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1. Drop annual price increases, and slash prices by 20-40% across the board. They'll still make an absolute wedge, and people will be able to buy more stuff, build armies easier, and it will show that the company cares about the players rather than profit.

2. Support Specialist Games, particularly Necromunda, Mordheim and Blood Bowl.

3. Start selling individual bitz a la Bitz Box/Battlewagon Bitz etc etc. This will generate yet more revenue for the company, which would otherwise be spent at bitz sites.

4. When a codex/army is released, make sure every model is available before the next codex/army book is released. This will also stop the problems with 3rd party minis, such as the Chapter House drama.

5. Bring back GW ran tournaments.

6. Train all hobby center staff to be helpful rather than pushy. This has always been something that' puts me off with GW hobby centers.

7. Stop all this nonsense where they keep their release schedule supersecret. There's no reason for this at all. Announcing something early means hype will build and people will save money up to buy it when it drops.

8. Scrap finecast. Can not support this enough.

9. Actual army deals online, where the purchaser saves money. None of this "bundle everything up and sell it at rrp" crap. Real discount for big buys.

That should do it...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and
10. Bring back Skullz Rewards!

Stop making toys and start making miniatures again.

Apologise to the entire loyal fanbase

Put Metal CDs back on the front of WD

 Sean_OBrien wrote:
Return them to operating as they were when they were most profitable - the late 1990s.

Same practices - just scale as needed.

Yeah, I'd be happy with that.

Also, less skulls. Seriously, I count 9 skulls on the recently released Belial model. Also a return to slightly less cartoonish look to future models.

I'd exploit the Lord of the Rings licence and push it as a main game.

Of course I'd also rewrite the 40k rules to be more like 2nd edition and the Fantasy rules to be more like every edition of Fantasy before the current one (not that it would help the company, but it's my own pet hate).

I would increase prices twice a year, put out poorly edited codexes that are more expensive and I would also put out expensive compendiums of rulesets that are not necessary but are limited edition so I can make even more money. I would paint the rhino at Warhammer World red and drive it around London all day without paying the entry tax and park it in disabled spaces. I would bring back the dwarves to 40k, give sisters a new codex and make sure that eldar never get a new codex. I would make FAQs even more ambiguous and open to interpretation while also making sure they are ripe with spelling mistakes. All tau models would be discontinued, anime has no place in 40k.

I would raise prices as much as the market could bear.
Get rid of any high paid talented staff and bring in kids to write codexes for cheap.
Write half assed rulesets because people will play them anyway.
Add more skulls.
Release more poorly written Black Library novels.
Raise the price of White Dwarf. Cut the size in half.
Make ridiculous claims about Trademake and IP law then sue any companies that ripped off the IP that my company ripped off.
Redo all the miniatures in cheaper resin - and then raise prices.
Add more grimdark.
Raise prices a little more.
Get on Dakka and Warseer forums and read everyone moan and complain about prices and then talk about how much they buy.
Laugh.
Milk it, milk it for all its worth. Milk those ***ies dry! They don't call me the milkman for nothing!
Get lots of hookers and blow.

We wrote:
I would raise prices as much as the market could bear.
Get rid of any high paid talented staff and bring in kids to write codexes for cheap.
Write half assed rulesets because people will play them anyway.
Add more skulls.
Release more poorly written Black Library novels.
Raise the price of White Dwarf. Cut the size in half.
Make ridiculous claims about Trademake and IP law then sue any companies that ripped off the IP that my company ripped off.
Redo all the miniatures in cheaper resin - and then raise prices.
Add more grimdark.
Raise prices a little more.
Get on Dakka and Warseer forums and read everyone moan and complain about prices and then talk about how much they buy.
Laugh.
Milk it, milk it for all its worth. Milk those ***ies dry! They don't call me the milkman for nothing!
Get lots of hookers and blow.

So basically you'd just use their current business practices, but slightly toned down?

I would bring back the more popular Specialist Games, update them, and market them properly (that is, actually market them rather than pretend they don't exist).

I would hire a technical writer to help tighten up the rules.

I would stop increasing prices so much so often and go for more market saturation, and start doing some reasonable promotions in order to move more stock.

I'd start shopping around for a film deal and other licensing opportunities to see what interest might be out there.

Bring back Squats.

Increase dividend payouts......oh wait....

Take all the bitz. Invite all the GW game players to a bonfire. And burn the bitz in front of them. Cause why not, its basically what they are doing now with the price increase.

