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2018/06/09 15:51:17
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
GW seem to have an almost ideal business model. They effectively sell a hobby.
Right now the lore is as good as ever and their miniatures, rulebooks and paints are excellent quality. Starter boxes are affordable and contain simplified rules and painting guides to draw people into the hobby. Alongside that, GW's social media presence is excellent, so once their new customer base is hooked they can readily up-sell more expensive/new products.
2018/06/09 16:17:01
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Arbitrator wrote:Proof that if you practise a basic social media presence and tell people "no, no, we're totally listening" you don't have to change anything else and people will buy it hook, line and sinker.
What exactly has GW changed from before the Kirby era?
Hulksmash wrote:
-Launched regular free FAQ's/Errata's multiple times a year to try to maintain a fun and balanced playing environment (in both systems)
-Restarted non-gw playtesting
-Regular discount boxes for starting or expanding
-Brought back Specialist Gamges
-Created an entire new game and system that's actually pretty awesome (shadespire)
They've responded and actually listened and shown they have multiple times. Just cause they didn't do what you want doesn't mean there haven't been pretty solid changes.
To which I will add:
- The paying of an equally split bonus to all employees (in contrast with no raises or bonuses ever under Kirby). The very subject of this thread.*
- Sicking their lawyers on no one. They asked one site to remove an army building software that used their images (the guy running it agreed it was a copyright violation).
- A redesign of 40k so it works much much better for smaller games so new people can have a fun experience right away. If anyone doubts this, they should actually play the scenarios in First Strike and Storm of Sigmar (the two tiny warhammer starter sets).
- Conducting a survey to make sure they know exactly what their customers want and think
- Actually accepting and supporting multiple ways to play instead of just claiming their games are only for narrative players (of which I am one)
- Not threatening employee's jobs in their financial reports anymore. Kirby used to remark that they had replacements lined up for store employees that didn't perform.
- Way better treatment of independent stores. Including slashing of minimum orders and mandatory products.
- Not splitting rules into multiple supplements like Skitarii and Cult Mechanicus so you had to buy multiple books to get all the rules for your army
- Not charging you more for bundles than the products were individually (yes, some of their larger bundles during the Kirby years actually cost more than the sum of their parts).
* It's actually kind of amazing that someone could ask "have they really changed?" directly in the face of this news alone.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Iracundus wrote: Assuming the bonus is evenly split (which is not certain), that is just under £3k per person. Nice but not exactly life changing. I wouldn't be surprised if the management got a bigger cut of the bonus. Still it is good for morale.
Their investor relations website confirms it was equally split.
And yes, it is life changing in that if any of their employees were living paycheque to paycheque, they now have a couple cheques worth of money to get them out of that situation. This will make a massive difference to their lowest paid employees.
And the effect on morale and job satisfaction will be incredible compared to telling them they'll never get a raise beyond cost of living increases and that the company already has a replacement lined up if they don't meet their sales targets.
An excellent post!
For most people that work a 3K bonus is huge and indeed can help a lot for most families! It will also make GW very attractive as an employer. It's a great move and great publicity!
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/06/09 16:18:57
2018/06/09 16:24:03
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
A 3k bonus is pretty solid for most people...and even more for someone dealing with the hourly wages of retail. GW has made some major improvements and really taken the hobby out of a pretty dark period IMO
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/09 16:25:30
The idea that 3k bonus per person is anything but fantastic is crazy!
Kudos to GW for doing this. Too often the financial rewards are absorbed by shareholders rather than the ground-level people who make a company function.
2018/06/09 17:09:52
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Gordy2000 wrote: Jeez, are people still beating that dead horse that everything in Aus/NZ is twice as much due to import costs and duty?
No,prices are higher because wages, rent and utilities are higher. Wages being the most important bit.
If your minimum wage is 3 times what mine is, and you demand equal costs, you are basically saying that your burger flipping skills are worth three times as many warhams as mine. Because spiders, or something.
The old meta is dead and the new meta struggles to be born. Now is the time of munchkins.
2018/06/09 17:24:44
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Arbitrator wrote: Proof that if you practise a basic social media presence and tell people "no, no, we're totally listening" you don't have to change anything else and people will buy it hook, line and sinker.
What exactly has GW changed from before the Kirby era? Okay, so they say they're listening but once 8th edition took two steps out of the starting gate, GW's non-existent ability to write rules reared it's head again. Oh right, but now you get to pay £25 for their 'balance changes' that just swing the pendulum. You'd think for all this profit, they'd actually hire people who can do their jobs. In any other job if you were this incompetent you'd be sacked months ago, but apparently GW's writers get a pass from both the company and buyers because, uh, they smile and tell you they're your friend now?
