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Hey guys!

When we were the first to release background information on the dramatic loss of 25% of Games Workshop's stock value yesterday, we honestly did not expect this incredible amount of response.
The news spread like a wildfire and over 20000 of you visited our blog to read up on all of the details.

Many of you left comments and messages in response to this article - we have been very busy trying to answer all of them as quickly as possible

Instead of just linking to the latest developments again, I want to talk a little more about what our series is all about:

At the same time of the release of their half-year numbers, Games Workshop upped the ante and pretty much put a roundhouse-kick to its own operation.
I heard some of these rumors three days ago, but wanted to wait for some insider information to confirm what we heard.

And today, it seems that 'the plot thickens' as one would say.

You might already have heard that Games Workshop will close down most of their International HQs. Confirmed are: US, Italy, France, Spain. In contrast to what most people write, HQ Germany seems to remain intact.
You also heard that whole lines of armies will be discontinued. 30% of product will only be available online in the future, FW and GW will combine operations and the whole shebang...

If you would like to know more detailed background information on this - and how we have been forseeing AND writing about this development already months ago, I would like to invite you to read our epic collection of walls of text about "The Future of Games Days and Games Workshop".

In today's part 9 you will read all about today's new rumors and some of the relevant background information and analysis. If anything it's a long, but enjoyable read.

For your convenience, here are all of the other parts in this series:

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 7.5 - Part 8

Part 10 coming soon™

We would like to (possibly) wrap up the series in installment 10 and we would like to ask you for your comments in the comment section of today's blog entry if you would like to participate in this discussion

Thanks again for the massive response to this series!

As always: SHARE & ENJOY!

Zaphod

As always a very good read. I appreciate the insight.

Nice read. Thank you.

Lol I just gave up at the painting dvd sales pitch.

Really errr Biased and dramatic... you would do well on a GW store.

Great write up, darn you for enticing me to read that all at once..

A few thing you didn't touch on is competition and the cost to reacquire gamers that have shaken their heads and walked away.

This is why a lot of people seem to be going to warmahordes, at least they are a miniature gaming company.

Great article.

Dakka will lap this up.

Overdramatic and biased as has been said above, written to strike a cord and generate hits with the internet moaners who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

but like I say, my opinion will be in the minority.

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Dakka will lap this up.

...who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

He does claim that he was Global CIO of ALDI South. If true, then he's a damn sight better qualified than most.

I've known Zaph for a while. He's on the level. As for the painting DVD, it's by all accounts an extremely good one.

Taking what I've said and twisting it to suit your own point of view, you aren't new here lol!

I meant that there are plenty on here that think that they know better than Kirby because their CV reads

Started 40k in RT era....

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Dakka will lap this up.

Overdramatic and biased as has been said above, written to strike a cord and generate hits with the internet moaners who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

but like I say, my opinion will be in the minority.

Oh my god, something is overdramatic and potentially inaccurate on an internet blog, whatever shall we do?! If all you can muster, friend, is the regurgitation meaningless criticisms without bothering to contribute anything better yourself, consider the advantages of silence. Bonus points are awarded for that little obnoxiously trite martyr act you just had to perform with your final sentence. Oh, woe is you, in-deed.

Surely, some amateur dramatics society has been cruelly deprived of a clown by your choosing to spend time in our midst?

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Taking what I've said and twisting it to suit your own point of view, you aren't new here lol!

I meant that there are plenty on here that think that they know better than Kirby because their CV reads

Started 40k in RT era....

You don't have to know much about business to see GW claims in annual reports are fantasy. Such as their business not being affected by the global economy (clearly not true for any business as spending is down almost everywhere) or how impenetrable their IP is. Once they talk in way that reflects reality people might have more reason to take them seriously.

 Agamemnon2 wrote:

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Dakka will lap this up.

Overdramatic and biased as has been said above, written to strike a cord and generate hits with the internet moaners who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

but like I say, my opinion will be in the minority.

