Revealed in the details of Hasbro’s just-released quarterly report are gruesome numbers regarding the retail arm of Wizards of the Coast. From the article: “With no purchaser for the chain, and an apparent inability to make most of the stores profitable, [Hasbro] appears to be willing to continue to close stores as leases run out and cut its losses incrementally over time.”
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And this is what always happens when giants merge. The consumer is the ultimate loser.
Not to mention every employee below a certain level of corporate hierarchy…
It’s a combination of the retail climate, a fickle public, overpriced product, and the internet- all retailers are struggling, and WoTC pays exorbitant rents in these malls…$30 card games simply won’t cut it.
I believe it was a strategic mistake for WoTC stores to cease carrying anything except their own line (and a few carefully selected close tie-ins).
I have, literally, no reason to even visit their stores any more, since I can get all their stuff the same places I have to go for other folks’ stuff: to game stores farther away, or online vendors.
Sad to say it, I wouldn’t miss any of the three WoTC stores near me if they closed. I’d feel sorry for the employees, though, because they’ve all been considerate and knowledgeable, at least to me.
What WotC and every other game company is missing (and really losing out on) is merchandising. Where are the MAGIC the gathering folders for back to school? Where are the Dungeons and Dragons back packs, clothing, and posters? They could save their stores and make a mint by just doing some merchandising. Even SJ Games has a few t-shirts, but all of this stuff is scarce besides the occassional Cafe Press store.
Hard to say, Greg, hard to say… they probably just don’t feel that stuff would sell. And God knows they ain’t gonna listen to us! *snorts*
I teach at a high school. Kids who play would kill for the amount of stuff that their sport inclined fellow students have to pick from. Someone with the cash to licenses the stuff would really clean up. Especially if they did a line of classic stuff and targeted it to my age group (36 ish). A ripped Gamma World poster sold for 50+ on ebay the other day. How cool would a shirt with the original DM guide or PHB be?
Right – and what do they license? Snowboards! SNOWBOARDS! Hey, because those are all “extreme” and stuff! Whatever. WotC appears *still* not to know who their customers are.
Hey, Orlando “Legolas” Bloom did it at Helm’s Deep, and, to date, the LotR movies have handed the D&D film its ASS at the box office many times over… so, by that same corporate logic, one can safely assume that “The D&D3E-XTREME Snowboard” (NOW with v3.5 Air Spoiler!) will instantly turn D&D into another Magic: The Gathering phenomenon, where money flowed through the halls and offices of WotC HQ like wine. *shakes head* Idiots.