It's all smiles on Facebook and WHCommunity, they make cute videos and comics - as per the social media presence - but as far as I can tell that's about the only difference between Kirby and now.
I would tend to agree. While there have been positive changes, like previews and massively discounted box sets, return of SG... and the model line is stronger than ever, in the end it all comes down to the rules, and GW evidently doesn't have a single competent designer left now that Hewitt left. "Listening to the community" is just "New GW" speak for "if you complain enough, we'll errata these massive problems with the game that any other gaming company would have caught in playtesting". It's astounding to me that people still bend over backwards to make excuses for a company that is continually failing not only to match its direct competitors in rules quality, but struggles to even stay in the same ballpark as the free games on Wargames Vault written by lone enthusiasts in their free time.
Blood Bowl has great rules, Shadespire has great rules, Necromunda has great rules (no matter what you think of the way they are released), AoS has great rules that are getting better every year, HH people seem very pleased with their rules. So I guess if you don’t care about anything GW puts out except the 40k rule book and the 40k codices, and you really hate those, you might have a point? But you can be pretty sure those products are pretty low on many peoples list of “most important part of my hobby”,with many preferring modelling, painting, reading, etc to a tight rule set, or indeed, preferring to play any of the many great GW games that aren’t 40k (including several of their board games). In any case, I doubt that “in the end it all comes down to the rules” is a statement many will get behind. If they did, they would be playing board games or hex-and-counter war games instead of 40k. Rules are one part of people’s interaction with this hobby, but for many it’s a pretty small part.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2018/06/09 17:29:24
2018/06/09 18:08:01
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Mymearan wrote: So I guess if you don’t care about anything GW puts out except the 40k rule book and the 40k codices, and you really hate those, you might have a point? But you can be pretty sure those products are pretty low on many peoples list of “most important part of my hobby”,with many preferring modelling, painting, reading, etc to a tight rule set, or indeed, preferring to play any of the many great GW games that aren’t 40k (including several of their board games).
I think WH40K rules are a huge part of the hobby, but I really don't think they are bad. Yes there's FAQ bloat, but most errata (except where there are corrections to loadouts) and FAQ's are really clarifying RAW to RAI (which to many of us seemed fairly obvious in the first place). For matched play there are currently 2 new approved rules (on top of the existing 3), and another 2 beta rules under consideration. Aside from that, points costs are being updated yearly in CA which has to be a good way to balance the game without changing the rules.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/09 18:25:53
2018/06/09 18:12:18
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Just read a BBC article that mentioned GW have also announced this week that they are halving their dividend payment to 30p, which was greeted by a 6% drop in there share price.
Once again proving share prices have nothing to do with how well a company is preforming and everything to do with how much money shareholders think they can make out of the shares.
it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. Their the ones that change the world, the loud ones just take the credit for it.
2018/06/09 18:34:43
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
GW has overpayed dividends for years. They're finally getting to a more normal and sustainable dividend payout ratio and their stock will adjust accordingly.
Balance in pick up games? Two people, each with their own goals for the game, design half a board game on their own without knowing the layout of the board and hope it all works out. Good luck with that. The faster you can find like minded individuals who want the same things from the game as you, the better.
2018/06/09 19:15:54
Subject: Re:Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
£3k is not life changing? It's over 10% of my yearly salary before tax and NI deductions... Christ it's more than 10% of the average UK salary of £27271, It's 16% of the UK living wage salary.
Yeah, it won't make it so you no longer have to work, but it will have a huge impact on most employees receiving it.
My hobby instagram account: @the_shroud_of_vigilance My Shroud of Vigilance Hobby update blog for me detailed updates and lore on the faction:
Blog
2018/06/09 20:05:00
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Some companies that I have worked for have given these as an even share to all employees from a % of profit, so it’s not uncommon in the U.K. This usually was circa £500-700 per year; also in my experience discretionary performance bonuses would allso be paid in addition to this and be a much bigger sum.
So a one off £3k is good assuming even share. I’d suggest pay bands and service would be factored in to weighting the sum for each individual.
How do you promote your Hobby? - Legoburner "I run some crappy wargaming website "
2018/06/09 20:18:38
Subject: Re:Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
£3000 is 6 months rent in a flat outside of london, or about 4 in london.
that's a pretty big deal, I'm kind of amazed anyone can call than a piddling bonus.
that's a nice holiday if you couldn't afford one, or some redecorating of your family house. it's your kids school supplies or university savings.