Oh my god, something is overdramatic and potentially inaccurate on an internet blog, whatever shall we do?! If all you can muster, friend, is the regurgitation meaningless criticisms without bothering to contribute anything better yourself, consider the advantages of silence. Bonus points are awarded for that little obnoxiously trite martyr act you just had to perform with your final sentence. Oh, woe is you, in-deed.

Surely, some amateur dramatics society has been cruelly deprived of a clown by your choosing to spend time in our midst?

I just found this exact post whilst looking up the definition of Irony.

It's the internet, despite the pictures warning you otherwise, it's really not serious business.

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Dakka will lap this up.

Overdramatic and biased as has been said above, written to strike a cord and generate hits with the internet moaners who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

but like I say, my opinion will be in the minority.

Yes, it will contrast with the people who read the entire (admittedly very long) articles.

 Pacific wrote:

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Dakka will lap this up.

Overdramatic and biased as has been said above, written to strike a cord and generate hits with the internet moaners who seem to think 20 years in the hobby qualifies them to run a large company.

but like I say, my opinion will be in the minority.

Yes, it will contrast with the people who read the entire (admittedly very long) articles.

People who already have their mind made up aren't interested in reading anything that disagrees with their already held opinion.

It's like I had a crystal ball :lol:

I read the article, and disagreed with it. I commented on this. If I'm going too fast for anyone stop me.

You might have disagreed, but you failed to provide any useful grounds for discussion, other than dusting off the old "people not running a multinational company cannot offer any criticism of running a multinational company" gambit. For someone making so many posts, you're saying very little, except blowing your own trumpet with the whole "It's like I had a crystal ball" routine.

I don't agree with the blog posts, but at least they're saying something, instead of prancing about the place like some contrarian pixie. Is this the end of GW? I doubt it very much. The kind of people who run companies like GW tend to be very good at covering their own behinds, if nothing else. Then again, the latest financial numbers being so disappointing, apparently without forewarning, will probably have annoyed quite a lot of investors, as the dip in the share price shows.

The Division Of Joy wrote:
I just found this exact post whilst looking up the definition of Irony.

If I'd known you need to look up common words in a dictionary, I would have written my posts in a more simplistic language.

Then it that case you might get better responses if you explained why you disagreed with it, rather than saying "it's biased" ?

Although what reason anyone would have to be biased with this kind of thing is kind of puzzling, unless Zaphod Beeblebro is actually Ronnie Renton's alter-ego?
The first few posts were actually pretty complementary towards GW has achieved and done well, I thought.

I disagreed with, as I thought it was written too non-objectively, And I thought it needlessly over-dramatic.

You might have got that from my post but it seems not.

 Pacific wrote:
Then it that case you might get better responses if you explained why you disagreed with it, rather than saying "it's biased" ?

Although what reason anyone would have to be biased with this kind of thing is kind of puzzling, unless Zaphod Beeblebro is actually Ronnie Renton's alter-ego?

You, you mean he isn't?!
*Sob!*

The one thing that I felt was missing in the article is actually the hard part - we know that what GW is doing isn't working. Some of us have known it for years.

But what can they do to turn it around? that is the real question.

Is there a Hail Mary that can pull GW out of their *Bleep! Bleep! *BLEEEEEP!*? (Insert what ever pejoratives you like in place of the Bleep!.)

The Auld Grump

Worthless thread by a repeated spammer. Cut and paste nerd rage from forums, wrap it around DVD advertisement and then claim to be the origin of all these developing 'issues' in regards to GW... Wow people with fake claims of high traffic then spam more DVD sales.

OPs other thread for the exact same topic got locked less than 2 days ago for spamming, and he went and made a new spammy thread.

Is there a reason this needed its own thread and couldn't have just been posted in one of the 20 other threads... or not at all since it was a shameless site plug for DVDs? You know, what the MODs told you to do last time? And the time before, and the time before that?

There are already threads to discuss these very topics here at Dakka. You can of course participate in those discussions, but you cannot create duplicate threads here even when it isn't thinly veiled to advertise your own site.

Thank you -