Warhammer is big news. Games Workshop, the company behind Warhammer and its futuristic counterpart Warhammer 40,000, now trades on the FTSE100 and is worth in the region of £5.73 billion. It is arguably one of the UK’s greatest business success stories, growing from a small games shop in the 1970s, to become the world’s leading manufacturer of fantasy miniatures, selling products on a global scale. To support this endeavour, Games Workshop has an extensive network of Warhammer retail stores that serve as gateways into the Warhammer hobby. These are complemented by a range of products from science fiction and fantasy novels to popular video games, such as the Dawn of War series, Vermintide, and Space Marine. Games Workshop has even signed a deal with Amazon to produce a TV series based on its IP, working closely with Hollywood legend Henry Cavill. THE RISE AND RISE While for many fans the worlds of Warhammer have been a long-term hobby and perhaps even a guilty pleasure, the rise of Games Workshop in recent years has been nothing short of phenomenal. As an academic, I am fascinated by Games Workshop and the worlds of Warhammer on many different levels. So much so, that I co-founded the world’s first academic conference dedicated to all things Warhammer. From a literary perspective, I have long been interested in the way Warhammer has often gone under the radar for many scholars working in the field of speculative fiction. While the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek tend to be quite well regarded in critical circles, Warhammer has long been underrated. This may in part be due to some intellectual snobbishness (and the power of the American academy), but perhaps also because as a universe it is just so grim and so dark. The worlds of Warhammer are not a ‘nice’ place to be for the people who live in them. And in many respects, that is what makes them so interesting to fans. Meanwhile, as a professional marketer I am fascinated by how the Games Workshop business model has adapted and changed. What started out as a games shop selling other people’s games, then joined forces with a manufacturer (Citadel Miniatures), before deciding to create its own games as a way to sell miniatures. Over the years, two of these games – Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 – have become so popular that they are now the core ‘product’ that the business is famous for. So much so that it has now rebranded all of its shops as Warhammer, rather than Games Workshop. Beyond the business model, I have been interested to observe how Games Workshop has had to change its strategy over the years and adapt to a changing marketplace. For example, in 2006, Games Workshop decided to close down its online forums in response to negative fan feedback, just at the time when social media was starting to take off. On reflection, this was a terrible move for the company. However, under new leadership it managed to turn its fortunes around and become a leading light in terms of community engagement and the use of social media. I actually wrote about this in a book chapter I published about Games Workshop. I also talk about it in my teaching on social media, showing how when done well, social media can be a powerful tool to connect with fans, and build trust. WHY SO SUCCESSFUL? There are many reasons Games Workshop has been so successful. From a business perspective, it is a great example of a fully vertically integrated business, as the company designs and manufacturers its miniatures, and then distributes and sells them in its many Warhammer stores. It has managed to successfully leverage this position to great effect, running a lean operation, with a policy not to actively take up prime retail space that can be prohibitively expensive. This is why you often find Games Workshop stores just off the high street, or not quite in the main centre. It also helps that the staff you meet in the stores are all fully signed-up Games Workshop fans. Put simply, they love the product and want you to love the product too. They are all incredibly helpful and understand what it is about the Hobby™ that makes it such an enjoyable experience. Over the years, Games Workshop has also benefitted from being quite financially conservative (with a small c). As an operation, it does not tend to borrow money – preferring instead to reinvest in the business, and only spend 40 |
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTI5NzM=