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I keep reading about how a lot of people would turn GW around but some of their examples, just mind boggle me.

So let's say you are in charge, how would you turn GW around. Mind you, you have to answer to share holders and you have to keep up the sales and make money. Not just initial purchases and that's it. (the way I see GW is being run right now. Get rich parents to spend $200-$1000 and be content to never been seen again. Not sure if true or not, but it seems how I feel and from reading what the internet says.)

I see a lot of comments of "make small skirmish battle games". I can't see how this would keep making GW money. I mean yes it can make initial purchases and make lots of money, but how can you keep making these kinds of sales to last through the years? What about after the initial $100 purchase? How can you sustain sales and growth after that?

I would like to see people's ideas, and then discuss why or why not these are good ideas for a large corporation and how it will make money for share holders. While for you and me most of the sales we would love to have, but for share holders it wouldn't be good enough. So how would you turn GW around?

For me, I would want to make interest into the company. Hold events and not have others to do it for me. I would support people who would want to run events. (now it has come to my attention, GW use to do this, but they are scammed and I can see why they don't want to do it no more. Again, how can you do it and not get scammed?) and promote through the intent and stores, owned and LFGS.

I want to increase sales, so I would have a more open relationship to LFGS, and not sho horn them into buying my way.

I would also do research and have open forums to see what my customers would want. I just can't believe I read Kirby is proud they don't do research and don't care what people want to buy. Yes I would have to sit through all the negativity and anger that a lot of customers have, but have to live with it because after all, GW created the problem, it has to be fixed one way. Only way I can see is, just start the forums, let people have their say, and eventually and in time, calm will happen and hopefully create a friendly environment for all parities.

I wouldn't shun away from competition. I would acknowledge it, (how many game forums you go to and you always see references for GW in there especially 40K). I would want to make sure, we all can have fun with everything, and make sure my product is improved so people will want to prefer my system if they can't play both. If you have to only buy one, by mine if you can't buy both great products.

I would promote and get people excited for future projects in the making. I wouldn't want just rely on Impulse Purchases. Give previews, interviews on people's blogs. I am shocked that I don't see no gaming site do this. I would go on sites like Dakkadakka, BoLS etc and give out interviews and promos just like how video games do like IGN etc.

I would also give reward programs. Buy so much, you get a discount, free paint or what not. Possibilities are Endless.

I would also refine what kind of company we are. If I am a miniature company and want to sell minis, why are my books so expensive? I would think that if I can put more books into peoples hands they would see more of my product and would want to buy it. I would want to make more sales on volume instead of relying on expensive sales with little volume. Maybe GW has a supply problem and just can't manufacture enough now? If that is the case then I would have to look at that and see why we can't produce much product. Do I want to sell books or do I want to sell miniatures? Do I want to sell a hobby on the whole?

I would also have to look at the books. Is really selling at above premium prices with little inventory really that successful? No proof of this, but I would lower the prices so people can buy more. I would try and give value to my product so people will want to buy it. Good quality and good fair price. Good example for me is when ever I buy X-wing, I feel like I am getting value when I buy Star Trek Attack Wing I find I am buying bubblegum machine toys.

All I know is, how do I get people buying my product. How do I get the veterans back that are upset? Once I get the veterans back how do I get them to keep buying once they bought everything? I guess that is where the research will have to be done do see what they want. How do I get new people into the game? How do I get them to stay and keep buying.

So many questions. So many answers.

What would you do?

I guess there's not much you'd be able to do since the company is public, it seems spending any type of money to invest in the rules or miniatures seems to be out of the question, so does lowering the prices to sane levels.

 mitch_rifle wrote:
I guess there's not much you'd be able to do since the company is public, it seems spending any type of money to invest in the rules or miniatures seems to be out of the question, so does lowering the prices to sane levels.

I think the internet community complains far more about GW's prices than the average public. My local GW store gets tons of business.

Your local store does not reflect the economic siuation of the company.

Hang draw and quarter the board of directors.

 mitch_rifle wrote:
I guess there's not much you'd be able to do since the company is public, it seems spending any type of money to invest in the rules or miniatures seems to be out of the question, so does lowering the prices to sane levels.

