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Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

They used that 'Broadly in line with expectations' line last year didn't they?

 Rayvon wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

Ok, so a few examples of companies you've compared GW to?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Blacksails wrote:
They used that 'Broadly in line with expectations' line last year didn't they?

Yep.

They clearly have a very pessimistic view of where they're headed.

 Rayvon wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

No, it is wise to look at the same field - GW is losing sales, those companies are gaining sales.... How well a similarly sized *rolls randomly* yachting supply company is doing has no bearing on how GW is doing.

Where do you think that those sales that GW are losing are going, hmmmm?

Could it possibly be that they are going to those same companies that you have decided it is not fair to compare against?

But GW has declared that market research is otiose in a niche industry - so they cannot look and see what the competition is doing to steal those sales from GW.

So, at least GW agrees with you.

The Auld Grump

 Rayvon wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

Um.. the best comparison you'll get to GW's size is probably PP, and they seem to be doing very well for themselves with consistent new releases, improving quality of said releases and the kind of hype for their new releases that GW could only dream of since they don't try at all to generate excitement.
As far as I know PP are growing.

Looking at the same industry... the tabeltop gaming industry in North America was estimated to have doubled between 08 and.. 2013 I believe it was. In NA we have seen 10-20% growth year on year for about 5 years now.

Corvus Belli reported 75% growth 2 years straight (and I think something similar again recently with Operation Icestorm's runaway success) in the same years GW remained flat.

There is no way to spin it looking at the industry where GW is just in line with the market. The market is exploding right now and GW seem to be running the other way. Admittedly I can't speak for companies of the same size in nottingham outside of our industry, but I can't imagine that having much of an effect on the final numbers.

Right.

Predictions on revenue/profit compared to last year? Growth in core/website offset by stores and retail and non-core sounds like a wash to me. Plus, given the same line recycled from last year would lead me to believe it'll look similar to last years.

Here's a thought; if you blame your drop in profits on restructuring then STOP BLOODY RESTRUCTURING. Give us back stores that have space to game and hang out in, multiple staff who aren't afraid they will be fired if they don't reach a certain sales threshold and sort out your sodding pre-order strategy.

Basically rewind ten years. Simples.

 Venerate1 wrote:
Here's a thought; if you blame your drop in profits on restructuring then STOP BLOODY RESTRUCTURING. Give us back stores that have space to game and hang out in, multiple staff who aren't afraid they will be fired if they don't reach a certain sales threshold and sort out your sodding pre-order strategy.

Basically rewind ten years. Simples.

But that would require another restructure

I love how every year you read this, there's always "One off Costs" or "Restructuring Costs". At least as far back as 2008/09 I'm sure I've read that statement in some form. Are we sure they and they're not just the general cost of doing business?

 Rayvon wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

It depends on the field. In the niche luxury market for injection moulded toy soldiers, you'll find a more useful comparison with a smaller company that makes niche luxury toy soldiers with the same materials in the same ways, than you would, say a window or tractor part manufacturer with a similar turnover. At least in terms of how the current climate has hit the market.

It's also worth noting that during the worst of the recession, GW itself claimed to be recession proof because escapism sales increase in a recession, so even they don't think the economy is the problem.

I find it odd that they're still looking at restructuring costs as a source of bringing profits down. The changes made have been in place for almost 8 financial quarters now so the shifts that they cause in the financials should have been worked out by now.

The only thing that I can think of is that they are still paying rents on spaces that they abandoned due to lease agreements but the costs should have been absorbed in the same fiscal year in which they occurred, not a recurring cost unless GW companies pursue some weird form of GAAP that I've never heard.

More likely the retail chain has become a burden on the company to maintain due to the limitations created by the transition to one-man operations located in cheap rent areas. Locating your retail arm off the beaten path and closed for business during regular hours leads to reduced sales; anyone with a marketing background could have told them this before they did it.

lol, people saying it's not that big a deal are missing a major point. These are down.. from a baseline that had already plummeted like a stone in a lake. They've lost a limb previously and now they're losing fingers and toes.. it doesn't mean they got the limb back!

They are aggressively pursuing new releases because new releases were what was moving the most. So like [MOD EDIT - please find a different way to express yourself - Alpharius], they've decided that flooding the market with new releases must be the answer. It shows that truly, they see us as a cow that they can just keep milking rather than customers, hobbyists, and people who invest the limited resources we have into a hobby. Previously the storyline, setting, aesthetic, rules, community, and tournament scene were great to be a part of. Then, around the time Jarvis stepped up, Gav and Andy stepped out, and GW went public, it all went pear shaped.

I would like to see the number too but at this point it feels like watching a family member who you have fond memories of succumb to cancer. It's really a shame.

I think that simile is in rather poor taste.

Also your timeline is way out.

 Rayvon wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 Rayvon wrote:
Seems pretty much standard for a UK based business in this climate, It shows nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned.

How do you explain the growth of, well, everyone else in the gaming industry (including Warlord/Perry/Mantic/Renedra who are all local to Nottingham)?

It is wise to make comparisons with similar size companies as well as those within the same field, if you are looking for greater accuracy when predicting financials I always find.

Then I suppose GW is immune to comparisons since there are no other companies in the UK their size in their specific field?

I suppose that's a good way to cut off discussion.

So the sky still hasnt fallen right?.....

 Ratius wrote:
So the sky still hasnt fallen right?.....

No, the skyline is still broadly in line with expectations.

Haha touché

There is some validity to suggest comparing a retailer with other retailers, obviously comparing a medium sized games company to the oil industry might lead you up the wrong path for example.

