Hobby and game retailers make constant choices about the products that they carry and support.  For many years Games Workshop products have been an important part of many retailer's inventories.  Nevertheless, this has not been an easy relationship and recent changes in the way that Games Workshop is conducting their business have placed additional stresses on this relationship.  Recent assertions in print and online that retailers have not responded negatively in significant numbers to any of Games Workshops changes prompts this enumeration of some of the difficulties that retailers are experiencing with Games Workshop policies.

Games Workshop has recently reduced the discount enjoyed by the supporters of their product.  This, coupled with the difficulties inherent in adequately supporting the complex products that are offered by Games Workshop reduces the incentive for carrying the product line.  Games Workshop products have a larger than average amount of shrinkage for many retailers, increasing the true cost of goods for their offerings.  Games Workshop products require a large amount of space to adequately display.  Games Workshop requires a good amount of product knowledge to explain and properly sell.  All these involve additional costs to carrying Games Workshop products.  These costs make a loss of discount from Games Workshop unacceptable to most retailers.

Games Workshop discourages retailers offering deep discounts on their products.  Most hobby and game retailers applaud this policy and encourage its enforcement.  However, we feel that when Games Workshop regularly offers discounts at their retail locations that violate their own policy that it undermines their policy.  It is understood that this tends to be a rolling discount, on different products rather than on the same products all the time, however, the continuous nature of this type of discount nevertheless violates the spirit, if not the letter of the policy.

Games Workshop has made some strides at better communication with retailers and these improvements are certainly appreciated.  We hope that such improvements in communication continue.  A return of the monthly Trade Order Form would be greatly appreciated, as this would greatly aid retailers in keeping track of the large number of new products that are introduced each week.  Retailers are encouraged to submit information concerning how much support they offer Games Workshop products for the retail locator.  While the locator is good for retailers, it is unfortunate that it can take a long time for new stores to appear on the locator or for information to be updated.

A historical disregard and under appreciation of retailer concerns has prompted many retailers to simply conclude that the difficulties outweigh the benefits of carrying Games Workshop products.  We hope and expect that Games Workshop will reconsider their policies and act constructively for our mutual benefit.

Retailers may have been remiss in the past by inadequately expressing the strength of their feelings in these and other matters.  This small statement, and the undersigned names should go far to redress this failing and make it more difficult for the management of Games Workshop to think that policy changes do not engage retailer comment and action.

The following stores wish to share their support for this statement:

David M. Wheeler
Owner, Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
Austin Texas
Round Rock Texas
(512) 454-2399

Tony Lakas
(Owner)
Danger Room 1

Danger Room 2

Wayne McNeil
Generation X Comics
239 N Industrial
Bedford, TX 76021
(817) 540-5556

Jeremy Mueller

Amazing Stories
2101 E Fourth Plain Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98661

A. J. Kocher
Fantasy Factory
257 N Hamilton St
Dalton, GA 30720

Gabriel Vega
Co-Owner/Operator
The Name of the Game of Camarillo
2510F Las Posas Rd.
Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 389-3433

Brian P. Guenther
Diversified Games
551 N. Market Blvd.
Chehalis, WA 98532
Phone:360-740-7750

Craig R. Clements
Y2Komics
5270 Trail Lake Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-263-5888

Robert Youngblood

Age of Excalibur
8160 Tara Blvd., Suite E
Jonesboro, GA. 30236

Ed Erkes
Abington Game and Hobby Center
1560 Easton Road
Roslyn, PA 19001

Kirk Troy
COO, Valhalla's Game Center, LLC
6161 W. 44th Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
303.463.5451

A. Karl Myers, Owner
The Game Keep
3952 Lebanon Pike
Hermitage, TN 37076
1-615-883-4800

Stacy Van Peursem
Ludicrous Games
Owner/Operator
Bellevue WA
StacyVP@hotmail.com

Mark & Katie Burton
Valhalla's Gate
901 E. Nifong, Suite B
Columbia, Missouri
573.442.9909

Leslie Bowman, owner
The Gamer's Den
550 East 5th Street
Washington, MO 693090
636.239.4429
bo@gamersdenonline.com

Steve Nicewarner
Cerebral Hobbies
128 E. Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Jim Jones
Comic Quest
2260 Morgan Ave
Evansville IN 47711
812-474-1133
sales@comicquest.com

Adventure Knight Valdosta

2910C N. Ashley St.

Valdosta, GA 31602

(229)244-4263

Adventure Knight Macon

3640 Eisenhower Pkwy., Suite 210

Macon, GA 31206

(478)784-1333

Brian Hillier
Twilight Gaming & Comics, Inc.
1A Bellevue Park Plaza
Belleville, IL 62226
618-233-1085

Lloyd Brown
War Dogs Game Center
2580 Atlantic Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL
(904) 399-1975

Jim McCauley
JimmyJams
113 E. 3rd
Winona, MN 55987
507-453-0271

Duncan McGeary
Pegasus Books of Bend
105 N.W. Minnesota Ave.
Bend, Oregon 97701

Michele Kraus
Gamer's Conclave
539 N. Causeway Blvd.
Mandeville LA 70471
985-624-9877

Billy Geer
Merlin's Keep
608B W. Verona Ave.
Verona, WI 53593
(608)848-8418

Chris Powell, General Manager
Lone Star Comics & Science Fiction, Inc.
504 East Abram St.
Arlington, TX 76010

11661 Preston Road, Suite #151

Dallas, TX 75230

3600 Gus Thomasson, Suite #107

Mesquite, TX 75150

2550 N. Beltline Road

Irving, TX 75062

5720 Forest Bend Dr., #101

Arlington, TX 76017

931 Melbourne Road

Hurst, TX 76053

6312 Hulen Bend Blvd.

Fort Worth, TX 76132

3100 Independence Parkway, Suite #219

Plano, TX 75075

John Engel
Mission: Fun & Games
St. Albert, Alberta
Canada

Kirk M. Carroll
Chief Operating Manager
Skirmishes, L.L.C.
19816-A S. Main St.
Cornelius, NC 28031
(704)895-1208

David Wallace
Fantasy Shop Inc., St.Louis Mo

(Owner of seven stores)

Chris Watson
Managing Partner
Glass City Games
4125 Monroe St.
Toledo, Oh 43606
419-474-0304

Jim Crocker, Manager
Modern Myths, LLC
Northampton, MA

Aaron Lawn
Manager
EndGame
3344 Lakeshore Ave
Oakland, CA 94610
(510)465-3637

Pat Henry - General Manager
Titan Games & Comics
5436 Riverdale Rd Suite J
College Park, GA 30349

3853-C Lawrenceville Hwy
Tucker, GA 30084

2585-C Spring Rd
Smyrna, GA 30080

2131 Pleasant Hill Rd
Duluth, GA 30096

Rob Placer
The Gamer's Realm
2025 Old Trenton Road
West Windsor, NJ 08550
(609) 426-9339 voice

202 Route 130 N
Cinnaminson, NJ 08077

For a response to this statement from Games Workshop, see 'Games Workshop Response To Retailer Joint Statement'.