1. Reforge connections to online retailers and brick & mortar stores. Allow them to show images of the products.

2. Mordheim , Necromunda, Space Hulk - new editions, plastics ranges. Use them as introductions to the hobby.

3. Broaden sales, lower prices - currently it appears that the company is making up lost volume with increased prices.

4. Simplify and balance the damned rules! (There is a reason that I prefer Kings of War.)

5. Drop Failcast. Back to metals, or at least better resin and QA.

6. Drop all but the best GW stores OR start supporting them as game hubs again.

7. Shoot the Fanboyz what gives the gamez a bad rep.

The Auld Grump

I'd officially revile the 40k army everyone has been waiting for: The Pan Fo!

1) Have each 40k army made in 15mm scale and market the smaller minis as an economical way to get into the game.

2)Rules always available for all models in codex, models for all rules in codex and rules for models released after the codex.

3)Hire extra shifts of workers to handle extra demand for models.

4)Rely on volume sales to make profit

5)Get out of the Ipad only deal. This is an outdated way of doing business. Maybe offer all rules except the BRB as free pdf's.

6)Instead of hiring some interns to flood the forums as white knights for the company, I'd work on establishing a real and honest internet presence.

1. I'd start up some official tournaments again, including an entire or additional day at games day, so that people can actually play games. I'd also be sponsoring club tournaments.

2. I'd get some advertising runs done in console gaming channels (magazines, TV, web).

3. I'd run some promo's like the army building card, with free figures, but I'd also allow FLGS's to get involved.

4. I'd actually overhaul White Dwarf, cut the new release pages down to 4/5, add some scenarios and real content, and hire people who actually play the game.

5. I'd bring out an updated mini-codex for each army to bring them up to speed with the base rules release, and sell them in the stores for maybe £4. They'd eventually be replaced by real codex releases, which would be in paperback.


Of course, this wouldn't all happen overnight.

 focusedfire wrote:
6)Instead of hiring some interns to flood the forums as white knights for the company, I'd work on establishing a real and honest internet presence.

I guess you're probably joking but is there ANY evidence that GW has ever done this?

 Scrub wrote:

 focusedfire wrote:
6)Instead of hiring some interns to flood the forums as white knights for the company, I'd work on establishing a real and honest internet presence.

I guess you're probably joking but is there ANY evidence that GW has ever done this?

We're not allowed to call out specific users and they certainly won't Testify that themselves

I'd tell FW to not be as expensive. I'd make it so people gcould play horus heresy without spending $500.

1.) Rerelease Space Hulk and Warhammer Quest and distribute them in general toy stores incl ToysRUs, accompanied by free introduction brochures to 40k and Warhammer Fantasy respectively. Do professional TV commercials iin children TV programmes. Worked in the past to massively recruit new customers, will work again.
2.) Reforge the cooperation with De Agostini and make a magazine plus sprue for the Hobbit. De Agostini will do the marketing. Worked in the past to massively recruit new customers, will work again. Don't forget to add a cinema commercial shown with the next Hobbit movies.
3.) Lower prices, esp. on introductory products like starters and rulebooks incl. Codices. Offer more introductory products, consider using Necromunda and Mordheim as such. Low price introductory products are standard for all product lines. Work there, will work here.
4.) Make at least standard marketing and drop treating customers as spies. Dropping information is your friend, not your foe. Create interest.
5.) Drop Finecast, return to metal.
6.) Let the studio do their job without interference of bean counters. Let creativity be the motor again, not a misinformed idea of easy profit.
7.) Stop sueing fan websites and second market. Both further your sales, not decrease it. Fire your incompetent lawyers, they further ruin your reputation.
8.) Introduce a corporate atmosphere, where critisism and honest feedback is encouraged. The current yes-company style is killing progress.

These are just a few no-brainer ideas to cut the most evident restrains to a growing business. It will bring more customers and sales almost instantly, balancing less profit per box. After this initial changes, you can work on the GW store issue.

1) More frequent but less sharp price hikes. This way we will be able to keep milking the customers without them realizing it as much.

2) More Space Marines, because they are what sell the best. Introduce more codexes for other Space Marine chapters. Give Chaos Marines codexes for their Legions. Make the core of the game Space Marines vs Chaos Space Marines, and have all other armies as either Allies or a general Xeno/Raider faction to be used as NPCs.

3) Drop Forge World completely as the products they sell compete too much with the main company's lines.

4) Drop Gamesday. Waste of money.

5) Drop Finecrap and go resin, but raise prices on the claim that "increased R&D costs for switching to resin have unfortunately led to necessary price increases".

6) Fire Jervis Johnson.

7) Forget about Australia.