Not sure what you mean here? Why would share holders not want you to increase sales to make more money? I am sure a lot of publicly traded companies when doing bad, do a lot of changes to turn a company around. Why would this be so different? You telling me shareholders would say not to decrease prices in order to increase sales? You saying shareholders would say not to advertise or reach out to other 3rd parties to increase awareness?

0.5. fething fire Kirby and the entire fething board as well as Jervis Johnson.

1. Immediately drop all prices by 40% and hold that price freeze for 18-24 months.

2. Immediately cease production of all game system materials (rulebooks, codices, etc.).

3. Activate a 30-day plan to be balls deep in social media.

4. Begin negotiating with FFG to provide rules support.

5. Begin open beta for the rules.

6. Bolster independent retailers.

7. Actually look for areas that lack game stores and build there to fill in the gaps.

This would be the first 90 days.

Allways updating the rules seems to me to be annoying a lot of people. Not only in 40k, in fantasy allso. I have 3 exemplares of Empire(fantasy), and they don't even update every fraction either. Bretonians haven't seen a new "codex" in years... So If I were to increase sales, focus on the models, skip spending money on new editions all the time.

I would perhaps consider making more variations within the main factons, like they do with Imperial Guard; with different uniform-styles, but otherwise all within the same codex, but I realize it's expensive to cast stuff. Perhaps selling licenses to make models to companies interrested to hack into the WH-universe could make money; they don't need all that money, once they've fired all the ones making new editions all the time

Davor wrote:
I see a lot of comments of "make small skirmish battle games". I can't see how this would keep making GW money. I mean yes it can make initial purchases and make lots of money, but how can you keep making these kinds of sales to last through the years? What about after the initial $100 purchase? How can you sustain sales and growth after that?

The proposed small skirmish game isn't the end. It's the means. Small 'all in one box' games serve as the gateway drug to get people into the hobby. Once they're in, you start enticing them in further with the 'good' stuff.


What I would do:
- Hire a Community Representative, who would run the official GW Facebook page, twitter feed, and Flikkr, liaise with tournament organisers and clubs, and generally spread the word about the hobby and give the impressions that the company is aware that its customers are human beings rather than just walking wallets.

- Hire and editor. Someone with actual editoral experience, rather than just someone who likes Space Marines and can say 'Yes sir, Mr Kirby, sir!'

- Start collating feedback from customers about the current state of the games, with a view towards tweaking the next editions to be more in line with what customers actually want rather than just changing stuff for the sake of change and hoping people buy it.

- Lift the Official Citadel Veil of Secrecy. Publish sneak peeks of WIP minis to Facebook. Publish test rules (ala the Trial Assault and Vehicle rules from way back when) for upcoming publications to White Dwarf, Facebook and the GW website.

- Reorganise the pricing structure. High prices aren't in themselves a problem. Inconsistent pricing is. Similar kits should be similar prices. Otherwise customers get confused, and confused customers become angry customers.

- Remove the restrictions on selling outside of geographical regions and for US stores to sell online. These policies accomplish nothing useful, and just remove the ability for 'legitimate' stores to compete with those who find ways around them. If customers are buying online from halfway around the planet instead of locally, that's a sign that you need to reorganise your pricing structure, not a reason to try to limit where and how those customers can access your product.

- Release softcover versions of all rulebooks and army books.

- Once the new direction of each of the core games has been established via aforementioned customer feedback, publish full and complete rulesets. Abandon the separate codex format - Each game would come with a core rulebook, and an army list book that would include all current armies. Boxed sets and/or rules would be adjusted to ensure that every box includes a legal, fieldable unit, and would include that unit's rules on a stat card in the box.
-- Over the course of the edition, the studio could then focus on releasing campaign material, expansions and fluff books, with new miniature releases sprinkled through (made possible by the rules being included in the box) rather than always playing catch-up to get each army with current rules.

- Reverse the move to one-man stores. Stupid idea, which is made even more obvious by the fact that (going by their financial reports) GW knew full well that the one-man stores would have worse sales figures than the stores they replaced. Making decent stores more profitable is a far more sensible option than replacing them with stores that nobody can find, that have to close whenever the 'manager' has to go to the bathroom.

