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2014/10/10 22:30:34
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
Meanwhile in a GW meeting room, somewhere near Nottingham..
"Well, we've gone and done it. We've finally pissed off enough gamers that it's actually beginning to hurt us financially. We're here today to discuss implementing a new studio system as well as re-thinking our company culture to become more inclusive and cultivate a better relationship with our customers and players. It's been a wonderful ride, but I'm afraid I can't see any way forward but to roll up our sleeves and start making the quality product our customers are crying out for.."
"Hang on Mr Kirby, there might be another way..."
"Go on..."
"Well, we all know that all of our customers are mindless, mouth breathing simpletons, and that ultimately we're doing them a favour by taking their money before they spend it on something really pointless, so, we could...we could....change the name of all the shops? That would mean all the negative nonsense we've pulled since forever will be instantly forgotten!"
"Genius! Here, have some money!"
*Kirby throws a roll of twenty pound notes at minion, hitting them in the face*
I normally role my eyes at this sort of comment but I have to admit ... I actually laughed out loud. Well played.
Hey, I don't always do GW boardroom parodies, but when I do...
TheAuldGrump wrote:Dammit! Where is GW Fulchester when you need it?!
The Auld Grump
I think you'll find that's Warhammer Fulchester now.
We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark
The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.
The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox
Think GW Fulchester got issued with a legal warning at some point over the summer and had to stop making new updates, shame as there would have been a lot of mileage in this one
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/10 22:54:54
Meanwhile in a GW meeting room, somewhere near Nottingham..
"Well, we've gone and done it. We've finally pissed off enough gamers that it's actually beginning to hurt us financially. We're here today to discuss implementing a new studio system as well as re-thinking our company culture to become more inclusive and cultivate a better relationship with our customers and players. It's been a wonderful ride, but I'm afraid I can't see any way forward but to roll up our sleeves and start making the quality product our customers are crying out for.."
"Hang on Mr Kirby, there might be another way..."
"Go on..."
"Well, we all know that all of our customers are mindless, mouth breathing simpletons, and that ultimately we're doing them a favour by taking their money before they spend it on something really pointless, so, we could...we could....change the name of all the shops? That would mean all the negative nonsense we've pulled since forever will be instantly forgotten!"
"Genius! Here, have some money!"
*Kirby throws a roll of twenty pound notes at minion, hitting them in the face*
I normally role my eyes at this sort of comment but I have to admit ... I actually laughed out loud. Well played.
Hey, I don't always do GW boardroom parodies, but when I do...
TheAuldGrump wrote:Dammit! Where is GW Fulchester when you need it?!
The Auld Grump
I think you'll find that's Warhammer Fulchester now.
Seriously, someone needs to get on that right now!!
2014/10/10 22:59:18
Subject: Re:UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
Ok so I see that the web is asking a lot of questions due to the "Warhammer" rebranding we have done, so let me explain.
After almost 26 years here in Edinburgh we have changed the name on the front of the shop.
Nothing else changes, everything we did we will keep doing! Just the name changes.
I'm hopeful that most of you will agree it makes sense, we get called "The Warhammer Shop" ALL THE TIME, so we are joining in!
Its only a trial to see if it makes any difference to us, and its only being done in 3 shops, here, Chiswick and Bath, if we feel like it works it MAY get rolled out one day...but don't expect to see it anywhere else for a long time...so there you go, goodbye Games Workshop Edinburgh...Hello The Warhammer Shop!
2014/10/10 23:20:42
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
ON the subject of Fulchester, the name of the shop was War Workshop in the Viz strip '34 year old obsessive War Workshop assistant'. Maybe one of the GW PR guys was reading it on the bog and got the idea for a rebrand.
2014/10/10 23:42:51
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
winterdyne wrote: Ugh. Games Workshop grew most when they were producing GAMES. Multiple, interesting, games. Many of which are still remembered fondly. Blood Bowl / Dungeon Bowl. Dark Future. Space Marine / Adeptus Titanicus. The Troll Games. Space Hulk. Advanced Space Crusade. Warhammer Quest. And then the big two - Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40,000. People ended up in those, but there were multiple entry points.
I'm at a loss as to what they're thinking. Everyone else (Mantic, Battlefront, FFG) is making more games, GW are retracting.
I was first exposed to Games Workshop through Necromunda, and I loved it! Then I found 40K and the Imperial Guard, with Battlefleet Gothic not far behind. Only recently have I begun collecting WHFB miniatures.
If GW is rebranding, well, best of luck to them but it does not sit well with me. Already I have seen them change their website, abandoning the specialist games range. I miss the old GW, the one with more fluff and bitchin' artwork. There is still much to be liked but GW is not aging well.