I'd change the official company name to G-dubz to appeal to teenagers and then release all of the figures pre assembled with the legs as the arms and the arms as the legs. Then I'd write a catchy rap for the commercial such as "G-Dubz G-dubz figures so leet (yeeaahh boooyyyy) feet for hands and hands for feet"

I would make a thread on a popular community website asking the same thing then laugh at the replies as I rolled in piles of tear-soaked money.

1. For Codex releases, have a dedicated rules writing team and let a separate person handle fluff. No longer would one author have to carry the whole burden.

2. Promote licenced products like Fantasy Flight's RPGs in WD and shops (not just htrough adverts - let's have stuff like experimental rules and previews of new books).

3. Look into getting more licenced products out there, especially video games - raising money and reaching a wider audience

4. Marketing - actually have some. Get rid of the excessive secrecy and release previews of new releases a long time in advance. For example, let's say this year a Tau Codex comes out - don't just spring it on us in WD, start the year off by telling us 2013's the year of the Tau, show us a piece of concept art or greens every week, and so forth.

5. Get more detailed painting and modelling articles in WD including articles on scratchbuilding terrain, kitbashing etc. Make battle reports a lot more detailed, cut down space dedicated to new releases, and have regular articles on advanced painting techniques.

6. Ensure every army and Codex is supported and updated on a regular basis, and obviously ensure that every time a new edition comes out each army is prepared for it. Aim for every unit in every Codex having a model.

7. Acknowledge Specialist Games. They don't even have to support them, just mention them and promote them on the website - perhaps this could be used as a way to get veterans who've left back into the hobby. When a new boxed game comes out, don't make it super-special limited edition only.

8. Get a more established online presence (after making some improvements in other areas, in order to avoid flaming)

9. Bits orders - already mentioned many times, I don't think I need to add anything here.

10. PRICE CUTS!

Looks like a lot of "reduce profits and make cool people like me" wish listing. Which is not a business model.

Over half the ideas seem like people intent on bankrupting the company through proven failed or unprofitable ventures.

1. Stabilise prices, reduce the price of 'entry products'

2. Relaunch/create standalone boxed games (Space Hulk, Blood Bowl, etc) and push these out into as many distribution channels as possible. These should be alongside other boxed games in toy and book stores, etc.

3. Release expansion packs for the above

4. Rework and expand Necromunda/40k Skirmish Game, and push out into mainstream channels. Put real effort into expanding Kill Team and release the rules for free. Then release 'kill team' box sets, 1-3 for each army. These can be used in Necromunda or Kill Team.

5. Develop similar for WFB.

6. Advertise LotR stuff alongside hobbit film release, e.g. In cinemas

7. Change PR strategy completely. Treat customers with respect (e.g. None of the nonsense lines we've got from Black Library re Hardbacks).

8. Use FW as a prototype / Skunk Works, with more iterative design of rules and pull-through and consolidation into the main GW output where appropriate

9. Do the graphic novel and comic strips thing again, but try to licence / work with established players. Push for crossovers with popular comics.

10. Invest in getting a decent animated film that can be sold to mainstream audiences

11. Support decent computer games. Make sure Dawn of War gets another sequel.

12. Get a 'buy your customised marine' type feature into these computer games.

13. Launch a decent army builder. Have a one click buy (or a 'buy everything I don't have') option to order your army direct from GW. Include discounts and 'free' swag for larger armies/purchases.

14. Whenever a popular character is created in another media make a model and rules for it. Read the book, love the character, buy the model. Extend this to insignia. Make us swim in Space Marine shoulder pads, banners, storm shields, craft world runes, custom wraith lord canopies etc. Why the hell didn't they bring out Blood Raven stuff years ago?

15. Quality control. Don't release duff miniatures.

16. Themed release waves. 40k 6th edition should have been followed by every side getting at least one flyer within 3 months. 3 months later everyone should get a non flyer AA release. Flyers were the big new thing. Bring them out. Shift the meta. Follow up with a response (the AA). 3-6 months later bring out army specific Fortifications. Bringing out Daemons? 2 months later have a "fighting against Daemons" release highlighting existing units in other armies that are useful against Daemons and sell them with a promotional offer or discount.

17. Clone Jes Goodwin.

18. Bigger build up to releases, e.g. Show new concept art 6 weeks before a release.

19. Use more electronic distribution platforms. Charge a reasonable price. Include free updates. Make book versions more lavish (e.g. The "characters from books compendium" is a v.good price electronically, and gets free updates but is basically just the rules and some extras like background text. The physical books are released as hardback annuals, which has additional material for each character like new art, new material from the relevant author, biography info/interviews/whatever).

I'd remind myself that I was now head of a publicly listed company which stocks can be traded in. I'd then remind myself my loyalty is to my shareholders, and then my customers (not the otherway round).
Take actions to build shareholder confidence, sustain profits and show sales growth in the medium-long term.