And the final one for this current stream-of-consciousness-ness: Stop with the nonsense legal actions. Shutting down fansites for having the temerity to promote your product, and dragging your own name through the mud by attacking 3rd party producers for making stuff that you had no intention of making yourself does no good for the hobby or for anyone involved.

 insaniak wrote:

The proposed small skirmish game isn't the end. It's the means. Small 'all in one box' games serve as the gateway drug to get people into the hobby. Once they're in, you start enticing them in further with the 'good' stuff.

Lots of great ideas there Insaniak. This stood out to me. What if people will not change? What if they decide to stick to small games? Just like how a lot of people are refusing to play Unbound or in 6th edition, 1999+1 games, what if they don't want to increase gaming size? I believe that is why GW kept on making bigger point games and lowering points on units so people will buy more.

How would you get these people to keep buying more while still playing low point games? What if the rules for small point skirmish games become the fave and people don't want to play more than say 750 points, or 1000 points the most? What can you do then? How do you get people to play bigger games to spend more?

1) Clean sweep of all executive positions. They're not doing the company one lick of good. Good bye.

2) GW is a miniature and game manufacturer. Why they decided to become a miniature and game RETAILER is beyond comprehension. They spend a STUPENDOUS amount of money supporting a sideline that has little to do with their main focus... and do it badly. In the meantime they're also alienating the people who retail games as THEIR main focus. This would lead me to

a - close GW stores too close to a local game shop (ideally, close ALL GW stores, but that might leave some areas without a place to game... and I'm too much of a gamer to do that to my co-hobbyists)
b - end a LOT of policies aimed at getting people to buy direct instead of through the FLGS
c - indeed, actively COURT FLGS to sell our product.
d - including having regional sales reps go and run regular events at the FLGS in their region. This is non-negotiable; if you can't do it then how do you expect to sell GW games?

In short, stop pushing the idea that GW can cover all aspects of GW gaming by itself equally well, because they've spent the past twenty years demonstrating they can't. And since we'd no longer be spending that stupendous amount of money running GW stores, I could...

3) Chop prices to more reasonable levels. I'd also make the prices a bit more rational than they are now (no $50 for 10 core troops, even if they can be used to make a rare troop as well). We'll make less per unit, but likely move a LOT more units.

4) The entry-level game MUST be made more affordable as well. A $100 box set that is only marginally playable by itself simply will not do. A $100 basic rulebook is ridiculous for a starting player. Ideally the starter box should be fully playable and comparable in cost to other mini games - which seems to be in the $50 range. A WFB skirmish game starter would fit the bill quite nicely.

5) On a related note, given that I got started into WFB through Blood Bowl, I'd bring back the specialty games. Surely the molds are still in storage somewhere, and the rules are out there on the internet as well.

Now onto the long-range plans.

6) Announce that new editions are forthcoming and open a forum for the fans to discuss what is good and bad about 40K, WFB, Mordenheim/Necromunda, Epic/Warmaster, Blood Bowl, BFG, etc.

7) Actually listen to what the fans say. Small point, but vital.

8) Actually playtest the rules, not just in-house but in beta releases. Hunt down the really evil manipulative rules--lawyers among the fans and set them loose on the rules to see how badly they can be broken... and then fix them. On a related note, since you never manage to catch everything, FAQ updates WILL be regular and as comprehensive as needed. New print runs of the rules will incorporate the rules changes.

9) Release new editions of the updated rules, possibly with multiple different starter sets - one per army. Say, a basic legal 500 point army and the rulebook, using existing sprues instead of custom ones.

10) E-book will sell for a reasonable amount. Updates of existing e-book files will be available. Not sure if free will be possible, but as cheap as can possibly be arranged. If we have to make the fans pay because we screwed up, we certainly won't profit from it.

11) All army books WILL be updated before releasing a new edition. New edition rules will not make existing armies dramatically under- or overpowered.

12) The forum will have regular polls asking what needs fixing, what minis need to be redone, so on and so forth. We will then refer to step 7 again.


Big changes, I know, but I think it would really help the company by helping expand the community. GW fans know at least as much about making the game fun as the game designers do. It's past time they were listened to.

