanted to show that some goodwill and interaction with the community can go a long way towards dispelling rumors and conspiracy theories. Especially because I spend half my day at my store shooting down or not having a proper answer for whatever zany rumor bols or faeit has decided to run with. (Like finecast disappearing tommarow or gw stealing metal models in the night)
Do you get the impression from the communications you get from those further up the corporate management ladder that there is a disconnect between management and gamers? I.e. from some of the decisions and rumours we see, we get the impression that those making the decisions don't know anything about the hobby itself.
There is about a year and a half production time from what I've been told, and the thing that takes the longest is the models, so the production process goes Models>Rules>Balance. So if they make a box and it has knights, and super knights in it for brettonia there is no way around including those super knights in the book. Now that's not to say the sculpting team throws new sculpts at the design team and says here have fun, but there is no way to "Scrap" or remove a unit from a book whats the sculpt has been made, especially if it's attached to another unit in a dual kit. You also have to remember that by the time these armies come out, the meta has completely shifted,which explains the feeling of disconnect. Can they do more to alleviate this issue? Of course. Have the decided it's worth the monetary cost to do so? Apparently not
And following on from that, do you get any feeling of contempt from upper management towards the customers, as we occasionally see rumours of?
I don't see outright contempt but I do see frustration. It's difficult to see your hard work ripped apart by anonymous people on forums when they don't have the whole story of why things are. To me this problem can be solved by having an active online presence and being more transparent. It's also difficult for me personally when I have people come in with ebay armies or "kitbashed" (read: made from spare sprue bits from other kits) centerpiece models and have them rub them in my face. But to more directly answer your question nobody at GW hates the customers, there are just some bad eggs that can really ruin your day.
Serious question: Are GW staff unionized?
Nope, there isn't a need too, we are paid well above what could be considered fair.
There is much more... go read it and come back to discus.