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.

It used to be that I could walk down to the GW at may mall, 20 minutes away. No problem.

But now, every GW in a 100+ mile radius is gone. I don't mind it, I have found a much better FLGS (Awesome place, may I say), but I still want to know:

Why did GW pull out of the Northeast region of the US? We had a nice big store in Boston, and now it's gone. Kaputz.

I have a GW store within a 10 minute drive.

Which is good, because otherwise I'd be out of the hobby.

2 reasons. Rent and Profitablity. Rents were too high and profits were too low. That being said, if they could find a place with cheap rent and could have average sales, they might have put a store back in the area.

I've long said though that GW is a like a bunch a of locusts. They put a store in an area for a few years, sell as much product as possible, then leave when sales go down.

General Hobbs wrote:

I've long said though that GW is a like a bunch a of locusts. They put a store in an area for a few years, sell as much product as possible, then leave when sales go down.

That's business 101, dude. It doesn't do anyone any good to stay in business if it's not operating in the black. But the rest of your assessment is probably correct. Personally, I think GW pulled out because they didn't want to get the North East pregnant.

Jordan wrote:

General Hobbs wrote:

I've long said though that GW is a like a bunch a of locusts. They put a store in an area for a few years, sell as much product as possible, then leave when sales go down.

Personally, I think GW pulled out because they didn't want to get the North East pregnant.

I used to have one within a 35 minute drive, then it shut down, damn mall rents are causing everyone to close.

Mall rent is absurd. Up in Allentown, PA they charge more than three grand a month for the small kiosks. No joke.

Who cares, the North East has a ton of good FLGS and even more mediocer Stores. I'm a 30 min drive away from 4 stores and an hour drives away from 8.

Mall rent is expensive everywhere - must be more than that. I would speculate that with the move of the corporate headquarters to Memphis, GW took the opportunity to re-evaluate their position in the North East.

The cost of operation is significantly lower in the southern states. GW moved on to greener pastures. A lot of businesses are making this move, not just GW.

Its the same every were not just in the US nearest one to me over in the grey old UK is 13 miles away, and without a car its a pain to get to, worse theres one LGS near and its dire, still have to restocked since before x-mass. I dont mind buying offline but not having any decent stores means no new players and the games get boring wit hthe same people over and over again.

They've pulled out of the North West too. I think GW is in retraction. Maybe business is bad.

As I understand it, a number of years ago the rethought their business model. Basically, they pulled their retail stores out of every market that could not support a minimum number of stores (5, I think).

Eric

Try living in the South east...
the only Gw store is in Memphis until the one opens in Atl at some point.

There are FLGS but it is fairly sparse out side of the ATL metro area.

TobyDog wrote:Try living in the South east...

Ain't that the truth -_- We actually had a pretty decent LGS here in north AL but lo and behold... I start the hobby they pull out their store >.< If it wasn't for the 3 or 4 players at the good ol' college I wouldn't have local players *sigh* and there isn't a decent game board anywhere :( last game I watched played we used napkin despensers as unpassable terrain that blocked LoS. Fighting in the Grand Canyon would have provided clearer LoS then the board we improvised >.<

Jordan wrote:Mall rent is absurd. Up in Allentown, PA they charge more than three grand a month for the small kiosks. No joke.

fun story, same as a mall around here.

I was in a friend of mines store, whom a sales rep for the mall called up, and he was entertaining the guy.
If I recall correctly, the conversation ended like this

So, why do you think I want to open a store in the mall
"well your business provides a product that is not currently provided in our mall"
Alright, I can get a kiosk and have moms, dads, and little kids, hanging out and pointing rifles up and down the mall? Do you really think that is a good idea? Are you insane?
"...."

it was pretty hilarious



Anyways, I believe GW stores work like that because of simple saturation.
You open a store, and you get lots of new players, new players buy alot of stuff, whole armies even.
For a few years, these new players will bring in more new players, eventually the locals get knowledgable about the game, can get things online, or simply have finished their armies, the nerd content of the community is saturated, the players you have gained are /still/ likely to keep playing (or at least some of them), you continue to generate revinue for the area even without presense, so you can pack up the store, move to a new location with it, and reopen it to begin the process again.

I blame climate change. GW is racing the oncoming Ice Age!

TobyDog wrote:Try living in the South east...
the only Gw store is in Memphis until the one opens in Atl at some point.

.

Truth right there. Im near Tampa, FL and the Tenn store is the closest one to me. Im fairly sure they are opening one in Orlando sometime this year...which would make it about 2 1/2 hours away.


EDIT: spelling, twice.

Many business models are shifting towards online sales, as brick and mortar stores are doing poorly in the latest economic cycle.

Case in point, I work in the kitchen supply retail business. In the last three years, the Tanger Outlet Center I work in has seen half our competition leave. All of those chains became wholesalers.

It doesn't help that rent in the outlet is $8,000 a month just for our store.

oni wrote:The cost of operation is significantly lower in the southern states. GW moved on to greener pastures. A lot of businesses are making this move, not just GW.

Big problem with the south is huge unemployment. Here in FL its at 9%. Rent is cheap because all the strip malls are empty. Around here its not uncommon to find 7 out of 10 store slots empty.

Because they like to put their new distribution plant right in the path of the Mississippi River . . .

GL GW!

That and the gaming community in Florida tends to be a joke because there are many better things to do on a sunny day than stay inside and push pieces of plastic around a table.

At least you have a store :(

Oregon hasn't a one. I think there might be one in Seattle, WA, but that's a good way away.