Davor: Battletech has run it's basic ruleset for thirty years with only one trivial change. And yet it's still a profitable game.

Davor wrote:
Lots of great ideas there Insaniak. This stood out to me. What if people will not change? What if they decide to stick to small games? Just like how a lot of people are refusing to play Unbound or in 6th edition, 1999+1 games, what if they don't want to increase gaming size?

Then that's a good thing. Because you now have games in your portfolio that attract both those who like small games, and those who like big games. Those people are often not the same people.

There's clearly an audience for games that allow for larger battles... (the fact that 40K is the only real scifi game that does so currently available is a large part of the reason I've stuck with it for so long). But the huge growth in recent years of skirmish games and all-in-one-box games since Kickstarter became a thing shows that GW is missing out on a fairly significant slice of the pie by not catering to gamers who are into such things.

I believe that is why GW kept on making bigger point games and lowering points on units so people will buy more.

Believe it or not, that was actually started by the gamers themselves.

2nd edition was really only intended as a skirmish game. It very quickly got clunky and unweildy at larger points values. But what happened over the life of the edition was that people started playing bigger and bigger games with it. And so part of the objective when 3rd ed was written was to give people a game that actually allowed them to do so without reaching retirement age halfway through turn 3.

It's hard to say how much the contonuing trend in more recent years is pushed by the gamers and how much by GW's financial department, because somewhere after 4th edition was released, GW stopped asking their customers what they wanted and started just assuming they already knew.

How would you get these people to keep buying more while still playing low point games?

I wouldn't make it about 'low point games'. I would make it about a succession of all-in-one box games that people can buy and play straight out of the box. Stuff like Space Hulk and Heroquest, with simple, easy to learn rules that you can just pick up and play, but that lead you into the setting and so the next game released is already somewhat familiar even before you open the box, while giving you a new way to explore that setting.

Some players will gravitate to the smaller games and stay there... and so you give them a steady supply of new games to try out.
Others will play the small games and start looking for more... and for those, you have the 'core' game waiting.

At this point a public restructuring of the company may be needed.

Get rid of the current board - and bring in a market analyst!

Advertise!


A lot of what needs to be done is mending fences:

Announce a restructuring of the prices - and spend some time doing just that.

Open up the stores to third party support. Don't sue folks like Chapterhouse - court them!

Open up to local game stores - don't try to squeeze them out - court them!

Market several games - including games to bring in new players.

Announce a new edition for several years down the road - and do public playtests! Work on balance, fer the love of Mike!

Do several armies per codex - like the old Ravening Hordes and Warhammer Armies books. Do the same with expansions.

Include working army lists in the base games! (I think that 3rd edition WH40K was the last to do so.)

Talk to folks, find out why they left - and court them!

The Auld Grump

Davor wrote:
Lots of great ideas there Insaniak. This stood out to me. What if people will not change? What if they decide to stick to small games? Just like how a lot of people are refusing to play Unbound or in 6th edition, 1999+1 games, what if they don't want to increase gaming size? I believe that is why GW kept on making bigger point games and lowering points on units so people will buy more.

How would you get these people to keep buying more while still playing low point games? What if the rules for small point skirmish games become the fave and people don't want to play more than say 750 points, or 1000 points the most? What can you do then? How do you get people to play bigger games to spend more?

If you sold them a $100 all in one game and they didn't buy into the greater product range because of it, it's not necessarily failure of the product to act as a gateway. Chances are that people was simply never going to otherwise be your customer. If a $100 all in one game is 'enough' for them, trying to sell them $500 worth of models for a single army isn't going to accomplish much. At that point, you be happy they paid you money for something and move on to the next customer.

There comes a time when that hard sale just becomes more trouble than it's worth, and there's easier sales to make.

Same with people who buy a single 10 model list for Infinity and download the rules. Was it pointless for Corvus Belli, since they only sold 10 models and no rules? Well no, because they sold 10 models. Is it pointless for Wyrd if someone buys a single Malifaux crew and a small rules manual, but no fate deck, arsenal decks or additional models? No, because they sold them a crew and a rules manual.

