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2013/11/14 05:42:22
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
After spending a few hours writing my report about our trip to Monte San Savino Show 2013 (so far the best show of 2013!), I got this breaking news:
I actually planned to continue my mini-series on the Future of Games Days and Games Workshop later this week, but ***breaking news*** rudely interrupted the flow of my day! No practicing Starcraft II on the ladder for me (yet)...
Games Workshop fires Italian and French event Mangers!
The problem reportedly was 'motivation'. It is open whether this means they actually had motivation and it did not fit the company spirit or the lack thereof...
Well, I am sure that's not the last we heard about that. Will be interesting to hear what Mauro (Italy) and Jerome (France) have to say about this. I am quite sure that their story will sound somewhat different.
It seems that Games Workshop has cancelled the role for both countries completely. Whether this means there won't be any more Games Days in Italy and France or the role will be centralized at Nottingham HQ is currently unclear.
Full on double speculation all the way across the sky - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
I have no further information - but I am allowed to speculate wildly... And I am just in the mood for some random and unfounded ranting as this is my last day being 42. Also, my fingers are still warm from my report about the awesome Monte San Savino show. So let's call this a cooling down exercise
If you don't like speculations based on nothing please do not read any further...
OK, let's see...
<random ill-informed rant>
First of all, I feel bad for Mauro and Jerome. I don't know either of them personally, but being let go gotta suck. So why would GW cancel such an important role as the role of event/community manager?
(Update: I just heard that for both, Mauro and Jerome the respective 'last days with the company' are on their birthdays! Minus several million out of 10 for sensitivity training, GW! È tutto sbagliato)
Let's look at the facts: GD France was cancelled for 2013 but I was told that there is a 99.9% chance that GD France will be back early 2014 (March/April).
GD Italy was - and I am really heartbroken to say that - a total disaster. But so was UK.
If HQ makes the rule that every Games Day must be profitable and turns it from a nerd event into a pure sales event then I don't think you can blame the individual country event organizers for out-of-touch-with-reality rules.
Games Day UK - where fans can do what they like most: "Buying Games Workshop products"
I don't really think that the country event organizers are to blame for the poor Games Day attendance across the globe (with the exception of US, I guess, that was quite nice).
"Motivation issues" could indicate that they did not agree with the official "Games Day Codex" from HQ - and if this is the case all I can say is "good for you!".
We all heard stories that if you work for GW and happen to know that snow is NOT black, it's a good idea if you don't share this with your peers or managers, or else...
Just for the record, I also feel bad for the hundreds of awesome guys and gals working for GW. They are nerds like us, no hating from my side!
Is the hobby dying?
Simple answer: NO. Shows like Painting Crusade (15/16.03.2014!), Spring Angel, Euromilitaire, Hussar or now Monte San Savino are breaking records in attendance and number of entered pieces year after year. The quality of entries is sky-high and each event caters to the needs of the nerds.
All it takes is applying common sense. And that's what GW's management seems to have lost.
All of the other shows make their visitors feel appreciated. Games Workshop makes their visitors feel stupid for having gone to a sales show where you don't get rebates and even have to pay an entrance fee...
Go home, management, you are DRUNK!
I will update you as soon as I hear more (which should be soon™)
Time to download the blog again, I guess. For I fear GW's Legal Inquisition.
</random ill-informed rant>
"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! ... It’s become the promotions department of a toy company." -- Rick Priestly
2013/11/14 06:18:00
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
Seriously though the state of GW management is just sad.
Fafnir wrote: Oh, I certainly vote with my dollar, but the problem is that that is not enough. The problem with the 'vote with your dollar' response is that it doesn't take into account why we're not buying the product. I want to enjoy 40k enough to buy back in. It was my introduction to traditional games, and there was a time when I enjoyed it very much. I want to buy 40k, but Gamesworkshop is doing their very best to push me away, and simply not buying their product won't tell them that.
2013/11/14 06:44:05
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
(Update: I just heard that for both, Mauro and Jerome the respective 'last days with the company' are on their birthdays! Minus several million out of 10 for sensitivity training, GW! È tutto sbagliato)
It could have been worse: they could have found out on their birthday.
By unwrapping a gift to discover it was a notice of termination.
Written on a box of live tarantulas.
"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
-C.S. Lewis
2013/11/14 07:17:15
Subject: Re:Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
"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! ... It’s become the promotions department of a toy company." -- Rick Priestly
2013/11/14 07:21:04
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
(Update: I just heard that for both, Mauro and Jerome the respective 'last days with the company' are on their birthdays! Minus several million out of 10 for sensitivity training, GW! È tutto sbagliato)
It could have been worse: they could have found out on their birthday.
By unwrapping a gift to discover it was a notice of termination.
