Games Workshop Share Price (GAW)

This seems to need some sort of mega news to break £100. A good share to trade from £95-£100 but this is one of my buy and holds.

For multiple reasons:

1) they enable window shopping - seeing the real deal (painted models etc.) - triggering interest and if new potential customers research warhammer online after seeing the store - success.

2)they all have gaming tables to introduce potential new gamers to the hobby (not all independent stockists can offer that) and not everyone can visit Warhammer Hall in Nottingham.

3) you can click and collect your mail orders and special deals in these stores

4) unlike independent retailers they stock the whole range.

Yes, they cost rent, but most if not all warhammer stores are now 1-man stores, whereas a couple of years they were all run by teams of 2-3. So overheads have reduced significantly.

They are there to promote the hobby / to get new customers - if they then later buy from independent stockists, because they offer discounts on the products - they still have completed their mission by creating interest in the hobby in the first place.

Why does it still have shops in town centers the independents sell the product cheaper, so why ho to the shops at all?

"With footfall in town centres dwindling is there any point in continuing with expensive leases or is this part of their strategy?"

I'm sure I have seen them report regularly on their monitoring of the profitability of stores and numbers of closures where those are underperforming. with fewer staff running stores now, it is possible that stores look empty/ closed during day time but are open later to allow for community games nights or painting sessions etc which is probably where stores are still adding value.

Re empty shops. Do they not own them? I had that in my head. But the hops are used for games nights. My local one went from just a downstairs with two tables to play on to moving up the street with on that had a HUGE upstairs area with 20 plus tables.