Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

He was probably upset by the lack of a new Ork Codex and just had to leave.

I think it was the Squats.

Posted By beefHeart on 04/27/2007 4:31 AM
Cashing in of the stock options is usually, not always, a precursor to leaving an organization. I have no idea how it works at GW but in many cases certain agreements require you to hold the stocks for a period of time before being allowed to sell. It's not uncommon for execs with such large holdings to be prohibited from selling while with the company. Other times it's based on percentages. Such sell-offs are never a good thing. The rats... the ship sinking... not far off the mark. It's the kind of thing that the boys at ENRON got in so much trouble for.

-beefheart

It's actually nothing like the kind of thing that the boys at Enron got in trouble for.

I guess nobody here gets hyperbole...

Posted By Orlanth on 04/28/2007 5:50 AM
Maybe there is a connection between this sale and the purchase of stockl by Phoenix Asset Management.

To be honest GW is a good investment if you can become a major shareholder. GW studio gets away with their crap because there isn't one.

I know I am preaching to the choir here when I say that a lot of GW business could be fixed by a few choice policy and staffing changes.

When a company is very big, has a lot of potential and is being crippled by poor management and ideology - its a VERY good investment.

Take GW, over come in with a majority share and make demands of the studio and the head office. Its a classic case of a company perfect for takeover. Instant fix and instant reward and financially its a no brainer as the necessary changes could be made with very little effort for a company this size.

Something everyone needs to realize is this. From what I have been told...

Imagine certain regions in the world and their potential for sales and gaining new hobbyists as being represented by drinking glasses. Europe, Australia etc are almost full. The glass for Japan is not even filled 10 percent. The glass for the United States is maybe 20 times the size of Europe and only filled maybe 10-15%.

So while Europe's sales may be down, and Japan has barely got started, sales are great in the US, which bodes well for the company. They are expanding and things are looking good.

 

I'd surmise that the guy who unloaded his stock might have done so under some of the aforementioned rules for selling stock.

Which is absolutely true. Trouble is, the last few years accounts make the performance of GW in the US not look particularly good. I know last year the exchange rate translation of $ prices into £ makes the results look worse than they really were, and the further collapse of the dollar has likely continued that trend this year but even so, while there is much "scope" for expansion in the US, there seems to be little demonstration that GW has hitherto managed to capitalise on the US market.

Its very hard to tell though - there is some anecdotal evidence that GW is doing OK in the US, and lots that it isn't. Certainly there is a lot of POTENTIAL, but can GW realise it? That is the question.

Part of me doesn't think they seem to have the correct model for doing so - they appear to be trying to replicate ther UK model - with own-brand stores selling (relatively) highly priced models being the main engine for growth. However, in the US there is much greater competition from PP, Reaper, established Indies, etc. I suspect GW may continue to struggle in the US with this essentially European, pre-internet business model. As it stands, their attempts to maintain Gross Margin at all costs, may end up stifling their growth in the US.

I do see some signs of things cracking in the GW business model. For instance the recent sale at Black Library and the promo voucher for First And Only in the UK WD this week. Clearly GW are seeing the potential for deep discounting in some of their product ranges - which was not the case a year or two back, when it was all "full price or nothing".

But we will find out in a couple of months' time for sure.

Hobbs are your figures hypothetical and there for imagery. The US and Canada are a much larger market than the UK, but not Europe as a whole. The only market larger than Europe is China, and then only for certain things. Its a simple matter of adding up the population and GNP.

The main disadvantage of the European market is the large amount of localisation necessary because of the large number of major languages.

 Orlanth wrote:
Hobbs are your figures hypothetical and there for imagery. The US and Canada are a much larger market than the UK, but not Europe as a whole. The only market larger than Europe is China, and then only for certain things. Its a simple matter of adding up the population and GNP.

The main disadvantage of the European market is the large amount of localisation necessary because of the large number of major languages.

I know this is off-topic from the original subject, but I wanted to comment on the point raised here. I've just spent some time searching the forum for a more appropriate discussion to post in, but this place seems as good as any and it originally sparked my interest.

Does anyone know, or wish to speculate authoritatively on GW's attitude or plans about expanding into China? I'm living in a third-tier city with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people with plenty of disposable income. It is difficult to find a non-commerical car on the road that is more than seven years old. It is projected that there will be still more wealthy people in the future. Yet, the local toy shops do not carry GW, or even any table-top systems, but rather Japanese anime type figures and models. I don't imagine it's the lack of space, although living quarters can be cramped, depending upon the family size and income level. Maybe it's because the Chinese are taught to save, rather than spend there disposable income on plastic toys? Many of the kids I have seed do kill-time like Western teens, on the internet, but perhaps the cost of a computer game hobby is less spacious and easier on the bank account? Thoughts?

This thread is 5 years old...