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FFG Asmodee Discussion

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21 Dec 2015 12:10 #217888 by SuperflyPete
I figured it's worth having its own thread. Here's some pertinent info:
boardgamegeek.com/thread/1491273/major-industry-announcement

Here's my analysis:
I think that the point is being missed here. Here's how I'm looking at

1) IN STORE SALES ONLY:
Starting April 1st, 2016, authorized distributors of Asmodee North America will be restricted to selling Asmodee North America’s products to those specialty retailers that have agreed to Asmodee North America’s Specialty Retail Policy. In addition to covering several industry best practices, the policy specifies that participating retailers’ channel of sale for Asmodee North America’s products, will be restricted to consumer transactions through retailers’ physical retail locations. Selling Asmodee North America product via other channels, such as online, will be prohibited by participating retailers.

This looks like they're going to be getting rid of distribution, not OLGS. It appears that they're going to be offering discounts directly to the retail site, meaning that Miniature Market will be getting the same discount that Joe Blow gets, provided Joe Blow is not selling online. I think this is a move toward channel parity.

2) Yes, some online options will still exist:
ANA will be very selective as to which online merchants will be authorized to sell our products. To qualify as an online merchant, you will need to contribute either significant scale, unique service, or other exceptional differentiation. Most online sales activities, including sales through third party websites, will not be authorized.


This ensures that there's two channels: OLGS and FLGS. No more Amazon, Ebay, etc for every retailer. This means THEY are going to be dealing directly with Amazon, likely, because there's too many people like me that spend Amazon points and gift cards on games.

So, this is basically probably trying to cut out the middle man and self-distribute. I've seen it tons of times before.
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21 Dec 2015 17:09 #217922 by Msample
Replied by Msample on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Well put Pete.

Even by BGG standards, the level of ignorance being displayed on some of the threads over there defies description .
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21 Dec 2015 18:19 - 21 Dec 2015 18:32 #217925 by Sagrilarus
Replied by Sagrilarus on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Is any of this aimed at gouging? Or is it just the low end they're worried about?

Still don't understand why these guys don't just open their own exclusive olgs and take 100% of the revenue? Seems like a no-brainer.

. . . unless you believe game stores are actually making a difference in this end of the market.

I must be missing data.

Reading the announcement on icv2 makes me think that they're going to charge olgs stores more, getting a bigger piece of the pie in the process. If that's what this means, well, more power to them. They can pay their developers and artists more.
Last edit: 21 Dec 2015 18:32 by Sagrilarus.

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21 Dec 2015 18:32 #217926 by Bull Nakano
Replied by Bull Nakano on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Everything ANA has said has been vague and that leads me to believe they're doing something that will likely impact some number of how folks buy games negatively, and I worry, as a CSI regular, that I'm in that group. If CSI stops carrying ANA products, my purchases of ANA products will go down drastically. Not that they've had much great new stuff in recent years, but DoW and FFG do continue to support games I love (Wiz War, Ticket to Ride, Blood Bowl Card Game, the list goes on) with expansions, and I'd be much less inclined to do so at MSRP+tax. The value just wouldn't be there for me. I'm pretty much expecting the worst from this and going to be sure to pick up that WHQ game before April.

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21 Dec 2015 18:35 - 21 Dec 2015 18:40 #217927 by boothwah
Replied by boothwah on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Could this be something that might be a prelude to them negotiating a big-box deal (Target/Walmart)

And for what it's worth - I think it's weird that the gaming hobby is trying to get back into the major retailers - Back in the day I bought all of D&D and TSR products (Dawn Patrol/Gangbusters/Marvel Super Heroes) and Mayfair games at Fred Meyers (Krogers nowadays) and Kay Bees and Toys R Us in the 80's. And then poof - Nothing but Milton Bradley and Parker Bros. by the time I graduated in '91. Would one of you gaming historians tell me how/why that happened.
Last edit: 21 Dec 2015 18:40 by boothwah.
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21 Dec 2015 18:36 #217929 by Sagrilarus
Replied by Sagrilarus on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
I'm not sure that all of us buying less games is a bad thing.
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21 Dec 2015 23:10 #217951 by ubarose
Replied by ubarose on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Follow up from Asmodee

To Whom It May Concern,

Related to our recently announced wholesale terms and policy changes, some questions have been raised by stakeholders such as yourself. On behalf of Asmodee North America, we're happy to provide you some additional context to those changes and clarify several areas.

It is important to underscore that, above all, Asmodee and its publishers are dedicated to creating and publishing great games, and to expand the audience that enjoy these experiences. Our vision is one of mutual success of each participant: publisher, distributor, retailers (of every channel), and, most importantly, the game consumer. We believe our new business terms and policy changes are a significant step in achieving such mutual success.

