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And as I and many others have said in the past, the High Street method of GW stores simply does not work on a land mass as vast and as populated as North America.

They need to abandon this "GW store next to every Starbucks in America" method of retail distribution and start working with rather than against local gaming stores.

GW has never understood the NA market and they have been annoying and ticking off game store owners long before there were any forums. I started collecting Citadel figs in the mid 80s and it was real bitch to try and get their figures.

I have known shop owners in IL, MO and KS that all quit stocking GW at one time or another because GW policies were so burdensome or out of synch with other companies.

GW stores are also pretty much absent from the northeast. I live in New Jersey, go to school in Pittsburgh, and have travelled a lot and I've never even seen a GW store.

JWhex wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
If the store wasn't making profit it probably wouldn't be open. GW don't just throw darts at a map and put a store there.

If you were familiar with the local areas in the US where they have put some stores you would not be so quick to come to that conclusion, cliche that it may be.

This. The only plausible explanation for where GW put the store in my area is that someone who had never been here picked the spot based entirely on having the cheapest rent for the size they wanted. It's in a terrible location for attracting new customers, unless you're already interested in GW games you'll never even see it.

And there is the rub. No one that has a decent FLGS will set foot in a GW outlet. There is simply no need to.

Consider the concept of risk (not the game). A FLGS assumes a great deal of risk in order to provide sales across a wide spectrum of product. Essentially this means that many small companies can go about the business of product development and manufacture leaving all the frontline risk to the FLGS. GW's sales division assumes the risk and expense for its B&M stores. The bills plus the base salary of the manager (appx $36,000 starting) are bad money after good in that a FLGS assumes those risks across a wide range of products and no product is inextricably tied to the success or failure of that shop as a GW outlet is.. If GW would partner with the Locals, and give support (a few prize packs costs a heckuva lot less than a storefront) and use them as their central hub in an area then that would remove the risk from GW to prop up a largely useless chain of very expensive stores as well as letting the Local serve the community with better hours, selection, and organized play.

Just a quick note.
GW plc used to state the sales break down of sales , GW B&M , GW online, independent retailer etc.
But stopped the year after GW B&M ran at 52%.

This probably means online and independent retailers have the majority share of the sales volumes now.