Even if you just keep it for hobby stuff, it lets you buy guilt free for a good while and means you don't have to stress about enjoying yourself.
Monkeysloth wrote: I doubt it's 3k per person. These type of bonuses are common in my field and they usually cap out at 10% of what you made the previous year.
Still, they're always great when you get one.
Well, it was. Everyone in the company, regardless of salary, got the exact same amount, confirmed by Andy Hoare on FB and an official document someone linked earlier.
2018/06/09 21:01:04
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
And remember guys, it's 3k pounds. That's closer to 4000 USD.
I don't know about any of you, but I've worked sales and retail jobs and never got a bonus above about a hundred dollars around Christmas. 4000 dollars is massive. That's months of rent, mortgage payments, car payments, phone bills, credit card debt, medical debt, any big thing that's weighing over your head, that 4k solves it. And if nothing is ailing you, that's a MASSIVE boost to a retirement, to getting a kid through multiple years of college, to finally being able to replace that old 1985 beater with a car that doesn't make blender noises every time you put it into reverse.
For GW to push that to their employees instead of just holding onto it so the CEO can buy himself a new private jet... it really speaks to the direction GW is going. Positive.
Yeah, there's still complaints. Their prices are expensive. Their games aren't perfectly balanced. They definitely favor Space Marines and Stormcast over any other faction, but at the end of the day, I'm just happy that some of the people working a one-man job in retail are getting some recognition.
2018/06/09 21:31:49
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Gordy2000 wrote: Jeez, are people still beating that dead horse that everything in Aus/NZ is twice as much due to import costs and duty?
No,prices are higher because wages, rent and utilities are higher. Wages being the most important bit.
If your minimum wage is 3 times what mine is, and you demand equal costs, you are basically saying that your burger flipping skills are worth three times as many warhams as mine. Because spiders, or something.
The minimum wage in the UK is roughly the same as NZ (depending on age bracket, in some cases it is higher), so nice try but no banana
Quite simply, there is no other UK-based store that charges the kind of mark-up in NZ that GW does. Other retailers, such as H&M have aligned pricing for most of their products. The most extreme example I can find is a brand new Range Rover, which has about a 23% mark up in NZ. Given the cost and compliance issues involved with importing a 3 ton luxury vehicle, that seems reasonable.
GW charges up to and over 100% more for its products in NZ than in the UK. If every other UK based business can manage a hugely lower (or zero) mark up, why can’t GW?
Of course, GW can charge whatever they like, but when you combine their pricing policy with a ban on other suppliers sending product to NZ, it’s hard not to feel a little miffed.
But once again, good show GW on the bonus. That is a good chunk of change for retail staff. Is that for all global staff?
It may also suggest they are looking to keep more staff for longer, especially in the retail end of things
the stores have always had a fair degree of staff churn from people looking for a better job, (and from those not hitting performance targets), bonuses of that size will keep at least some tloyal for a few more years especially if they repeat it next year if their performance is equally strong
2018/06/09 22:19:40
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Gordy2000 wrote: Jeez, are people still beating that dead horse that everything in Aus/NZ is twice as much due to import costs and duty?
No,prices are higher because wages, rent and utilities are higher. Wages being the most important bit.
If your minimum wage is 3 times what mine is, and you demand equal costs, you are basically saying that your burger flipping skills are worth three times as many warhams as mine. Because spiders, or something.
The minimum wage in the UK is roughly the same as NZ (depending on age bracket, in some cases it is higher), so nice try but no banana
Quite simply, there is no other UK-based store that charges the kind of mark-up in NZ that GW does. Other retailers, such as H&M have aligned pricing for most of their products. The most extreme example I can find is a brand new Range Rover, which has about a 23% mark up in NZ. Given the cost and compliance issues involved with importing a 3 ton luxury vehicle, that seems reasonable.
GW charges up to and over 100% more for its products in NZ than in the UK. If every other UK based business can manage a hugely lower (or zero) mark up, why can’t GW?
Of course, GW can charge whatever they like, but when you combine their pricing policy with a ban on other suppliers sending product to NZ, it’s hard not to feel a little miffed.
But once again, good show GW on the bonus. That is a good chunk of change for retail staff. Is that for all global staff?
I do wonder if the next logical step is a Foundry in your neck of the woods. Would certainly reduce shipping costs, no?
