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pombe wrote:Say, we boycott and cost them $250,000 in sales.

Will they say "Oh, we've pissed off our fanbase and they've stopped spending money on our products because they are unhappy with our policies, we should start listening more to what they have to say."?

or

Will they say "4th Quarter Profits are down. Upon further analysis, Dark Eldar sales aren't justifiable given our recent losses. Give them the Squat treatment."?

Boycotts only work if a company loses money and has no other alternative but to cater to the boycott. As of now, I can see them completely gutting their Specialist Games and less popular armies (and other services) before giving into pressure from their consumer base.

You know, you're absolutely right. If GW loses any money it'll just force them to make even more cuts, raise prices even higher, etc.

By the time they finally realized what was going on it would be too late, lol...

Agamemnon2 wrote:

BaronIveagh wrote:The problem is it's cynicism vs Optimism. Optimists believe they can achieve something by working together and protesting perceived wrongs. Cynics believe optimists are wasting their time and that the world is irredeemably corrupt.

The difference being, the latter's viewpoints are actually attributable to real-world phenomena. Nine out of ten boycotts fail to produce any kind of result except a warm fuzzy feeling in the protestors.

And 70% of all statistics are made up...

Pipboy101 wrote:The only person that will be hurt by a two month boycott is your FLGS owner.

I'm not sure about other guys, but my LGS does more than just warhammer...

Deal me in, I'll only buy the bug codex in jan so I can continue to play with my friends outside the store. Instead of a new battleforce I'll get into War Machine like I was thinking about. My LGS has more than triple as many War Machine and Hordes players than 40k players. No fantasy players to be seen, the boxes of fantasy models are still there from when I started a year ago. I occasionally write in the dust on the top-shelf ones *sadface*.

My LGS will do just fine.

me ill ring em a fortnight before like in kettras idea.
its time we acted.

sigh...

im sending a letter telling jervis telling him to stop ruiningthe codexs
gw need to bring out new chaos models and a new codex
but i will not boycutt them completely need more models for my army
but i will write them a letter

I will partially join the boicott:
- The only models I have planned to buy this year would be second-hand, so they don't count, as GW won't get the money
- I will probably get Space Hulk for X-mas present, but only because it's so rare and there's not gonna be more, so it is an expection I think you guys can handle.

I'm in. Vote for Deadshane!

Considering I dont buy new models anyway, and havent for a long time. Sure, count me in.

Psht - I have happily avoided buying new items directly from GW for years now, and often proxy in miniatures from other companies for GW games (when not actually using said minis in the other company's games themselves). What I'm saying is - it's about time some of you have joined in.

Sorry, I need another Tau Battleforce. I only play tabletop, so this doesn't really matter to me.

Gandair wrote:

Pipboy101 wrote:The only person that will be hurt by a two month boycott is your FLGS owner.

I'm not sure about other guys, but my LGS does more than just warhammer...

Deal me in, I'll only buy the bug codex in jan so I can continue to play with my friends outside the store. Instead of a new battleforce I'll get into War Machine like I was thinking about. My LGS has more than triple as many War Machine and Hordes players than 40k players. No fantasy players to be seen, the boxes of fantasy models are still there from when I started a year ago. I occasionally write in the dust on the top-shelf ones *sadface*.

My LGS will do just fine.

Because your store represents the greater macrocosm of most FLGS. Pretty bold statement to say that if your store is fine then others will be as well. If you don't buy anything at all, they will feel the hit, but even buying other products might not be enough. For example for those who are planning on getting into Tyranids. Instead of dropping the 300+ dollars it takes to get into the hobby, they might spend 30 on the Malifaux game. Big difference there. Now you are correct in that store to remain successful should sell more than Warhammer, but it seems like the FLGS could inadvertently be impacted by this which is not a good thing.

Count me in. Other than Space Hulk, I haven't bought anything from GW in a long time.

I get my stuff from Ebay (mostly) or the Warstore, but With so much on my plate already, I haven't had to buy very much anyway.

