40 Years of Games Workshop Stores!

It's 40 years since Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson opened the first Games Workshop store in West London. Ian has been posting about it on Twitter. The company went from that one store location to the 460+ it has today.

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Games Workshop's 2016-2017 shareholder report gives some info on its current stores: "At the year end we had 462 Games Workshop stores in 23 countries. Our stores contributed 41% of the year's sales. We have 360 one man stores, small sites, each one staffed by only one store manager. We also have 102 multi-man stores, which are constantly reviewed to ensure they remain profitable."

These are broken down as follows:

United Kingdom	147
North America	111
Europe	145
Australia	47
Asia	12
Total	462

[FONT=&amp]Hard to believe that it is 40 years since Steve Jackson and I opened our first Games Workshop retail shop in April 1978 in a little side street in West London. The queue outside was inspiring!

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Posted by Keith Dickinson on Twitter. This is the store today.

"[FONT=&amp]Celebrating 40 years since we moved Games Workshop from a tiny office in Shepherds Bush to our first shop in Hammersmith on 1st April 1978. Here’s the announcement in White Dwarf. Six copies of D&D on offer for 50p each! Bargain. Amazing memories." - Ian Livingstone

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[FONT=&amp]"If you are interested in reading about the crazy first years of Games Workshop from 1975-1985, please pledge here [/FONT]https[FONT=&amp] … It all started with a little fanzine we published called Owl and Weasel in 1975." - Ian Livingstone

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"[FONT=&amp]Celebrating 40 years since Steve Jackson and I opened our first Games Workshop retail shop in April 1978. Proud young owners standing outside!" - Ian Livingstone

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"[FONT=&amp]Celebrating 40 years since Steve Jackson and I opened our first Games Workshop retail store in April 1978 when we had our own pet dragon!" - Ian Livingstone

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"[FONT=&amp]Kind words in 1979 from the great Gary Gygax, co-creator and pioneer of D&D, who sadly is no longer with us." - Ian livingstone[/FONT]​

 

[Zander]

I remember going out to the store in Hammersmith in the 80s. It was a bit of a trek as there wasn't a tube station close...

Sure there was. Ravenscourt Park station was round the corner. I used to go to GW on Dalling Road by tube very frequently in the '80s. Could just about get there after school without my mother realising that I hadn't come straight home!

 

[TerraDave]

I played a version of killer over 30 years ago. It was different then described in the first post, and as is so often is the case, funner in the conception then in actual play.

 

[barasawa]

Sure there was. Ravenscourt Park station was round the corner. I used to go to GW on Dalling Road by tube very frequently in the '80s. Could just about get there after school without my mother realising that I hadn't come straight home!

Well crud! Oh well, bit late now. A friend and myself tried to figure the route, and on the map we couldn't find anything going out there, and like I mentioned, calling the store didn't get me good directions.
Thanks for mentioning that anyway. One of these years I'd love to visit again even if just to see some of the changes.
One of the strange gaming notes, when I got an assignment back in the US, on the way to the plane, I stopped at a newstand to see if there was an interesting book I could read on the plane. For some reason I just don't sleep on planes, even though I enjoy flying. They had just gotten their shipment in, and the latest (and last) book for Dragon Warriors had just arrived. That made me rather happy. The only RPG I've ever seen published in a paperback novel format. I still have those books
Ok, enough reminiscing off on tangents.

 

[Shasarak]

The thing that I hate about Games Workshop stores is that they look just enough like a RPG store to give you that false sense of hope before cruelly dashing it when you realise what it is.

 

[mach1.9pants]

I remember in the glory days of the 80's I'd read of these shops in WD and wish we had one. Back then GW was far more than just Warhammer/40k of course. Now we have one in the area and I've never set foot in it since I don't play any of their games.

The thing that I hate about Games Workshop stores is that they look just enough like a RPG store to give you that false sense of hope before cruelly dashing it when you realise what it is.

Yeah even in the 90s, London anyway, they had more than just WH 40k, actual RPGs and 3rd Party stuff. But waaaaaay back, as it shows on the first store they produced White Dwarf (stil do I guess) but upto issue about 100 they were gaming mags - and full of awesome stuff.