The main point with Games Workshop right now is in order to interact with the greater community, the price of entry is absolutely horrendous.

Insaniak makes some good points but the problem is to make money you have to spend money, i don't think GW are willing to take risks anymore.

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
Insaniak makes some good points but the problem is to make money you have to spend money, i don't think GW are willing to take risks anymore.

I agree with that point, unless theres a complete restrucuture and re-think of the way they do business and sell products, than their dead in the water

Personally I'd start fostering the community. Encourage players to play games on store tables, and bring back items at the $5-$20 impulse price point. Blister packs of HQs, or a couple of troops. Tshirts, Video games, stickers etc, anything to boost those low cost high volume high profit sales. Especially for the teenage market, they're gonna think long and hard about that $50 box of terminators, but that $15 aquila shirt is going to fly off of the shelves.

Look at other "luxury" brands- from my own experience, paintball. A good tournament marker is around $1200-1500 (or at least was when I was still playing circa 2009), and all of these brands had a VERY extensive supporting line to go with it. From actual gear (GW could do this with playing accessories, beyond their normal dice/tape measure stuff.) to what they referred to as "lifestyle" products. Aka $20 tshirts that people bought by the bucketful to proclaim the fact that they were a paintballer.

Translate this into the GW context, and you have relatively low cost, tempting "PLEASE MOM PLEASE" impulse buys. I for one would buy the crap out of some chaos star t-shirts.

The first thing I'd do is see what I can do to make the CHS thing go away, accepting that it'll involve writing a large check.

Then I'd send a huge freebie pack to every independent retailer that still has an account; as a means of a thank you / support, for them to use to fit out an in-store gaming table and as prize / promo support for their customers, giving a reason for them to promote GW again. Budget for maybe £150 per store in raw material costs (so about £600 in RRP); that should get them a RoBB, some scenery, and a few dozen blisters / sprues to give out. Ship them out like the old black boxes - no packaging, just bagged sprues to save on costs.

Then I'd look at outsourcing the rules writing to FFG/River Horse (Allesios new company) and focus on producing minis.

Once all of that was in motion, I'd pay off Kirby and shake up the entire management structure, and re-instate a few of the global HQ's.

I'd try and court other companies to use GW for production; they have the skills and capacity, so it should be a good profit source. I'd do it either via the Citadel label, or make up a new casting subsidiary.

With the stores; I'd drop any which aren't going to be profitable, and instead try and improve support for independents, with a few travelling support staff. I'd also try and stock as many franchised GW stuff as possible (the FFG games), gift cards for the Apple/Android games, merchandising, a comprehensive Black Library range, etc. I'd try and get as many sub £10 items into the stores as well, even if that means splitting boxes up further. Basically trying to capitalise on the impulse buying market.

Rules and unit entries need fixing. I only know 40k, but I'm sure Fantasy needs it too.
The quickest way to fix them is with Errata, but there's none of that happening. There was the mixed-range change last year, and the Heldrake's neck, but that's about it.
If a unit needs a points change, get it changed. And leave it there until other stuff around it has been fixed. Don't wait for the next codex, years later.

Management needs a shake-up. How many of them don't know the hobby industry, and just see GW as a toy company with stores? Get shot of them.

Get player input into the company. There must be ways to get players elected into a players' committee of some sort. Maybe get the big forums recognised, and a rep from each of them put forward. Have a portion of the committee made up from the store managers, even if it's only from the bigger, more-than-1-man stores. Tournament winners could make up a couple of places, too.
Run any new rules or models past them before release. Use them for playtests and sanity checks.

For struggling GW stores, run a 'sanctioned store' programme. Allow them a bit of free rein, and stock selected non-GW items, like FFG games or modelling materials. If that works, expand it to other stores that have the room.

In no particular order.

Open engagement with the community and proper market research. Out of all the 'bring back squats' 'nerf Riptides' 'give marines ws5 bs 5 etc' comments find out what will actually be a benefit and will retain/gain customer goodwill and indeed customers.

There are so many dissenting voices as to what makes a good rule set, game, world, army that doing this may take a while. It may be better for long term viability to target just one or two aspects but the main thing is to get the ship moving in a direction.

