Get In The Game is a new column by Dan Yarrington, managing partner of Myriad Games in Manchester and Salem, New Hampshire.  This week, Yarrington talks about the factors to consider when siting a game store.

Welcome back to Get In The Game, a column that focuses on proactive ways we can improve the games industry.

"Location, location, location."
You’ve heard that mantra over and over again, but what does it mean for the games industry, specifically with how it relates to Friendly Local Game Stores?  What are the ideal locations for game stores?  How does their structure, placement, and presentation, and how can we optimize store locations to promote growth of the entire hobby.

"Where in the world is my friendly local game store?"
Stores need to be visible to succeed.  This seems simple, obvious even.  Yet all too often, we find stores shoved away in obscure corners of shopping plazas or buried in industrial districts, rather than at the forefront of prime retail shopping areas.  It’s tempting to get more space for your rent budget, relying on destination shoppers and hardcore gamers seeking you out.  That line of thinking focuses on yesterday’s customers and ignores the customers of today and (most importantly) the customers of tomorrow.  You need to be sharing games with new people every day in order to grow your business and your local gaming community. In order to do that, you need to go where the people go.  If we want local game stores to be successful venues for conveniently serving existing customers, building and expanding gaming communities, and generating new business, stores need to seek out and negotiate space in prime retail areas.  We need to be everywhere people think of when they go shopping, when they seek entertainment, when they think of fun.

"Free parking!"
Well, it doesn’t have to be free, but it needs to be convenient.  You need plentiful parking and/or access to public transportation.  You want to be as accessible as possible, so don’t overlook this key element of any location.  You’ll also want to make sure you’re accessible for folks with limited mobility, so first floor locations or those with ramps and/or elevators are highly preferable.  The overall population is aging so this will only become more important in the decades ahead.

"WOW!  A game store!"
We need more pizazz to Friendly Local Game Stores.  We’re excited about games and we need the best ways to communicate that excitement to once and future gamers.  Visual appeal for a store location starts at the curb.  How does the store look from the outside?  Something about the exterior should make the customer perk up with interest.  Look at your local stores.  How can they look better?  Once potential customers are in your general vicinity, you need to convince them to get into your specific vicinity.  What draws potential customers in from outside to inside?

"Let’s play dress up!"
How does the store look when you enter?  How high are the ceilings?  Where are the windows and how large are they?  What’s the lighting like?  What colors do you notice?  What areas and items immediately catch your interest?  You can really dress up a retail space and make it pop by looking at the presentation aspects of a space.  Call it interior decorating, strategic element placement, beautification projects, or an overwhelming challenge.  Anyway you look at it, we can always make space more appealing and freshen it up.  Put posters and prints in frames rather than just tacking them to the wall.  Good signage designating game categories can make your Favorite Local Game Store look really snappy.  A well-placed centerpiece table with an awesome game display can make a store shine.  Think about how things look now and how they can look better.
    
"Size Matters."
That’s right, how many games and people you can fit into a space matter--a lot.  This doesn’t mean you need a ton of space.  It means you need the right space and you need to use it properly.  As someone who’s always looking for ways to better utilize space, I can testify that there’s a lot you can squeeze into a smaller space.  That being said, having more space always gives you more flexibility and options.  The size of a space will also impact the costs associated with maintaining it including basic rent costs, heating, cooling, electricity for more lights.  Pay attention to all the ways size impacts what you can do with a given location.

"Keep it clean."
Every store can be better served by a regular cleaning schedule.  Keeping a retail environment clean, neat, and orderly should not be exceptional.  It should be the standard.  I don’t walk into Macy’s and think, “Oh, how nice and clean!”  I expect it to be clean.  The only time I should notice is when there’s a breakdown in the cleaning schedule.  It’s a testament to our failure to maintain professional cleanliness standards for game stores as a whole that this is notable about retail stores.  Whether you’re playing in a store, helping coordinate events there, working in a store, or owning and operating a store, you can make the extra effort to keep the place immaculate.  Your dedication and labors will pay dividends.

"Won’t you be my neighbor?"
Nearby businesses make a huge difference for the success of a retail store, so look for complementary businesses for ideal neighbors.  For traditional game stores (the “we sell games in boxes” kind), some great locations to have nearby include: comic stores, stores that sell video games (GameStop, I’m looking at you), hobby stores, toy stores, children’s stores, shoe stores, supermarkets, family restaurants, and anywhere else that you would find a broad demographic spectrum of potential customers.  You want to be where people are used to shopping and where they go to buy things.  Once they’re in buying mode, it’s much easier to leverage your location into more sales.

These are a few brief thoughts on what makes a location ideal.  What are your thoughts?  Your success stories?  Your dreams of game store paradise?  Don’t stay silent!  Share your comments, questions, suggestions, abuse, outlandish ideas, and general ridicule.  Talk Back today.  Your thoughts and ideas help guide which topics we address, so write early and write often!

What are you waiting for, Get In The Game!

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.