Case Study - Games Workshop

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Games Workshop is an international company based in Nottingham and was founded by three games fanatics over 30 years ago. The company is the largest battle-games company in the world. It designs, manufactures and retails table top battle-games, which include miniature plastic and metal soldiers and rulebooks. The company only sells its own products in its stores. The products include the core systems of Warhammer ( a game of fantasy battles set in a world of dark magic) , Warhammer 40,000 (a war-torn universe of the 41st millennium) and The Lord of the Rings ( the battles and adventures from The War of The Ring). Games Workshop holds the global licence for a tabletop battle game for The Lord of the Rings. Stores also sell a number of specialist systems including Warmaster, Mordheim and Necromunda. Games Workshop has over 300 shops worldwide and 70% of its sales are from overseas.

Games Workshop considers that the battle-game is a hobby rather than a pastime and that it is something that a person especially makes time for. Playing the game involves commitment and imagination. All games take place on a tabletop that can be anything from a plain flat surface to a dedicated, scenery-filled gaming table. The object of the all the games is to attempt to move the models into position to attack opponents. The winner is decided by a combination of skill and luck. When buying a game the figures supplied are unpainted and this is part of the attraction, allowing games lovers to paint their own army. The games are aimed at the teenage/adult market and although it is acknowledged to be predominantly a male interest many girls gain an interest through painting the intricate models.

Games Workshop has its own monthly magazine, White Dwarf, which is published in five languages and distributed through newsagents across the world.

The company decides what is to be sold in stores, known as hobby centres, but each store's layout is left to the manager's discretion. Managers receive advice from the company to ensure maximum interest and managers are advised to display the large game sets at eyelevel. A starter game costs approximately £75 and contains all that equipment that a new player needs to start.

The White Rose Centre store is the smallest of the Games Workshop's 120 United Kingdom stores and it is staffed by a manager (known as a sergeant), 3 full time members of staff (marines) and 3 part time members of staff (scouts). There is no storeroom at the White Rose store but the manager can store some goods at Leeds and Wakefield stores, if required. The store has two gaming tables set up for play and the manager's choose which games to play.  

The hobby centre is busy at weekends and school holidays and is extremely busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The weekly takings range from £2000 - £4000, which, in spite of its size, is comparable with the Leeds and Wakefield shops. Staff carry out a manual restocking order each Monday. They check against current stock and decide what they need to order. The store has one delivery per week but during the busy Christmas period this will increase to twice a week. Deliveries are made by UPS directly from the Nottingham Head Office, who may also add stock to the delivery that they want the shop to sell. Each store has a monthly cash sales target but Head Office is generally more interested in the number of games sold.

Games Workshop prides itself on its customer services and encourages staff to use the company's 10 commandments as part of their approach to customers:

1. Acknowledge all people who enter the store
2. Be aware of people and their behaviour in store
3. Show enthusiasm and be cheerful
4. Be attentive and listen carefully to customer needs
5. Promote the hobby
6. Establish a rapport with the customer
7. Display an in-depth knowledge of the company product
8. Maintain high standards of personal hygiene and appearance
9. Ask questions which obtain the best answers concerning customer needs
10. Show courtesy
11. (Unofficial) HAVE FUN

Games Workshop considers that the customer is paramount. Staff are encouraged to advise potential buyers and pride themselves that they would rather advise a customer to buy what they need rather than buy another item that may be more expensive. Staff play lots of games with customers and hold special beginner's sessions to encourage people, new to the game, to attend. Staff also hold painting sessions and nights for veterans (aged 16+). During school holidays they have regular theme sessions, which are decided by managers regionally during their monthly meetings.    

Individual hobby centres do not carry out any outside marketing and advertising. Most universities and a number of schools have Warhammer clubs and therefore they achieve sales by word of mouth. Managers advertise their own theme nights in the shop and Head Office provides posters and literature for the store. The only national advertising from Games Workshop was done when the Lord of the Rings game was launched and this caused a surge in demand for products connected with Middle Earth. Games Workshop has a thriving mail order business and goods can be ordered online or in store and may be delivered to either the store or the customer's home.

Games Workshop does not require staff to have formal qualifications but they do need to have a keen interest in the product and need to be players of Games Workshop games so that they can join in games with customers and give them advice.  

Games Workshop Questions

1. Where is the headquarters of Games Workshop?
2. Why do they hold special games nights for beginners?
3. Why can Games Workshop cope without a computerized reordering system?
4. Why do they not need to advertise publicly?
5. Why is it important that employees know how to play the games?
6. Approximately how many overseas stores are there?
7. Why does the store order new stock on Monday?
8. Why should an employee be proud when he advises a customer to buy a cheaper item that he needs rather than a more expensive item?
9. What is the name of the company's magazine?
10. Name 4 battle games systems that Games Workshop sell?

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