Boots (a large chemist retail chain in the Uk) laid off 700 people today.

High streets shops are increasingly difficult to operate despite a generally positive economic outlook.

 Ratius wrote:
Haha touché

On a serious note, we won't know how good or bad they've done this year for another month or two.

 notprop wrote:
There is some validity to suggest comparing a retailer with other retailers, obviously comparing a medium sized games company to the oil industry might lead you up the wrong path for example.

Boots (a large chemist retail chain in the Uk) laid off 700 people today.

High streets shops are increasingly difficult to operate despite a generally positive economic outlook.

That's ok, GW are cutting their High St operation to the very minimum while investing heavily in their online presence.

So everything will be fine!!

I'm not a particle physicist, but that Year End preamble does not sound promising.

Is the sky falling? No, but they aren't raking in the dough.

How much further can they fall? Dunno.

Now, now old chap don't under sell yourself; I'm sure the Learned Dr Kronk Kronkington (professor at large) could impart some vital kernel of knowledge that us lesser mortals might have missed...?

"The effect of these non-core activities and the continuing effects of unfavourable exchange rates mean that our reported sales are likely to show small declines in retail (c.5%) and trade (c.3%)."

This is Kirbyism for "We lost 5% of our sales due to various and sundry reasons that aren't associated with the PED >>1! Don't look behind the PED curtain!"

See! Have a Scooby-snack.

All "broadly in line with expectations " means is that their results weren't bad enough for them to be legally required to post a peofit warning. My money's on standstill profit and a reduction in turnover.

Last year's report actually said that they will not return to growth before 2016.

 notprop wrote:
I think that simile is in rather poor taste.

Also your timeline is way out.

You really felt my post was so bad that it warranted being reported? WOW, I didn't realize people were so hyper-sensitive. As I am an adult and am given to speak like one who is under the impression he is speaking to other adults, I tend to forget that some people need a filter for reality. It's strange that the simile of losing limbs or loved ones to cancer would be seen as so rude though when we're discussing a company whose games commonly feature graphics that depict disembowelment, demonic possession, mutilation, genocide, and many other horrific things. While I do sense that my "impolite" post was only flagged because it is anti-GW, I will in fact refrain from posting any more similes that might be received in such a manner.

However, I do not support or condone GW's policies over the last decade or so.. so if reporting my post was merely meant to silence the GW dissenters, no.. I will not refrain from that, not until such a time as we see the hobby restored to it's former glory.


FYI - My adopted mother is a cancer survivor and my biological father died of cancer when I was a teenager and my wife has had cysts detected that are under observation. If I can stomach that type of simile, then I would think most people would be able to.

Stay on-topic please; take it to PM as necessary. Thanks.

 Osbad wrote:
All "broadly in line with expectations " means is that their results weren't bad enough for them to be legally required to post a peofit warning. My money's on standstill profit and a reduction in turnover.

On July 28th, I suspect we'll see something like this:

However this is great news. GW as a company are committed to bringing the public the highest quality models in the industry. Price points have been carefully set to reflect that Citadel miniatures are the highest quality offerings on the market, and are fairly priced based on the untold hours of enjoyment that hobby enthusiasts will gain through their purchase. Over the last fiscal year, Games Workshop, as befitting their leadership position in the industry has invested in production initiatives which reflect on the bottom line as several one-time expenditures which will impact on this year's overall profits. Among these groundbreaking initiatives, Games Workshop is in the process of transitioning their entire product library to digital format. This has numerous obvious advantages as this will create an ironclad barrier against those miscreants who would seek to infringe upon our IP, as well as smooth production of new products by optimization of sprue layouts. We are excited to announce the last advantage to come out of this process. Our insiders know it as the "gribble-matic" where upon a computer software automatically adds detail from our extensive IP library to an existing base model. This drastically reduces the stagnant periods between codex updates and also saves untold man-hours and removes the cost of having an art department. As part of this process, we will be moving to a bi-annual codex update model in order to better supply the market demand for our hobby products.

 keezus wrote:

 Osbad wrote:
All "broadly in line with expectations " means is that their results weren't bad enough for them to be legally required to post a peofit warning. My money's on standstill profit and a reduction in turnover.

On July 28th, I suspect we'll see something like this:

However this is great news. GW as a company are committed to bringing the public the highest quality models in the industry. Price points have been carefully set to reflect that Citadel miniatures are the highest quality offerings on the market, and are fairly priced based on the untold hours of enjoyment that hobby enthusiasts will gain through their purchase. Over the last fiscal year, Games Workshop, as befitting their leadership position in the industry has invested in production initiatives which reflect on the bottom line as several one-time expenditures which will impact on this year's overall profits. Among these groundbreaking initiatives, Games Workshop is in the process of transitioning their entire product library to digital format. This has numerous obvious advantages as this will create an ironclad barrier against those miscreants who would seek to infringe upon our IP, as well as smooth production of new products by optimization of sprue layouts. We are excited to announce the last advantage to come out of this process. Our insiders know it as the "gribble-matic" where upon a computer software automatically adds detail from our extensive IP library to an existing base model. This drastically reduces the stagnant periods between codex updates and also saves untold man-hours and removes the cost of having an art department. As part of this process, we will be moving to a bi-annual codex update model in order to better supply the market demand for our hobby products.

There are too few buzzwords in this report.

It also mentions the industry and markets Why? There is no industry! just GW's hobby! (obligatory trademark symbol).

Here is my translation of the GW financial report from managerspeak into plain English: