GW briefly raised profits and massively increased their return on capital (a currently fashionable index among corporates) by cost cutting (among the design and sales staff) and price rises. But this hasn't stopped a long term slide in sales which is now hitting profits.
Read more here.
To be fair I think everyone had a bad Christmas in retail.
ReplyDeleteTrue
Delete20p a share interim dividend still pretty good - down from 36p last year but in fairness that was a huge and unexpected dividend. Otherwise it's the same story - eternal restructuring and continuing falling sales - but not by a huge amount. Disappointing to anyone expecting AoS to result in a massive boost to the business. Overall - not great - but not all that bad either. They are recruiting like mad again at the moment so who knows :)
ReplyDeleteIts kinda hard to recruit when its common knowledge that all employee pay rates are frozen (apparently) indefinitely...
DeleteI would class GW as treading water. But Red Queen hypothesis applies.
DeleteIs boardroom pay frozen as well? :-)
Deleteare you kidding? That never happens...
DeleteSorry, stupid of me.
DeleteYou think they learned from their mistakes?
ReplyDeleteDo you? :-D
DeleteBottom line for me is that while I would like some of their LOTR figures, and would love a Skaven army I can't stomach the price. There is so much more I can do hobby wise for the same amount of money.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it.
DeleteI remember when I was a kid in the early eighties having just read White Dwarf 101 and fervently wishing that the company would never disappear because it would be something I would always love. Three decades and a 5 figure sum later, I don't much care either way. I'm a well paid professional, but I no longer see much value in their products unless heavily (25%) discounted and even then I think carefully. I certainly wouldn't buy it for my son and I've stopped running the school club that I set up.
ReplyDeleteHappily, Warlord Games now receives the lion's share of my hobby budget - long may it continue.
Of course the note GW have put out is about GW as a business and it's prospects in terms of turn-over, profitability, dividend returns and share price. It's products and aprach to its customers... well who knows! It is no coincidence though that Warlord Games is owned and staffed by former GW people - and in many ways I'd like to think we are continuing to treat the same path, albeit with the advantage of modern technologies and methods. So - thank you for your support - and - yes indeed - may our hobby long continue!
DeleteWarlord have some great writers. B-)
DeleteWarlord is full of, um, veteran wargamers.... Takes one to know one.
DeleteI do get a distinctly 'old school' vibe from Warlord, but as the saying goes, 'there ain't no school like the old school!'
DeleteBolt Action was the gateway and now I'm hooked on Gates of Antares. I'm trying to lure a friend in with promises of Doctor Who. I have visions of UNIT skirmishing with the Daleks.
I can promise you that Daleks skirmishing with UNIT is indeed going to happen. ;-)
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