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
Monkeysloth wrote: I doubt it's 3k per person. These type of bonuses are common in my field and they usually cap out at 10% of what you made the previous year.
Still, they're always great when you get one.
Well, it was. Everyone in the company, regardless of salary, got the exact same amount, confirmed by Andy Hoare on FB and an official document someone linked earlier.
That's pretty cool and quite uncommon.
2018/06/10 00:04:27
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Gordy2000 wrote: Jeez, are people still beating that dead horse that everything in Aus/NZ is twice as much due to import costs and duty?
No,prices are higher because wages, rent and utilities are higher. Wages being the most important bit.
If your minimum wage is 3 times what mine is, and you demand equal costs, you are basically saying that your burger flipping skills are worth three times as many warhams as mine. Because spiders, or something.
The minimum wage in the UK is roughly the same as NZ (depending on age bracket, in some cases it is higher), so nice try but no banana
Quite simply, there is no other UK-based store that charges the kind of mark-up in NZ that GW does. Other retailers, such as H&M have aligned pricing for most of their products. The most extreme example I can find is a brand new Range Rover, which has about a 23% mark up in NZ. Given the cost and compliance issues involved with importing a 3 ton luxury vehicle, that seems reasonable.
GW charges up to and over 100% more for its products in NZ than in the UK. If every other UK based business can manage a hugely lower (or zero) mark up, why can’t GW?
Of course, GW can charge whatever they like, but when you combine their pricing policy with a ban on other suppliers sending product to NZ, it’s hard not to feel a little miffed.
But once again, good show GW on the bonus. That is a good chunk of change for retail staff. Is that for all global staff?
I do wonder if the next logical step is a Foundry in your neck of the woods. Would certainly reduce shipping costs, no?
Exchange a massive foreign currency boon for a fixed overhead, there’s no logic there.
I’m guessing the cost of business and risks associated with trading with ANZ facilitate the higher cost that other U.K. companies (that generally won’t manufacture in the U.K.) will not have which will internally justify the price. Whether that is the 100% claimed is anyone’s guess.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/10 08:43:20
How do you promote your Hobby? - Legoburner "I run some crappy wargaming website "
0004/06/10 19:16:22
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Good stuff. I hope my man Rob ( formerly known as GW Rob) get's a well deserved piece of that pie, countless lols were had because of that man -feel goodsies, all around..
Warhammertv will nevarr be the same :/
2018/06/10 19:41:35
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Stormonu wrote: For me, the joy is in putting some good-looking models on the board and playing out a fantasy battle - not arguing over the poorly-made rules of some 3rd party who neither has any power over my play nor will be visiting me (and my opponent) to ensure we are "playing by the rules"
2018/06/10 21:43:36
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Media articles like these, and the forum threads that follow, really go far to show how little people know about a company's inner workings, and also the power of media reporting.
This profit sharing at GW isn't in any way new, and has been going on for the past 8 years at least as far as I'm aware (yes, under Wells/Kirby too). If there are spare profits, GW is happy to hand them out, equally, to all staff.
2018/06/11 08:00:35
Subject: Games Workshop staff to get share of £5m bonus - BBC
Tamereth wrote: Just read a BBC article that mentioned GW have also announced this week that they are halving their dividend payment to 30p, which was greeted by a 6% drop in there share price.
Once again proving share prices have nothing to do with how well a company is preforming and everything to do with how much money shareholders think they can make out of the shares.
This is bad reporting (the BBC) based on an error from a financial news service (Alliance) which has since been withdrawn and corrected. GW's dividend has increased on any measure - unlike many companies, GW doesn't pay dividends at set points of the year. Most FTSE companies pay a larger final dividend when they report the end of their financial year and a smaller one midway through the year. GW pay out dividends whenever they have enough cash that they haven't got plans for. This means that if they have a lean year, there's not a lot of reserves to keep paying out, but in good years, the cash flows freely. It does make it a little tricky to pick dates to measure a year's worth of dividends though, but here's the recent list - not exactly halved (the descriptions are mine, not official):
The dates are the pay dates, not the declaration or ex-div dates (for finance geeks). Also, if you check these numbers elsewhere, there was one payment (I think in 2017) that they messed up some paperwork on and had to re-declare something like £0.24 as dividend and £0.06 as a loan to shareholders that was corrected the next time around.
The mis-reporting by Alliance definitely impacted on Friday's share price, but also the price had shot up in recent weeks, so it wasn't a huge surprise that there was some selling pressure as people took their profits. This morning it's climbing back up and if you'd bought at the down points on Friday you'd be in decent profit.