Written on a box of live tarantulas.
Finecast Tarantulas!
M.
Jenkins: You don't have jurisdiction here!
Smith Jamison: We aren't here, which means when we open up on you and shred your bodies with automatic fire then this will never have happened.
About the Clans: "Those brief outbursts of sense can't hold back the wave of sibko bred, over hormoned sociopaths that they crank out though."
2013/11/14 07:25:02
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
(Update: I just heard that for both, Mauro and Jerome the respective 'last days with the company' are on their birthdays! Minus several million out of 10 for sensitivity training, GW! È tutto sbagliato)
It could have been worse: they could have found out on their birthday.
By unwrapping a gift to discover it was a notice of termination.
Written on a box of live tarantulas.
Finecast Tarantulas!
M.
The very idea of that is full of holes!!!
On topic, I'm not surprised at GW moving away from events more and more each year. First RTT's went, then GT's, then US was dropped down to 1 Gamesday event in super terrible Chicago, then this. It's like they only want us buying their models but not playing their games...
"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! ... It’s become the promotions department of a toy company." -- Rick Priestly
2013/11/14 07:26:44
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
scarletsquig wrote: Maybe profits are too low in those countries to justify it.
By that logic Australia should have 8 GamesDay events. All funded by the sale of a single army.
"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! ... It’s become the promotions department of a toy company." -- Rick Priestly
2013/11/14 08:25:17
Subject: Re:Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
This is great news! Games Workshop™ Hobbyists™ in Italy and France will no longer have to suffer the shame of having inferior local events instead of being welcomed to Warhammer™ World™ to participate in the best Hobby™ activities: buying Games Workshop™ Products™.
In related news, we are excited to announce the cancellation of the Golden Demon™ painting contest at Games Days™. Now you will have much more time to spend buying Games Workshop™ Products™!
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
2013/11/14 08:34:28
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
Jehan-reznor wrote: I agree, these events just keep the customers out of the store.
Which country will be next?
What's left?
UK, US and Germany?
I'd guess that means Germany is next since that is entirely in line with GWs retreat from non English markets, then US since the colonies are less important and UKGD will continue along no matter what because, like white dwarf, it's always been and should be run even at a loss. At least until GW decided to change that line of thought in 3 years when they are desperate to cut every last expense
Fafnir wrote: Oh, I certainly vote with my dollar, but the problem is that that is not enough. The problem with the 'vote with your dollar' response is that it doesn't take into account why we're not buying the product. I want to enjoy 40k enough to buy back in. It was my introduction to traditional games, and there was a time when I enjoyed it very much. I want to buy 40k, but Gamesworkshop is doing their very best to push me away, and simply not buying their product won't tell them that.
2013/11/14 13:28:02
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
The problem reportedly was 'motivation'. It is open whether this means they actually had motivation and it did not fit the company spirit or the lack thereof...
There must be more too it than that. No employment law in the EU lets people be fired "Just because". There will have to have either been a clear breach of contract by them or an economic reason.
2)
(Update: I just heard that for both, Mauro and Jerome the respective 'last days with the company' are on their birthdays! Minus several million out of 10 for sensitivity training, GW! È tutto sbagliato)
Welcome to the adult world.
insaniak wrote: Sometimes, Exterminatus is the only option.
And sometimes, it's just a case of too much scotch combined with too many buttons...
2013/11/14 14:28:43
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
Games Workshop fires Italian and French event Mangers!
The problem reportedly was 'motivation'. It is open whether this means they actually had motivation and it did not fit the company spirit or the lack thereof...
Well, I am sure that's not the last we heard about that. Will be interesting to hear what Mauro (Italy) and Jerome (France) have to say about this. I am quite sure that their story will sound somewhat different.
It seems that Games Workshop has cancelled the role for both countries completely. Whether this means there won't be any more Games Days in Italy and France or the role will be centralized at Nottingham HQ is currently unclear.
Steve steveson wrote:
There must be more too it than that. No employment law in the EU lets people be fired "Just because". There will have to have either been a clear breach of contract by them or an economic reason.
In bold above - the positions have been eliminated, so most likely the guys have been made redundant - technically being made redundant =/= being fired, but in colloquial english, especially as written by a non-native speaker the 2 terms are used pretty inter-changeably.
And to be pedantic, as long as your notice rights are followed, you can be dismissed with no 'reason' at any point up until you have worked at a company for 2 years in the UK (reasonably recently increased from 12 months).
Manchu wrote: Both of them are being fired on their birthdays? Seems like quite a coincidence.
Seems a little too good to be true, and both organisers had the same birthday?
Reminded me of the SImpsons episode where Homer sees an "Alien" and the rest of the family are mocking him.
BART - I am the thing... from Uranus!