2014/10/11 00:27:12
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
I can see this making sense, considering all the branching out the company has done. Unless you know which company owns the game, there is really nothing that makes you look at a store called "Games Workshop" and think "This is the Warhammer place." We are all gaming nerds, and we know the connection. But the casuals might not put these two together. Calling the store "Warhammer" puts the actual product closer to all the other games that are connected to the brand.
Let's say you enjoyed this game:
There is not Games Workshop anywhere on that front cover, but there is a Warhammer 40,000. So a person who enjoys the game might see a Games Workshop and not put the two together, but he could see a Warhammer store and think "hey, that's the game I like."
Or they might be reading these books:
Again, these books are published by Black Library and not Games Workshop. And there is nothing on that cover to connect the books to Games Workshop. So somebody who enjoys the books who has never played the game but picked up the books at the regular book store wouldn't look at a Games Workshop and connect it to the books. But they all have Warhammer on the front page, so if they see a store called Warhammer it makes it easier to put those two together.
The mobile games have done a better job with the GW branding, but they still mostly have Warhammer in the title somewhere.
Warhammer is all that is left. They got rid of the specialist games that don't have "warhammer" in the title. They are fixing to get rid of any Hobbit/LotR connection soon. Everything they do is Warhammer related, so you might as well have a store name that actually matches what you are selling. It's like the Gap not having a store called "clothes workshop".
2014/10/11 01:34:14
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
Ha, I guess they finally snapped from having lost people roam around the store looking for Settlers and asking about video games before being badgered out of the store.
Rick Priestley said it best:
Bryan always said that if the studio ever had to mix with the manufacturing and sales part of the business it would destroy the studio. And I have to say – he wasn’t wrong there! The modern studio isn’t a studio in the same way; it isn’t a collection of artists and creatives sharing ideas and driving each other on. It’s become the promotions department of a toy company – things move on!
2014/10/11 01:42:31
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
It's a good marketing ploy. Think about when you've spoken to a non gamer about your hobby, I bet more have known the name Warhammer compared to Games Workshop. The dumbing down will make it easier for parents to find the right place to buy it for their kids/nephews/cousins birthdays and xmas etc...
Remember, they're not interested in the loyal customers who keep buying their products, they're main goal is always to get as many new customers as possible...
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/11 08:29:18
Digitus Impudicus! Armies-
2014/10/11 09:20:45
Subject: Re:UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
I wonder what this means for the GW website in the long run. I've just checked whois and GW seem to own warhammer.com and have done for a long time. If you go to the site you get a "Temporarily Unavailable" message so they might be up to something. Seems a bit mad to rebrand some stores and then not even put in a redirect to their main web site.
2014/10/11 09:44:23
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
First it was white dwarf and now games workshop.... They are destroying legacy branding which is never clever unless you have a brand catastrophe and it become an emergency situation. Will watch with interest if this is a push for new customers outside the core. Still think GW is too expensive to attract many new gamers with no history in the IP
EAT - SLEEP - FARM - REPEAT
2014/10/11 09:46:06
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
"Warhammer"? To me it looks more like a pub name, to be honest - although a Warhammer Pub wouldn't be a bad idea Might even sell a few extra boxes when the patrons are, excuse the pun, hammered.
Funny that they go for very specific trademarks like 'Astra Militarium' with codexes, then choose a generic name for their stores.
2014/10/11 12:59:30
Subject: Re:UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
Kilkrazy wrote: What are the results they are looking for, though?
Presumably they hope for higher footfall or higher spend per visitor.
I don't see how that logically follows from renaming the shops.
The "we make collectables not mass produced toys/model kits, look at our minimalist designer storefront aesthetic" theory seems plausible - the Design Rights issue is a ticking timebomb for GW, if a Chapterhouse-esque scenario were to play out in the UK/EU they could conceivably find more than half their entire range unprotected. I'd wager the trial is less to see if footfall/revenue increases than to see if it decreases; if it doesn't decrease, they'll roll it out across the chain to help them push the idea they're a boutique company(in the broader sense, obviously not within the wargaming sphere).
"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal
2014/10/12 12:00:15
Subject: Re:UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
Dammit! Where is GW Fulchester when you need it?!... ...I think you'll find that's Warhammer Fulchester now. ... ...Seriously, someone needs to get on that right now!!
Re-branding is a standard move for a failing company. It also tends to be pointless, you end up spending half a million quid changing signs and stationary for non-discernable to minimal effect.
2014/10/12 16:17:41
Subject: UK GW Stores re-branding? Two stores have changed name.
so, I wonder. If non gamers are already calling the place the 'Warhammer shop' what purpose does the re-brand serve other than make non purchasing individuals correct over store name?
Does it suddenly acquire a cachet to those people that they must change their habits?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/12 16:18:35
Legion: Dark Angels 