A hobby centre in major locations. Encourage uptake and participation events in these centres. Make them a destination, a social experience. promote these spaces and use them as centres for community outreach.

Core rules for major games released free as PDFS etc. Core rules are to be play tested to death before release. professional editors will be hired to ensure these things are legible and coherent, with as few ambiguities as possible. development will including giving to non gamers to see if they can understand them.

Added value in the form of full unit sizes and equipment in each box/blister.
Data sheets or a code for a downloadable PDF ebook file with full unit rules included.

Physical rules will be available for sale.

3rd parties should not be a threat. if a 3rd party product is superior then that should be a spur to make the best model figures in the world. If they actually infringe take steps. The best way to beat the 3rd parties is make sure that your on products are better.

Engage FLGS, win back their business with a product that shows profit potential and long term viability. I'm in the GW business so I want to see shelf space taken with my product, I also want said product to be number 1 in consumer minds.

Tournaments are my friend. Prize support, funding, advertising, engagement. A big tourney can act as a mini con. Tout the product to high heaven. work with organizers to produce tourney packs etc.
Advertise them! They are playing MY game!

New product research. Feth me! chibi fantasy dungeon crawlers are all the rage, space corridor zombie games are in! big (small) robot mechs are back! Pokemon - I REMEMBER! its still around! I want my consumers thinking and playing in my game worlds in their sleep. In fact, I want them sleeping under Sigmar duvets, drinking from Aquila branded mugs, wiping on slaaneshi embossed toilet paper.

Licensing - see above, if it isn't viable for main company to do it see if it is valuable to someone else (within reason and taste - slaaneshi toilet paper is mine though I know a paper converter!)

Social fething media and a platform to comment. I'm a big boy i can take it.

This is what I put in the other thread. It is all high level stuff.

Reconnect with your customers. Right now you have got half your old fans actively working to undermine you because they are so disgusted with the direction you have taken the company and the game(s).

Reconnect with your retailers. You might make less from one kit sold through an independent, but if you can sell two kits through the independent you make more. Also you can't fill the world with official GW shops. It is too big.

Make proper use of your shops. Invent some new games to sell. Bring in the best licensed 3rd party games such as the Fantasy Flight role-playing and card games.

Get more staff to run demo games and modelling skills classes. You don't have any other way to recruit new players because you pissed off all the veterans, don't go to shows, and don't sponsor clubs and tournaments any more.

Make some boxed games. Some of them should be complete-in-one-box type (like Space Hulk.) Others could be extendable, like a renewed Battle Fleet Gothic with fleet expansion packs. You should make some new games though, not just recycle old ideas. You need to show people who go into your shops that they don't have to just spend £1000s on being able to play only one game.

Prices need to at least be held for a while to allow people to price back in. Maybe do some bundles to provide value without obvious price cuts.

Also, the rules and codexes really need to be available in cheaper editions. People who don't buy the rulebooks won't buy the models.

 Kilkrazy wrote:


Prices need to at least be held for a while to allow people to price back in. Maybe do some bundles to provide value without obvious price cuts.

Truth.

GW in its current shape cannot support price cuts but could support added value.

Well, firing Jervis Johnson to stop jervisification of GW would be inevitable.

Get rid of Codexes and have a FoC and data sheet in every box.

So for example you buy a box of tactical marines and in the box is a card with all the stats and options plus any special rules and where they fit in the FoC.

This is what other games systems like malifaux do and I think it works really well.

Then make the mini rule book available to buy seperately so you don't have to buy the massive hard back one.

Then if people want it rather than Codexes they could produce source books for background, fluff, painting etc.

Troops choices and rule book should be loss leaders to make them cheaper or should be available as bundles with higher discount, which Storm Claw already demonstrated can be very successful, just should have been available for longer.

GW have also already produced kits with rules in, the Imperial Knight has stats on the instruction sheet and some of the newer buildings have them on the instruction sheet too.

I'd introduce starter sets as a kind of gateway drug.

Many, though not all, of these games would include figures that could be used in Warhammer and 40k.

