Financial Times article on GW

[alfred_the_great]

https://www.ft.com/content/369279f5-6f44-4248-a0f1-5347864eacf7?accessToken=zwAGKXM51ENwkc82knn1b0RCSNOg8VNHhk6s9w.MEYCIQDH7Mdp52pT1ZQ3VENPRZv_X0UDoExjp6ZGUYaEuwZfVQIhAKnIzHtSQuJjH-2OHvef9cPZnuUwPmhu2jTn7idgaE0Z&sharetype=gift&token=109f3cae-ed7b-46d8-8b57-6627328186d3
 

tl:dr - an interesting take from the Financial Times about both the heart but also business of GW. 

[firestorm40k]

 

Surely this puts GW in the same category as those companies listed to be worthy of getting one of those cheap Channel 5 'let's rehash some archive footage and get obscure journos to commentate' documentaries?  "Games Workshop: How Do They Do It?" or "Inside the Factory" (only without Gregg Wallace, for obvious reasons ) 

 

...actually, maybe that's not a great idea

[roryokane]

I thought it was a pretty good article, to be fair to the FT (though they’re one of the few good newspapers left in the U.K, along with arguably the Economist (which calls itself a paper even though it looks like a magazine) - and I say that as someone who’s quite left wing, so not exactly in favour of big business!) - I think it did a good job of underscoring what has effectively been a home grown, organic growth of the hobby over the last 40+ years, plus the fact that GW isn’t in the business of taking on lots of debt to expand its business, which almost feels old fashioned in this day and age. In all, it really makes me regret I persuaded my parents to sell my shares after ROTK finished (to be fair GW’s shares didn’t do well for a few years after LOTR was done, but now they’re doing fantastically well!)

 

[Lord_Ikka]

1 hour ago, firestorm40k said:

Surely this puts GW in the same category as those companies listed to be worthy of getting one of those cheap Channel 5 'let's rehash some archive footage and get obscure journos to commentate' documentaries?  "Games Workshop: How Do They Do It?" or "Inside the Factory" (only without Gregg Wallace, for obvious reasons ) 

 

...actually, maybe that's not a great idea

Maybe not a Channel 5 one, but there is a documentary in in the works.

[Domhnall]

 

Ha! Jokes on them! I skipped the middle part! ...  Oh. 

 

Seriously, how many of us here follow these steps (middle step can be adjusted to other things)? 

[Vassakov]

In my case, it was mostly being an impoverished student who had neither the room nor the money to continue to buy toy soldiers. I make no comment on the other factors there...

 

Otherwise, yes - that's basically it. I would also note that I've found the modelling and painting side of it to be a pretty good stress reliever, being able to just dive into some hobbying for an hour or two after the working day always leaves me feeling a bit more relaxed.

 

The article overall is pretty good - GW is a rare unmitigated UK success story, and one which very much ploughs its own furrow and seems to have been broadly immune from some of the poor practices of other large businesses. I think the bit that made me chuckle most was the total dearth of public presence that it's main players have - the fact that the FT can't find a photo of Kevin Rountree in the age of LinkedIn is astonishing, and they don't do media at all outside of their social media advertising. But it's a demonstration that they are essentially totally committed to the business, rather than anything else.

 

It remains to be seen what, if anything, the impact of the move to the FTSE 100 will have on this corporate structure. That having been said, I'd be surprised if potential new investors wanted to dramatically try and change the business model which is clearly working. I could see new cash influxes, though again GW are cash rich - as has been alluded to elsewhere, their biggest issue is UK Planning and Power Generation. Which, as a FTSE 100 Company they might have the ability to get the ear of Government Ministers. Not sure if anyone in the current Government is a GW fan though... shame James Cleverly is on the backbenches now. 

[firestorm40k]

1 hour ago, Lord_Ikka said:

Maybe not a Channel 5 one, but there is a documentary in in the works.

I did not know that - that's really cool!  Great that John Blanche is a focus, he's a really nice bloke (having met him in person), and his art is a massive part of defining Warhammer. 

 

This looks like it'll be a well made documentary with high production values; however, as any fellow British Fraters will tell you, Channel 5 docos are their own unique breed (sandwiched between something about the Royal Family, a nostalgia clips show about a previous decade, and/or some program about Yorkshire ) 

Edited December 17 by firestorm40k

[DukeLeto69]

£4.6bn company. THIS is why those who believe GW will just roll over and do Amazon’s bidding are so wrong. Sure Amazon is far bigger but they constantly need content. GW has survived a long time and become very successful based on their IP without any need of Amazon. This isn’t a single author or their estate trying to negotiate with a corporate behemoth. GW will fiercely protect their IP to ensure the longevity of the company.

[Marshal Rohr]

If you want a great encapsulation of modern existence read this article about GW being a growing powerhouse business worth billions and then try to use their joke of a web store. 

[Emperor Ming]

We all knew Weyland Yutani had to start somewhere

 

[Dark Shepherd]

I think the not so secret secret to their success has been the High Street presence, they didnt just consign all their products to toy shops, but I guess thats how they started

 

What made them explode IMO was properly embracing community interaction and social media; whoda thought you could engage with nerds via computers?????

 

Also, we are well into the 2nd generation of former little Timmys having little Timmys and Tammys of their own

Edited December 19 by Dark Shepherd