HOMER - Ahhh! Oh, it's Bart. I can't believe it. I'm being mocked, by my own children...on my birthday
"I can't believe. I'm being fired, by GW, on my own Birthday. Lousy lovable Gamesday..."
This is not a surprise since Games Workshop no longer has community development employees nor do they refer to their customers as a community at all. Their business philosophy and approach to customers has changed dramatically since 2008. Community building does not exist as it once did as a corporate goal for GW and Games Day has changed dramatically to reflect that.
"I hate movies where the men wear shorter skirts than the women." -- Mystery Science Theater 3000
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Check out Cinematic Titanic, the new movie riffing project from Joel Hodgson and the original cast of MST3K.
See my latest eBay auctions at this link.
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2013/11/16 15:39:07
Subject: Re:Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
At Games Workshop, we believe that how you behave does matter. We believe this so strongly that we have written it down in the Games Workshop Book. There is a section in the book where we talk about the values we expect all staff to demonstrate in their working lives. These values are Lawyers, Guns and Money.
2013/11/16 15:48:03
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
For what it's worth a GW staffer I know who had a formation thing in the past week got told there wouldn't be any more games days for France and seemed to imply that'd be true for other countries
2013/11/16 16:07:38
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
B0B MaRlEy wrote: For what it's worth a GW staffer I know who had a formation thing in the past week got told there wouldn't be any more games days for France and seemed to imply that'd be true for other countries
So no more warehouses leased for a FW sales booth and a GW ticket booth? Disappointed Tom Kirby was bribed by Privateer Press, only reasonable explanation for all this power-shrinking.
Manchu wrote: Both of them are being fired on their birthdays? Seems like quite a coincidence.
That is also the most ridiculous thing ever to point out eh?
I mean, I am as happy to rag on GW as the next guy, but saying "they even fired him on his birthday" is possibly the daftest thing I have ever heard.. who past the age of 15 gives a gak about their birthday anyway!? You certainly cant say "You cant fire me, I was born on this day 28 years ago god damn it!"
I mean really.. "way to go on sensitivity training GW" feth me.. that entire sentence offended me, its not like he just found out that his entire family was wiped out in a sailing incident.
We are arming Syrian rebels who support ISIS, who is fighting Iran, who is fighting Iraq who we also support against ISIS, while fighting Kurds who we support while they are fighting Syrian rebels.
2013/11/16 16:37:21
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
BrassScorpion wrote: This is not a surprise since Games Workshop no longer has community development employees nor do they refer to their customers as a community at all. Their business philosophy and approach to customers has changed dramatically since 2008. Community building does not exist as it once did as a corporate goal for GW and Games Day has changed dramatically to reflect that.
Has Italy/France had the same staff lay-offs as the UK?
If so, that would probably explain why they have been cancelled - difficult to run an event when you have no staff, and don't have any way of preparing the massive displays and games that for many always characterised what made a Games Day great.
The UK has Salute, amongst others. Are there many other choices for wargamers in France and Italy?
On the biggest games fair of the world, the SPIEL in Germany (156k visitors), GW also had a booth.
It consisted of a table in front, a white linen and merchandise boxes on it. At the back wall were brown boxes with more merchandise. At the side walls 4 or so posters. Plus English speaking staff. Only FW and BL products.
50 meters from that, Micro Art had a fully designed big booth with painted products, demo games and a German speaking boss.
Judging from their presentation, you could have thought, GW is second market for Micro Art It certainly shows the arrogance and lack of interest in PR.
Games Workshop fires Italian and French event Mangers!
The problem reportedly was 'motivation'. It is open whether this means they actually had motivation and it did not fit the company spirit or the lack thereof...
Well, I am sure that's not the last we heard about that. Will be interesting to hear what Mauro (Italy) and Jerome (France) have to say about this. I am quite sure that their story will sound somewhat different.
It seems that Games Workshop has cancelled the role for both countries completely. Whether this means there won't be any more Games Days in Italy and France or the role will be centralized at Nottingham HQ is currently unclear.
Steve steveson wrote:
There must be more too it than that. No employment law in the EU lets people be fired "Just because". There will have to have either been a clear breach of contract by them or an economic reason.
In bold above - the positions have been eliminated, so most likely the guys have been made redundant - technically being made redundant =/= being fired, but in colloquial english, especially as written by a non-native speaker the 2 terms are used pretty inter-changeably.
And to be pedantic, as long as your notice rights are followed, you can be dismissed with no 'reason' at any point up until you have worked at a company for 2 years in the UK (reasonably recently increased from 12 months).
Also in the modern world of eroded labor laws in most of the western hemisphere, "position elimination" is how a company terminates a salary on their books they don't want to have anymore to reduce fixed costs.