So, for example, an Eldar vs Tyranids skirmish game, probably on a cardstock board that includes miniatures that can be used in other armies. (Yes, pretty much Doom of the Eldar) Bring back Space Hulk. Gorkamorka. Chaos vs Imperial Guard, or marines in a perpetually mutating ship. Tau invading a Tomb World to stop it activating.

probably Necromunda too, and not even worry that the models were not all directly applicable to 40k.

Bring back Mordheim. Have a dwarf versus skaven and/or goblins tunnel skirmish game. A wood elf versus beastmen forest skirmish game. An empire versus vampire counts tomb raider game with heroes, but also models useable as Empire State troops. An Orc versus Ogres semi-humourous gladiator game. A high versus dark elf game where you are racing against each other to complete some sort of magical task, and probably fighting as you do it. A Chaos warbands trial-by-combat game. Each game could be as similar or as utterly divorced from the main game as you liked.

Bring back Blood Bowl. 'Nuffle Said.

I would investigate whether there is a market for bringing back Adeptus Titanicus. It was always my favourite when it was one of the three staples of GW. I am just not sure there is enough profit in it.

Make each of them so there is no saving on buying the models separately, but include some unique models in each, but also just the regular models from other games to save expense. The rules and cardstock would be more or less free, but an incentive to buy.

Gateway Games.

Well, some of what I would do is tactical, and some of it is strategic. Bear in mind I'm no finacial or business wizard.

1. Change the Mission statement of the company. It would no longer be about making the best Miniatures int he world, but instead be to make the best miniature games in the world. I would recognize the fact that without games or backstory you have nothing.

2. Switch back to Cult Marketin. Cult marketing is where if people "bu-in" to your product hey get additional access to how the company works and operates. It is more personality driven and less product driven. Think about Apple when Steve Job was around. Think about GW when everyone knew Gav, Jervis, and Andy. This would also include previews, behind the scenes vids, seminars, and battle reports. Make the customers feel like part of the successof the company.

3. Use Social Media extensively to engage with customers. The thing that differentiates Miniature wargames from other forms of entertainment is the social interaction and creative outlet. This needs to be capitalized on. This would inclde forums, facebook, twitter, instagram, vine vids, and youtube channels. This can be used to gather important market/insight data.

4. Build relationships with FLGS and Communities and reduce my own retail exposure. Physical brick and Mortar retail is a dying space. Let indies take the risks tere, and do what you can as a distributor to help them. However, don't try to fight the internet anymore. Embrace it. These relationships can also sub as your marketing/insight channels for relatively cheap.

5. Make more games. Use your expansive IP to tap intot he potential and create lots of cross-over potential. Keep 40K and Fantasy your flagships, but create a web of games that competes in all "markets" of the Wargaming space. Compete for market share in all avenues to undercut your competetion. GW has more resources than their competitors, but if they don;t leverage their advanage to force their rival to expend capital they are missing a trick. By competing everywhere, no other company can simply take market share without a fight. Int he far future there is only corporate war!

6. Restructuring the pricing to be tiered. Basic stuff to play the games should b cheap and potentially loss leaders, i.e. Rules, Codexes, and troops. Think of it like selling drugs; you give someone a taste relatively cheap until they are hooked. Then you crank up the price.

7. Abandon churn to earn strategies. It is far cheaper to retain a customer than to create one. Business 101 really.

8. Stop caring too much about shareholders, because at the level GW is playing the shareholdes don't care too much about them. Focus on the long term success of the company first by investing as much back into the comapny as possibel and reduce the dividend.

10. Get rid of 'Yes Men" and replace them with results oriented people. Create a culture of accountability to those results fromt he ground up. The only path to promotion should be results.

11. Define success as Marketshare growth not necessarily sales numbers. If your customer base grows, it will translate to increased sales thanks to your tiered pricing strategy and competition in all wargaming/boardgaming markets.

So really, if took over it would be a complete cultural and tactical shift before I ran the company ruthlessly into the ground and sold of the assets for my own personal gain.

