tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post4503144363768570807..comments2024-02-25T13:12:06.010+00:00Comments on Oubliette Magazine: The Beginning of the End for Games Workshop?Peter Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00079169626281586177noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-59548445360796353362011-01-06T16:47:57.095+00:002011-01-06T16:47:57.095+00:00Just to update this GW lost another 4% in today...Just to update this GW lost another 4% in today's trading. They report their half-year results on Jan 25th so I'll post them when they're released.Peter Reganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079169626281586177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-53704048310370204282011-01-05T21:02:42.587+00:002011-01-05T21:02:42.587+00:00According to this article last summer they were de...According to this article last summer they were debt free. <br /><br />http://www.thisisbusiness-eastmidlands.co.uk/gamesworkshop/Flab-free-Games-Workshop-boosts-profits-plots-growth/article-2462915-detail/article.html <br /><br />However, I would imagine that with their sales peaking in December they probably need a big overdraft facility over the winter months. <br /><br />Anyway please excuse me while I close the blog for a few minutes so I can go to the toilet.Peter Reganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079169626281586177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-42673198121098459172011-01-05T20:39:29.038+00:002011-01-05T20:39:29.038+00:00I wonder if we'll see them ditch the retail ne...I wonder if we'll see them ditch the retail network and just carry on as a producer.<br /><br />Does anyone have any idea how much debt they're carrying?Crusty Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10146323623068191394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-7696023332043670592011-01-05T20:27:41.744+00:002011-01-05T20:27:41.744+00:00Maybe folks would buy more $3.00 miniatures as opp...Maybe folks would buy more $3.00 miniatures as opposed to $15.00 ones.<br /><br />Maybe I'm an old cheapskate but 2 or 3 cool miniatures for $3.00 a pop seems like a lot better sales for GW as opposed to no $15.00 from someone like me.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-59530270738182842312011-01-05T19:25:34.306+00:002011-01-05T19:25:34.306+00:00Ah, I am corrected - I thought it included the Chr...Ah, I am corrected - I thought it included the Christmas run-in. So yeah, that is pretty bad, especially as it includes the Warhammer 8e launch. So I take back what I wrote at your place, too Coop.<br /><br />Which worries me as I think that the collapse of GW could be a very bad thing for gaming indeed. We don't get an alternate history where GW continued stocking Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, etc., and where White Dwarf continued as a broad ranging gaming magazine. We lose the only gaming presence in many towns, certainly the only high-street gaming presence in most towns, and the number one recruiter of kids into hobbies that involve dice, strategy, complex rules, and the imagination.<br /><br />Bloody hell, you'd think that rather being terribly disappointed with the way that GW has turned out, that I worked for them.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-59453290005829974962011-01-05T18:21:55.247+00:002011-01-05T18:21:55.247+00:00They will probably respond by going for more "...They will probably respond by going for more "one man stores" as favourably mentioned in that Graun article even though as a semi-regular customer of the EE it's the single thing that makes me think the whole operation is at death's door - when you can't staff your premises so that the place has to be locked up and shuttered so the single staff member can go to the toilet (as I've seen locally twice in as many months) it makes it look very marginal indeed.<br /><br />That said I can remember having the "GW can't last much longer" conversation in about 1990/91 with periodic reprises ever since.Coopdevilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16219253658967958289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-51185297166986633842011-01-05T18:14:22.534+00:002011-01-05T18:14:22.534+00:00The problem is that the 4% drop is for 6 months sa...The problem is that the 4% drop is for 6 months sales up to 28th November, which discounts most of the bad weather. In retail a 4% drop is pretty bad. I believe the reaction on the stock market is in anticipation of an even bigger fall in sales over the Christmas period. My reasoning that this might mark the beginning of the end is that I'm not sure what GW can do to increase profit and/or turnover. That said, I am not a shareholder, and I've taken no more than a cursory look at the company's performance. In the short-term, GW's cashflow will be a key indicator. <br /><br />Of course, now my interest has been piqued I will keep an eye out for any breaking news.Peter Reganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079169626281586177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-85127213952830227252011-01-05T17:06:46.536+00:002011-01-05T17:06:46.536+00:00I don't know, it is *only* a 4% drop in sales ...I don't know, it is *only* a 4% drop in sales on the same period last year, and this Christmas has not only had the worst weather in the history of GW, but it is also the Christmas when tens of thousands of council workers received letters saying, "you are/might be sacked, and you might be re-hired on savagely cut wages and worse conditions", and linked to this is the prospect of unemployment hitting record highs when the cuts kick in, which will depress the wages an conditions of everyone else.<br /><br />Sure, it might be the end of GW, but I'd say that the 4% fall in sales has more to do with the economic climate and the freak weather, and the 13% fall in their valuation is a daft a reaction of 'the market' as the increasing share price of Blacks, based on an entirely weather-related 10% rise in sales.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670353994059266402.post-49858171710174935352011-01-05T16:28:24.650+00:002011-01-05T16:28:24.650+00:00Many thanks for posting this.
Very interesting......Many thanks for posting this.<br /><br />Very interesting...scottszhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10327316054801308727noreply@blogger.com