WOTC Store news

[Severion]

My local WOTC store is selling off all its 3rd party books. They say they aren't going to carry them any more. You have been informed.

 

[William Ronald]

Check the news page.

It seems WoTC is trying to cut costs again. Fortunately, no one is being cut.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

They are neutering thier stores so people won't shop there anymore allowing them to justify closing them all down for not making enough money.

 

[Dragongirl]

They are neutering thier stores so people won't shop there anymore allowing them to justify closing them all down for not making enough money.

Pretty much what I think too. I think as soon as all the 3rd party material is sold off they will have the rest of the WOTC stuff sent back and close all the stores. There is no way that WOTC stuff alone can support a store. IMO

 

[tburdett]

Are they heavily discounting the 3rd party stuff? I wouldn't mind saving a few bucks at their expense.

 

[Kilmore]

Maybe not, but an all-Hasbro store would probably be viable. It wouldn't be a GAMING store anymore, and D&D would probably be edged away into a small corner.

 

[Telgian]

You know, the first time (as well as second and third) I read that on the news page, I missed the parts that I have highlighted in bold. I thought we were back to March 32 there for a bit.

Gaah. My bad, but still funny (to me anyway, at this hour).

This email was just forwarded to me by James at RPGHost: "In the last week, in two memos from Wizards of the Coast Retail to its stores, decisions have been announced for the discontinuance of all Games Workshop Miniatures product and nearly all non-WotC RPGs. What this means for the long run is uncertain, but Wizards of the Coast stores will likely no longer be filling the roles of local game stores for many gamers."

 

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello!

Posted by Brown Jenkin:
They are neutering thier stores so people won't shop there anymore allowing them to justify closing them all down for not making enough money.

I'm not so sure about this. From what I have seen, RPG stuff seems like a pretty small portion of the business at the WotC stores, despite the shelf space devoted to it. Magic: The Gathering, current gaming hits like the Yu-Gi-Oh CCG or WizKids minis, boardgames, and video games appear to be more important in money terms. Will they be getting rid of all the non-Hasbro stuff in these areas as well?

I suspect it's just that the sale of products from Hasbro's competitors is aggravating the company's already-existing discomfort with the retail end of the hobby biz - they've supposedly never been comfortable competing in any way with the big retailers who sell most Hasbro goods, and with whom they are naturally trying to maintain good relations. I also suspect that a lot of the stuff they're dumping is just plain not profitable at most places.

Admittedly, I haven't the slightest scrap of inside knowledge on this. It's just from observation at a couple of stores near where I used to live.

Anyway, hope this helps!

 

[white411]

More Details

You should check out some more details on what is going on at WotC. Not sure why they haven't show up here yet...

Wizards of the Coast Retail Format and Management Changes

and

Further Details on Wizards of the Coast Retail Changes

Sounds like something bigger is headed our way

 

[jmucchiello]

Actually, my local WotC store sold off all of its computer games stock just last month.