I can wait 2 months.

Done
Im on board.
WE can do better though, talk with the local gameclubs as well, i know i can persuade many of my local friends not to buy GW for 2 months as well. and if they absolutely need something, second hand from e-bay is a good place to look.

My concern was not whether or not a boycott will be successful, but that if it were successful, it might not achieve the desired result.

I'm afraid that if this were to succeed, that we would suffer some other undesired outcome, not the least of which are the loss of programs that GW has that cater to the veterans, such as Specialist Games.

GW's behavior has been rather schizophrenic, with long term plans side-tracked by shortsighted knee-jerk reactions. Their long term plan to develop their plastics has been a great one, which promised us metal-quality detail and more "stuff/bitz" on sprues at prices less than the metals. Indeed, their plastic miniatures are the absolute best in the industry. Then they state that they will increase the price of their plastics to match their metals. Huh? Between their rationales that oil has gone up in price (which affects plastic) or that tin has gone up in price (which affects metals), all I hear is that everything will go up in price.

And given GW's penchant to increase their prices in good times and bad times, it's no wonder that so many veterans are disillusioned. How many retailers do you that know increase the prices of an existing product? If a new kit comes out at a higher price, I get it. There are costs associated with the development of a new kit. But I'm still lost as to why the AoBR box set went from $60 to $75, given that nothing has changed. Or why Eldrad Ulthran now costs more than twice what he did when he was released (it is the SAME miniature that was released in April 1994 during 2nd Edition when Tyranid Warriors were turkey wannabes and the color red was the color du jour for the 'Eavy Metal team!!!).

And we haven't even gone into GW's heavy handedness when it comes to their IP, and how they LIED to the consumers during their attempts to limit internet discounting in the early 2000's. They should have been upfront about it, instead of turning it into a PR fiasco.

That said, I have no clue how much the internet crowd contributes to GW's coffers (through direct purchases, LGS purchases, or internet discounters including eBay sellers). Thus, I have no idea how significant we are to their bottomline. However, if we were to organize and become a...dun dun dun..."lobby" (pretty much the only way to get politicians/companies to listen is to contribute votes/money as a group, not as individuals), we may get GW's attention, because we can affect popular opinion.

Let's face it: GW's dominance is due to their popularity. It's easy to find other gamers that play GW games. But if we all start spending money on other games, then the odds of us finding other gamers that play non-GW games increase, which of course, will have a cascade effect on new people who join the hobby.

With that, I will say that the best thing we can do is spend our money on other companies. That said, I will join this protest by cancelling some GW purchases I was planning, and buy some Battletech miniatures from Ironwind Metals with that money instead.

What I am seeing here and I know it has been said before, that a high majority of the people that are signing onto the boycott were already not planning on buying anything from GW anyways within the next 2 months. That is not much of a boycott since you were not going to send any money anyways. So this boycott is as limp as an old man's if a most of the people were not going to spend money in the first place so what kind of message are you sending? Think of this point before you start to rage.

This thread is hilarious. "I'll boycott! except...."

Seriously guys, writing letters or even calling will get more done than pretending to boycott.

But please, this impotent thread is pretty humorous, keep it going.

That is not much of a boycott since you were not going to send any money anyways.

Yes, but at least this way I feel important.

No excepts here. I just let my fingers do the walking and bought my minis from other hobbyists or people leaving the hobby over crap like this and saved a bundle on my BFG insurance.

I figure that my savings over buying from GW have been in the ballpark of 50%, particularly in plastic chaos cruisers. Thus, I make a point and save money.

So does Paris Hilton and Britney Spears everytime they exit a car with no panties on but both are completely worthless such as boycott when you were not going to spend anyways.

Meanwhile....................................April 2010 - GW HQ Boardroom, Nottingham, England.

Kirby - So fellas what are we going to do about this? [glares at his gathered minions pointing at a sales chart with slight dip in Q4 trading figures]

Minions grown under their collective breaths and cower away from their masters gaze.