Why are you making these sudden changes?
While they may appear to be sudden, these policies have been under development for a very long time, and considered carefully. They are intended to allow for success in the channels of sale where our products are represented: success that is not attained at the expense of other channels that provide crucial value to the overall health of the industry and our business.

To that end, we have decided to cleanly define and authorize the channels of sale in which our business partners (distributors and retailers) operate, so that we may a) ensure that consumers receive a quality experience in acquiring our games, and b) ensure that the risk, value, and investment of every channel, relative to others, can be successful.

We believe the current ecosystem of specialty retail and online retail is important to the health and growth of the gaming hobby. Without taking corrective action, we believe this ecosystem would be in jeopardy, which ultimately would affect the quality of game development and the investment in great consumer experiences.

Did you invent this approach?
The practice of product originators authorizing outlets and defining expected behavior in its product distribution chain is well established in many industries and common in high-end and niche product categories.

I don't frequent local game retailers, why are they important?
We believe that business partners whom provide services and investments that we value, relative to others who do not, should receive proportional value from us so that they may succeed in such activities. In comparison to, for example, the online channel of sales, specialty retailers make investments in areas we consider critical to the health and growth of the gaming hobby, such as in-store gaming events, demonstrations, tournaments, and other organized play facilitation. These outlets are a crucial part of an ecosystem that retains and generates players. In turn, this allows publishers to engage and invest in game development. As such, these services are of value to all game consumers, even consumers whom do not personally participate or take advantage of local specialty retailers.

In the future, will I be able to find products from Asmodee North America (i.e. products from Asmodee Editions, Fantasy Flight Games, or Days of Wonder) online?
We are keenly aware and we understand that not all consumers have access to, or that some prefer not to take advantage of, specialty retail game stores. Online shopping is a modern and convenient method of shopping, and Asmodee is committed to keeping this channel a viable and high-quality method of product delivery to consumers.

We intend to work with a number of exceptional authorized online dealers. We are confident that consumers will easily be able to find and acquire our products from a variety of online outlets.

Some brick-and-mortar specialty retailers also sell online, how will this affect them?
We recognize that these new policies come with implications for some retailers. One such change will be that authorized specialty retailers will agree not to sell Asmodee North America products online. That said, we hope the end result, i.e. enabling us to support them relative to other defined channels, will be a significant net improvement for specialty retailers overall.

Will Asmodee North America change any consumer engagement practices of publishers, such as the FFG World Championships, AsmoPlay, Gen Con booth and events, publisher websites, etc?
No, consumer engagement from publishers is expected to continue as has been done in the past, and all the above are expected to continue (in fact, we will be investing to make these efforts even greater). Our publishers represent different brands, gaming styles, and audiences, we have no interest in mixing them or forcing them into a single brand, message, or culture.

How will this affect mass market outlets, such a Amazon, Target, or Barnes and Noble?
We consider the mass/broad market to be its own unique channel of sale, one we want to be successful in its own right alongside our other successful channels of sale.

Many specialty retailers have in-store loyalty or volume discounts, and many online dealers discount their product. In the new policies taking effect on April 1st, 2016, will you institute or impose official price floors or "minimum advertised price" policies on your authorized retailers?
No.

Change is never easy, rarely popular, and we understand that some will dismiss such corporate change as cynical and self-serving. We believe to be making a change that will not only be positive for us, but will be positive for our business partners, for player growth, and for future development of gaming product with increasing quality and imagination.

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays,

Aaron Elliott
VP Marketing
Asmodee North America

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21 Dec 2015 23:16 - 21 Dec 2015 23:19 #217954 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
I don't frequent local game retailers, why are they important?
We believe that business partners whom provide services and investments that we value, relative to others who do not, should receive proportional value from us so that they may succeed in such activities. In comparison to, for example, the online channel of sales, specialty retailers make investments in areas we consider critical to the health and growth of the gaming hobby, such as in-store gaming events, demonstrations, tournaments, and other organized play facilitation. These outlets are a crucial part of an ecosystem that retains and generates players. In turn, this allows publishers to engage and invest in game development. As such, these services are of value to all game consumers, even consumers whom do not personally participate or take advantage of local specialty retailers.


So definitely not doing me any favors re: price, but if it's legit that their research says FLGS truly drives enough new business... ok for them, I guess. Do what you gotta do.

