Monday the 16th - The End of the World?

[Mike the Pike]

4) The cost that dare not speak it's name

Apart from materials costs, there is one huge potential cost that never seems gets a mention in all the heated discussions on the internet about how much or how little GW sucks. How much does it cost to keep GW British/American?

AFAIK the bulk of actual model manufacturing is still done at the GW factory in Lenton and it's sister plant in Memphis in the States. Why keep the manufacturing base in England and not a country where labour costs are much cheaper? Paying British/American workers cannot possibly be as cost effective as paying for labour in countries like Malaysia, Vietnam or India.

Just looking at the UK examples, so many great British companies failed to keep up with the changing times and have gone bankrupt. Many, many others have moved manufacturing operations overseas resulting in huge job losses. Even Dyson, champion of British industry, eventually gave in and moved operations to Malaysia, resulting in 800 lay offs.

P.S. I do not for one minute advocate that GW should move operations overseas. I am actually rather glad to see a company stand by it's workforce, when the money men must surely be advising them to move on.

[Mike the Pike]

FLGS = Friendly local gaming store.
Pink Cowgirls = Ask Prim

[Mike the Pike]

5) To PC or not PC
Sorry I'm late to the debate but I feel I must resurrect the debate on the word Sh*lock. The word comes from a character in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice also know as the Jew of Venice. It has since it's invention been used as a derogatory term for Jewish money lenders and Jews in general. It has never had any lighthearted or positive connotations. It is a racist slur. I think a gentile using the word with even close Jewish friends would still cause offense.

As an aside, the above isn't even the correct racist slur. GW are not in any way shape or form, money lenders or loan sharks. A more suitable term would be 'Sh*ster'. "a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law or politics" . While generally accepted as having originated from a similar word in German, meaning 'defecator' it is widely viewed as a slur against Jews.

Some of you may be think I am being a PC w*nker again but I challenge you to put your education where your potty moths are. Instead of using simple-minded racist/homophobic/derogatory terms, why not explore and experiment with the rich tapestry of English swear words. There are endless combinations of bodily functions, animals, sexual functions, and anatomical terms with which to illustrate one's scorn or disdain for a person or company.

[The Other Dave]

AFAIK the bulk of actual model manufacturing is still done at the GW factory in Lenton and it's sister plant in Memphis in the States. Why keep the manufacturing base in England and not a country where labour costs are much cheaper? Paying British/American workers cannot possibly be as cost effective as paying for labour in countries like Malaysia, Vietnam or India.

After seeing the "hidden costs" of overseas manufacturing become one of the factors leading to Rackham's crash and burn, I wouldn't be so sure it's so cut and dried. In the mini gaming world, one or two releases pushed back for months because of customs holdups is potentially fatal.

[Mike the Pike]

6) How bad is GW really?
This one will undoubtedly make me seem like GW's number one apologist, but are GW really the money grabbing, bread heads that they are made out to be?
If they are so bad, why is their corporate HQ in an industrial estate in Lenton/Nottingham, which, according to Wikipedia, is "notorious for social problems associated with crime and poor housing" and not in London, one of the worlds financial centres?
Why, as I mentioned above do thy still maintain a British based manufacturing base, when it would seem like 'good' business sense to move offshore.
And while Rick Priestly, Jervis Johnson and the Perry Brothers all have ace looking gaming rooms, I sincerely doubt they drive Ferraris to work or fly in the GW corporate jet to overseas games events.
Actually, just looking round my work area/living room I can seethe logos of a dozen companies more worthy of my wrath than GW in terms of business practices. I bet you can too.
I mean, unless everything you own is made free range, organically at fairtrade prices by lesbians of colour and biodegradable to boot then somewhere along the line a company is screwing someone, somewhere along the line.
Just a thought.

MTP <3 ( )*( ) GW

Anyways, that's all I have for you today kiddies. Rant over.

P.S. For anyone who might possibly be offended by anything I have said in the above posts or who doesn't appreciate reasoned debate

[Mike the Pike]

After seeing the "hidden costs" of overseas manufacturing become one of the factors leading to Rackham's crash and burn, I wouldn't be so sure it's so cut and dried. In the mini gaming world, one or two releases pushed back for months because of customs holdups is potentially fatal.

Fair Point. I am not at all familiar with Rackham's case but the move overseas did nothing but good for Battlefront/FOW. They seem to have offset the price of metal and weak NZD by moving manufacturing to Malaysia and become very successful. There have even been delays on the release of certain items coming in from overseas but they seem to have survived and prospered. Perhaps it's because they are not in such direct competition with GW.

[Primarch]

@Jus - Sorry, you're so wrong you could never be right.
@ MtP - On the Golden Age - Its not just the stopping of international trade, but the rising of prices by pretty much 20% on everything.
On resin - According to one of the guys at PP who was responsible for their change over from metal to resin, resin costs about 5% the current metal cost. There are some costs associated with the change over, but the massively reduced materials cost should absorb them easily.
On B&M stores - Totally agree with you. At the same time, when the product is overpriced to begin with it is hard for B&M stores to make a profit regardless. I will still be buying some stuff from Ikeda san, but not as much as I would have from overseas.
On GW's location - High unemployment, high crime areas = low rent and they need a LOT of space. (Factory, Warhammer World, Design office etc), plus thats where they started out. Moving to London would have extra costs (higher salaries for the cost of living. Splitting the factory and the offices so staff have to travel more etc). And they tried doing business in China. The Planetstrike vac-formed craters they released were done in China and sucked. They found the extra logistics costs to wipe out a lot of their savings. Did you know that GW employ more Managers than they do design staff? About 20% more in fact.
On their wickedness - All their finiancial decisions are done to benefit their shareholders. Their MD nets about 400,000 pounds a year in dividends. Taking a loss to expand the business will never happen.
On being PC - Having never read the Merchant of Venice, all I can say is, I never once considered the fact that the defining point of Mr. Shylock's character might not be his avarice or greed but his race. Exactly why is his race his main characteristic again? Even in this enlightened age can people not see past that to the man beneath?

#Edit# - Just in case.

[job]

FLGS = Friendly local gaming store.
Pink Cowgirls = Ask Prim

Prim, what are you hiding? Why are you depriving us?

On resin - According to one of the guys at PP who was responsible for their change over from metal to resin, resin costs about 5% the current metal cost. There are some costs associated with the change over, but the massively reduced materials cost should absorb them easily.
On B&M stores - Totally agree with you. At the same time, when the product is overpriced to begin with it is hard for B&M stores to make a profit regardless. I will still be buying some stuff from Ikeda san, but not as much as I would have from overseas.

GW may be absorbing the shock of price hike now rather then delaying it off into the future. They are making the switch to resin, so it may make a convenient time to place the price hike rather then upsetting the fans and customers again when they have to make a separate price hike on top of changing their models to resin.

[Primarch]

Pink Cowgirls = Ask Prim

Prim, what are you hiding? Why are you depriving us?

Hang around Oxo in Kanayama for a while. They may come back.

GW may be absorbing the shock of price hike now rather then delaying it off into the future. They are making the switch to resin, so it may make a convenient time to place the price hike rather then upsetting the fans and customers again when they have to make a separate price hike on top of changing their models to resin.

True, I think thats why they did everything simultaneously (the shipping, the price hikes and the resin switcheroo), this way everyone is angry at the same time rather than getting people angry at different times. See, they really do care about the customer.

[job]

Meh, we'll learn to survive out here at the End of the World.