Red Shirted Financial Director scratches chin thoughtfully - Probably down to the internet forum grumblings we heard rumours of towards the end of last year?

Kirby face growing redder - WHAT.....did you say? INTERNET FORUMS!! [pushes button on desk]

Two suited heavies walk into the boardroom, silently march in tandem up to the Financial Director.

Heavy #1 - Come with me sir you have an appointment.

Red Shirted Financial Director screaming - NO NOT THE PLAY TESTING LAB NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

John Blanche turns to JJ - Ah feth here we go again, the last one to mention forums was Chambers and you know what happened to him!

JJ whispers under his breath - He hasn't been this angry since one of the Mail Order trolls wazed in the plastic store and ruined those craters!

Kirby - What DID you say Johnson?

JJ squirming in his chair, sweat pouring down his prematurely bald forehead - Errrr, Errmmmm?!? [panic spreads across JJ's face] We should errrr, put prices up to cover the difference?

Kirby - Hmmmmm, EXCELLENT Johnson, you [points] minion make it so! Its that sort of creative spark that has made this company the well loved market leader it is today. Right next item on the agenda The Mystery Box 2010 - They'll love us for this I tell you, someone throw some more cash on the fire!

notprop wrote:Meanwhile....................................April 2010 - GW HQ Boardroom, Nottingham, England.

Kirby - So fellas what are we going to do about this? [glares at his gathered minions pointing at a sales chart with slight dip in Q4 trading figures]

Minions grown under their collective breaths and cower away from their masters gaze.

Red Shirted Financial Director scratches chin thoughtfully - Probably down to the internet forum grumblings we heard rumours of towards the end of last year?

Kirby face growing redder - WHAT.....did you say? INTERNET FORUMS!! [pushes button on desk]

Two suited heavies walk into the boardroom, silently march in tandem up to the Financial Director.

Heavy #1 - Come with me sir you have an appointment.

Red Shirted Financial Director screaming - NO NOT THE PLAY TESTING LAB NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

John Blanche turns to JJ - Ah feth here we go again, the last one to mention forums was Chambers and you know what happened to him!

JJ whispers under his breath - He hasn't been this angry since one of the Mail Order trolls wazed in the plastic store and ruined those craters!

Kirby - What DID you say Johnson?

JJ squirming in his chair, sweat pouring down his prematurely bald forehead - Errrr, Errmmmm?!? [panic spreads across JJ's face] We should errrr, put prices up to cover the difference?

Kirby - Hmmmmm, EXCELLENT Johnson, you [points] minion make it so! Its that sort of creative spark that has made this company the well loved market leader it is today. Right next item on the agenda The Mystery Box 2010 - They'll love us for this I tell you, someone throw some more cash on the fire!

That is a good one. However, I might point out that they do, on occasion, read these forums. Well... at least some of them do....

What's GW's value as a company these days, anyone know?

GAMES WORKSHOP GRP (GAW.L) as of 10:32am: 278.90 p 1.10 (0.39%)

2009 Revenue Avg. Estimate 131.04 M
2010 Revenue Avg. Estimate 139.64 M

Earnings Est 2009 2010
Avg. Estimate 19.51 23.7
Low Estimate 18.91 22.8
High Estimate 20.1 24.6

Wait... they're only worth 140m???

Any intel on the major shareholders?

Most of the shares are held by a venture investment company. You can get a copy of the Register of Shares frmo Companies House for £1.

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/82db91eb418349c9739ae4e1f8d07ea9/compdetails

Would buying gw stock be worth it?

Lord of battles wrote:Would buying gw stock be worth it?

Not when I'm done with them.

This is why your boycott will not work:

E-Trade Financial Statement About Games Workshop

Games Workshop Group plc has been able to grow revenues from £110.3M to £125.7M. Most impressively, the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to cost of goods sold from 29.81% to 28.57%. This was a driver that led to a bottom line growth from a loss of £740.0K to a gain of £5.6M.