I will say I certainly have no intention of revisiting my FLGS. I remain a bit skeptical that FLGS is the sales sustainer and igniter they say it is.
Last edit: 21 Dec 2015 23:19 by Gary Sax.
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22 Dec 2015 00:12 #217960 by SuperflyPete
Replied by SuperflyPete on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
"
We intend to work with a number of exceptional authorized online dealers. "

DEALERS.

There you have it. This is BizSpeak for changing the distribution system.

The OLGSs don't provide value so they get smaller margins. The FLGSs do, so they get deeper discounts to make them competitive. How? Cutting out distribution.

100 bucks says this is a big kick in the balls to Alliance and the like. They're going direct. Smart move.

They are honest when they say they're not creating a "floor price" but are doing so de facto because now the OLGS guys are getting smaller margins.

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22 Dec 2015 00:26 #217961 by Michael Barnes
All of the above is exactly what GW does, and it is what Wizards has done with Magic. Like I said before.

If I were Z-Man, or Tasty Minstrel, or Stonemaier, or any of the other smaller firms I would see this as a HUGE opportunity to counter by courting OLGS with better rates. Because this IS going to raise the average price of an Asmodee or FFG game quite drastically. $27 Warhammer Quest is going to be $39.95 Warhammer Quest.
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22 Dec 2015 01:26 - 22 Dec 2015 01:27 #217964 by Hex Sinister
Replied by Hex Sinister on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion

Michael Barnes wrote: Because this IS going to raise the average price of an Asmodee or FFG game quite drastically. $27 Warhammer Quest is going to be $39.95 Warhammer Quest.

Well, if this is the case then they've lost a lot of big customers -including myself. A 50 pack of LotR cards is worth exactly $9.99 to me and not a penny more. I'm not paying $15 a pop. If I had to pay that much from the beginning I would have never bought any to begin with. Same goes for Star Wars products. Almost every gaming dollar I get went to FFG treadmills. Now they've priced me out.

I'm going to stock up on what's available now and get caught up and then I'm done with them all.
Last edit: 22 Dec 2015 01:27 by Hex Sinister.

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22 Dec 2015 01:57 #217966 by Michael Barnes
Well Hex, that's cool because apparently these companies are not as interested in you as a customer anyway if you are not paying full retail price (or more, as is sometimes the case) and playing it at an FLGS.
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22 Dec 2015 02:43 #217967 by SuperflyPete
Replied by SuperflyPete on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
That strikes me as a hair naive. tournaments are a big deal for Cxx type games and FFG has probably been told by dozens of game stores "Fuck you guys. We have bills to pay and people are buying their product online, coming to the store, and not buying dick. What's in it for us?"

That seems a legit gripe in the current environment. If the FLGS are doing all the work and getting killed by OLGS ot seems that a dynamic shift was due. The fact is that without tournaments the stores would have no value to the consumer and the games would have a much smaller base. I suspect that prices will not jump up too much at OLGS but the prices will drop at FLGS. If FFG is going to do fulfillment and distribution, there's 30% more or so that can go to the FLGS with no price change. Thus, the FLGS can lower prices to be more attractive (in theory), FFG can keep using them for free promotion, and the OLGS is making less and charging more to maintain profit goals, because they are mostly order takers anyhow.
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22 Dec 2015 03:00 #217968 by Hex Sinister
Replied by Hex Sinister on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion
Buck naked girls won't get me into a FLGS. Neither will a shitty promo card with Harrison Ford on it.

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22 Dec 2015 06:35 #217974 by Msample
Replied by Msample on topic FFG Asmodee Discussion

SuperflyTNT wrote: That strikes me as a hair naive. tournaments are a big deal for Cxx type games and FFG has probably been told by dozens of game stores "Fuck you guys. We have bills to pay and people are buying their product online, coming to the store, and not buying dick. What's in it for us?"

That seems a legit gripe in the current environment. If the FLGS are doing all the work and getting killed by OLGS ot seems that a dynamic shift was due. The fact is that without tournaments the stores would have no value to the consumer and the games would have a much smaller base. I suspect that prices will not jump up too much at OLGS but the prices will drop at FLGS. If FFG is going to do fulfillment and distribution, there's 30% more or so that can go to the FLGS with no price change. Thus, the FLGS can lower prices to be more attractive (in theory), FFG can keep using them for free promotion, and the OLGS is making less and charging more to maintain profit goals, because they are mostly order takers anyhow.


I think what you'll see s the price gap between OLGS and FLGS will narrow. FFG must have had their phones blowing up with CSI blowing out Armada core sets at 50% off the week before Vhristmas. This should put an end to that. I'd suspect 20% will be around the new norm for online pricing.

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