When I see anyone posting things like "fire the board of directors", "ignore the shareholders" or "slash prices 40%", I feel safe to assume one of two things; they're either working for someone like Privateer Press and want less competition, or the poster is so utterly clueless they don't realise that ideas like this aren't just bad, some are illegal. Plans like that are absolutely the best way to kill off GW faster than anything the current management are doing.
It's also true that this thread is a bit unrealistic, as anyone 'in charge of GW' would never be involved in the minutiae of designing new products, setting prices or writing rules. But what the hell, I'm going to dip into the realm of fantasy too. Wooohooo.

As I see it, GW has a lot of unused potential. Their primary strength over competitors is their production and design capacity - this should be leveraged as much as possible to restore former market share. The IP is also a huge resource, and provides a very recognisable brand able to draw in customers via other media. Here's my rough plan (note that I don't mention WHFB at all, as I know nothing about it or it's issues)

Short Term

The overall goal is to reduce the barrier to entry and bring in new players without them needing to immediately drop a fortune on models, paint, codexes and rules. If the hobby is less daunting to start, there is more chance of a customer sticking around to build up a collection over years.

The first objective is to stem the sales decline and improve cashflow, so no more cuts are required. I'm confident that this can be achieved with a simple new product line - the entry level skirmish game several people have already mentioned. The heart of this is a cut-down version of the main 40K game in a similar style to Kill Team, intended for 300-1000pt games. It would include only the core rules and scenarios, with no vehicles and very few USRs. These rules would be made available via free PDF download on the website, and in free leaflets in stores.
To support this, a new 'core product' range would be identified. This would consist of the basic units for most factions, such as Space Marine Tactical Squads, Eldar Guardians, Tyranid Guants, etc. The core range for each faction would recieve a simple 2-3 page army list with the relevant unit entries and options, also made available for free via download. These products would likely require increased production, taking advantage of GW's high-volume plastics manufacturing capability.

This range would be supported by limited release starter sets akin to Stormclaw, although with fewer models; a Tac Squad vs Tyranid Warriors + Guants would be a good example. The set would include rules, dice, templates and glue, and be priced in the £40-50 range. These products would then be pushed not only through GW stores and FLGS, but also any possible new customers such as toy stores. This would be the start of a new focus on trade sales, aiming for volume rather than margin in order to grow GW brands.
Alongside these starter sets, items in the core range would also recieve regular special offers via GW stores, encouraging customers through the doors to see the wider range in person. Store managers would be encouraged to run intro sessions of these skirmish rules, teaching new customers how to play and building excitement.

The end goal is to draw customers up from these starter sets toward mainstream 40k, once they own a sufficient collection to play it.

Long Term

Once cashflow has been steadied, test the water for Specialist Games by releasing an established product via Forge World. That production method is ideal for small-run items as part of a premium range of products, and nothing fits that description better than a Necromunda gang.
I'd also look into FW producing some mainstream GW products, such as special characters, and having them sold transparently in the same manner as finecast items currently are. This would make it easier to update old low-volume items like Phoenix Lords without resorting to overblown dual-kits or pointless accessories like Logan's pimp-mobile.

I'd be looking closely at competitor's products and seeing what we can do better. Many of them gained inspiration from GW games in the first place, so there's no reason GW can't compete back.

GW also has a pretty obvious untapped potential... allowing other companies to produce miniatures using their IP. Ranges at scales other than 28mm (like BFG and Epic) could be resurrected via IP license in a similar way to video and board games, with full approval over aesthetics. This would have two key advantages: firstly GW would undertake next-to-no risk, as the producer has to cover all their own production costs. More importantly, it helps to reduce competition, giving GW a portion of income where previously they had none.

I was going to post a list of my own suggestions, but honestly, everything I was going to say has already been said by multiple people already.

It's funny how many different people have alarmingly similar ideas of what would work.

Maybe it's time GW invested in some market research if they'd get this kind of consistent response.

Maybe we should pack this thread up and e-mail it to GW.

Odds are nothing will come of it since they have one of the worst cases of 'Not Invented Here' I've ever seen, but one can always hope...

GW needs more "hobbyists". It seems to me there are too many corporate ladder-climbers in there now.

GW's hiring practices need to be simplified as well. Their own hiring practices cut out or reject some of the very people they need in order to make any significant changes.

If you get the right people in there, naturally they'll have the right "attitude", then you'll see changes for the better in all areas.