Although debt as a percent of total capital decreased at Games Workshop Group plc over the last fiscal year to 24.01%, it is still in-line with the Leisure Equipment and Products industry's norm. Additionally, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, Operating Profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Receivable are among the industry's worst with 19.25 days worth of sales outstanding. This implies that revenues are not being collected in an efficient manner. Last, inventories seem to be well managed as the Inventory Processing Period is typical for the industry, at 106.76 days.

Net Cash (in millions) after payouts and debts:

2006: -3.8 2007: -5.1 2008: 5.3 2009: 5.4

Games Workshop is operating at a profit after paying the shareholders and their debts. If you can get a 100 people to not spend real money you are not even going to even dent the 5.4 million profit margin that GW has this year. With all the C&D letters and poor gamer relationship over the past couple of years they have turned a huge profit so they will not give a about a angry forum posts or a few boycotts since they investors are happy and keep on investing.

You want to make a change in GW then become a voting shareholder since that who has real power with them not some whiny forum geek (in their eyes) that is mad that they can't get free stuff online or their mountain dew budget had to be cut because their codex went up by 2 dollars.


Some one wanted to know who was incharge of GW here you go:
KEY EXECUTIVES - Games Workshop Group plc (GAW)

Mark N. Wells Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Tom H. F. Kirby Chairman and Member of City Committee
Kevin Derek Rountree Chief Financial Officer and Director
John Laughlin Head of Operations
Rachel F. Tongue Company Secretary

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Games Workshop Group plc (GAW)
Tom H. F. Kirby Games Workshop Group plc
Mark N. Wells 4Games Workshop Group
Kevin Derek Rountree Games Workshop Group plc
Chris J. Myatt Games Workshop Group plc
Nicholas J. Donaldson Games Workshop Group plc

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES* - Games Workshop Group plc (GAW)
Committee Name Chairperson Board Relationships Members
Audit Committee Chris J. Myatt
Compensation Committee Nicholas J. Donaldson
Nominating Committee Nicholas J. Donaldson

Agamemnon2 wrote:The difference being, the latter's viewpoints are actually attributable to real-world phenomena. Nine out of ten boycotts fail to produce any kind of result except a warm fuzzy feeling in the protestors.

If we talk about GW boycotts, I'd bump that number up from 9/10 to something more like 150/150.

And really, if you want to get GW's attention this holiday season (Dec/Jan), you'll need to produce a net decrease of at least 10% over what they would have expected. Now, last year, GW pulled in 125M GBP. Of which, one can guess 30M to 40M GBP would have been during the holiday season, being basically a toy manufacturer.

If you want to get GW's attention, you need to create a boycott that reduces their holiday revenue by 3-4M GBP. Or $5-7M USD.

So far, our boycott numbers aren't even a tenth of that, and are more on the scale of 1%. A boycott that only results in a 0.1% revenue reduction isn't going to cut it, folks.

Pipboy101 wrote:
Some one wanted to know who was incharge of GW here you go:
KEY EXECUTIVES - Games Workshop Group plc (GAW)

Mark N. Wells Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Tom H. F. Kirby Chairman and Member of City Committee
Kevin Derek Rountree Chief Financial Officer and Director
John Laughlin Head of Operations
Rachel F. Tongue Company Secretary

So Kirby isn't CEO anymore? I had heard rumours to that effect, and I guess this seals it.

Does this mean we start blaming this Mark Wells guy now?

JohnHwangDD wrote:So far, our boycott numbers aren't even a tenth of that, and are more on the scale of 1%. A boycott that only results in a 0.1% revenue reduction isn't going to cut it, folks.

Thank you, at least someone understands.

This boycott was going to look like a kid not wanting to eat his veggies. Cute but just like any good parent, ignore the tantrum and continue to serve the veggies.


What was posted on the SEC Filing is what the current executives are for GW. Blame Wells for the working of his drones in the company.