By proxy, it's also an almost nigh un-fightable way to get rid of an employee for just about any reason that may not actually be legal.
I have worked at places where they "eliminate a position due to budget reasons", only to reinstate the position two weeks later, and oddly, had a new hire ready and raring to go the very day the position was reinstated. Funny that, eh ? There is no law (at least here in the US), that prevents the from doing exactly this, and then hiring someone new to fill it. It's the equivalent of an HR legal shell game, and it should be illegal, but good luck finding a legislative body that will enact and protect labor laws that will protect the worker rather than the corporation.
At least in the states if your position is "eliminated", it's basically an automatic approval of your unemployment claim.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/11/17 11:03:33
One wonders if a name change is in order for the venerable GW event. To me "Games Day" suggests the presence of games being played, not just in shrinkwrap on shelves for me to buy (at retail prices and for no benefit over traditional vendors).
Manchu wrote: Both of them are being fired on their birthdays? Seems like quite a coincidence.
That is also the most ridiculous thing ever to point out eh?
I mean, I am as happy to rag on GW as the next guy, but saying "they even fired him on his birthday" is possibly the daftest thing I have ever heard.. who past the age of 15 gives a gak about their birthday anyway!? You certainly cant say "You cant fire me, I was born on this day 28 years ago god damn it!"
I don't know, seems to me like the very definition of "adding insult to injury". Especially if one's in the kind of job where staff birthdays are an excuse to buy a cake on the company dime and wear paper hats in the break room, etc. Not that Games Workshop is likely to be one of those companies. It's by no means a reason to be upset, but an amusing anecdote in the affair.
For what it's worth, I still celebrate my birthdays. My life's joyless enough, having an excuse to pretend to be happy just for one day is not to be missed.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/17 11:08:36
The supply does not get to make the demands.
2013/11/17 11:17:45
Subject: Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
Agamemnon2 wrote: One wonders if a name change is in order for the venerable GW event. To me "Games Day" suggests the presence of games being played, not just in shrinkwrap on shelves for me to buy (at retail prices and for no benefit over traditional vendors).
Well, surely you could take it a step further.. really the name 'Games Workshop' itself has become something of an ironic reminder of the company's past, and hasn't really been appropriate for the last 6-7 years or more. Mantic, a company with about 10 staff and the funding of a homeless man checking phone booths for change when compared to that of GW, has more games in production that it actively supports..
Agamemnon2 wrote: One wonders if a name change is in order for the venerable GW event. To me "Games Day" suggests the presence of games being played, not just in shrinkwrap on shelves for me to buy (at retail prices and for no benefit over traditional vendors).
Well, surely you could take it a step further.. really the name 'Games Workshop' itself has become something of an ironic reminder of the company's past, and hasn't really been appropriate for the last 6-7 years or more. Mantic, a company with about 10 staff and the funding of a homeless man checking phone booths for change when compared to that of GW, has more games in production that it actively supports..
There is also the fact that GW is a "model company" too. I guess Model Workshop just doesn't have the same ring to it though
Fafnir wrote: Oh, I certainly vote with my dollar, but the problem is that that is not enough. The problem with the 'vote with your dollar' response is that it doesn't take into account why we're not buying the product. I want to enjoy 40k enough to buy back in. It was my introduction to traditional games, and there was a time when I enjoyed it very much. I want to buy 40k, but Gamesworkshop is doing their very best to push me away, and simply not buying their product won't tell them that.
2013/11/17 15:16:05
Subject: Re:Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
Oaka wrote: It's getting to the point where if I see Marneus Calgar and the Swarmlord in the same unit as a Riptide, I probably won't question its legality.
2013/11/17 15:33:24
Subject: Re:Games Workshop fires Italy and France event managers!
The upper management and board of GW has little to no actual hobbyists or even people who understand the games left in it. The design team and creatives have been reduced to a half what they were in the early 2000s, the stores are reduced to one man affairs
The Games Days cannot have been viewed as directly profitable and the secondary purpose of them, raising profile and showcasing releases, does not fit with a company who's command seems weirdly obsessed with no publicity and being free to behave as it wants in a dark corner, away from prying eyes.
I watched the BoW report on the UK Games Day with total amazement, it was a terrible, awful thing that anyone who paid for a ticket should be righteously furious about. Not a single game played, painting tournament shoved away downstairs, so you paid to travel across the country to stand in queues and buy things you could have just ordered online from the comfort of your own home... The only plus I could see was the chance to meet some of the authors. Other than that, a total farce.
The company is in retreat, slashing all 'extraneous' costs right down to the nail and continuing to raise costs. This will, in my opinion, result in a mail order only company with no stores, selling kits for hundreds of pounds, to a few die-hard collectors.