I would get rid of micky mouse armies such as Black Templars, Sisters, Beastmen and Daemons, and plough the saved resources into other armies.

I would have one big mega codex for space marines which would allow all chapter variants (except black templars ) and one big mega realm of chaos book (as it should be).

Finally, for his years of criticising GW, I would kidnap Meangreenstompa, and force him to count every slotta base in the GW factory!

 mattyrm wrote:
I'd change the official company name to G-dubz to appeal to teenagers and then release all of the figures pre assembled with the legs as the arms and the arms as the legs. Then I'd write a catchy rap for the commercial such as "G-Dubz G-dubz figures so leet (yeeaahh boooyyyy) feet for hands and hands for feet"

As the new owner of Gw LTd you will have a place at my side marketing this shizz.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
I would get rid of micky mouse armies such as Black Templars, Sisters, Beastmen and Daemons, and plough the saved resources into other armies.

I would have one big mega codex for space marines which would allow all chapter variants (except black templars ) and one big mega realm of chaos book (as it should be).

Finally, for his years of criticising GW, I would kidnap Meangreenstompa, and force him to count every slotta base in the GW factory!

You shall have your place as head of all design.

I would also hire gak hot legal eagles, make sure my IP is as tight as a mouses arse and stop third parties getting a slice of my retirement pie.

Mian changes i would look at are in the advertising\news, stop the release day WD pre order nonsense where i find out that week i could have got something i wanted etc.

Let folks now a good month in advance about whats coming so can plan a purchase.

If a bits service was to be done, dont do the 'every item available' as it costs a fortune to store stuff and no one actually needs that many bits, but a set of big sprues with heads, guns, swords etc etc for each faction would be great for mods or weapon sets, or do weapon specific sets, head sets etc etc. or get FW to do this, i know the reasons bits were stopped and a lot of it was simply to do with wasted storage space apparently.

offer electronic books on android, i have an ipad but feel its a missed opportunity, especially as samsung and windows have pulled the finger out on tablets.

Price is the biggy, but without knowing what the financial bods know in GW towers, for all we know this could be exactly what they want, raking in pennies and have no need to reduce. Speaking with my mate, GW could make everything £5 people would still moan, it has always been so, hence it always will. Everyone has aprice point, the market will control it eventually, its how capetitalism works.

Companies dont pluck prices from the sky, so GW will be pricing as they feel they can.

Sort out a structure for what the company wants, new starts, vets, or a mixture, tournament support or not etc.

other thoughts, but nowt major.

I'd either remove GW stores, or, if I kept them, have them allow specialist games and Fantasy Flight Warhammer-based games as well (Invasion, Warhammer RPG, Talisman, Relic, etc) that promote the Warhammer/GW universe. Secondly, I'd adjust pricing to be more competitively priced and keep price increases at the level of inflation only. I'd also promote upcoming armies in White Dwarf, with about a 2 month 'heads-up' and and make September "specialist game month" and release limited editions of one specialist game each year. However, despite being a "limited" release, I'd make the games available by mail order only after the limited supply runs out-so you can order it, but it'll only be at full price from the GW website. I would also build a poll on the GW site that allowed for which armies receive a 'megabox' at Christmas time, and the poll would last all through October. On November 1st, polls would be tallied, the boxes created, and on December 1st the boxes would be put together at a 25% discount (keeping in mind that prices would have already gone down due to 'competitive' pricing). These would only be available direct order, as a 25% is pretty healthy already, given that prices would no longer be as outrageous. The other 10 months (outside of September and December releases) would be 40k, Fantasy and Hobbit: 4 40k months, 4 Fantasy, 2 Hobbit. Editions would not be changed until each army is updated and has had at least 4 months under current rules. Hobbit would meet different criteria, as it's a different game and currently I'm not familiar with its nuances. Sound good?

1) restructure the 1-man stores to 2 employees. that work in a system where their job is to spend 1-2 years marketing on the ground in communites building up a fan base through connecting with the LGS's, helping the LGS get their gaming community intergrated with products, events, and knowledge. And then the team moves on to another community and does the same thing, unless their high visability shop does a lot of business.

2) lower prices, sell volume.

3) Accept advertising from other companies, movies, ect in WD and use that money to lower prices, reduce GW ads in the mag as well.

4) embrace the bitz makers. allow chapterhouse to do offically liscensed shoulder pad and expansion kits, and allow selling of producrs through GW website.

5) Redo bloodbowl, and aim for a 50-60ish price point. get people on Tabletop to play it, sell at Target. Do the same for Warhammer Quest, and Space Hulk.

6) most importantly, take the company private.