As many of you maybe aware, my opinion of online (and some bricks and mortar stores) price cutters and the small group of gamers who believe that it is a stores business to give until they bleed, are the two main reasons game stores fail. Unrealistic business models are never good for long term businesses. I think it is pertinent to point out the amount of gaming stores that close their doors due to both of these elements within the industry is a very high percentage of stores that actually exist. Although I certainly cannot complain about the great customers I have and acknowledge that they are dedicated to building an awesome gaming community. Building such an active customer base has come at a price with a few upset people and perhaps an inaccurate perception of KayJays, its goals and me personally on occasion, particularly when looking from a distance. Having said that I think most of what I have achieved with KayJays has been due 1) a great core customer base and 2) to unpopular and often difficult decisions which resulted in loss of customers, however with the risk of sounding Machiavellian this loss was often necessary to build a strong base to move forward with and then become a force to promote gaming in general. This is why it upsets me when I hear of other stores who have tried their utmost to provide a strong gaming community and offer a great service being forced to make some hard decisions about closing their doors or changing structures that perhaps are not viable in the long term. Hence, please those that live in or around Hillside go and check these guys out. The shop is called Games Shack and they specialise in Magic but I am sure that they do other stuff also they need the support of the community as we all do. Their Facebook page is here: https://facebook/groups/gs2k14/ There web site is here: gs2k14/ Hopefully the few games shops that do operate in the west and north west can perhaps work together and stop perceiving each other as their main competition, as the real competition is not each other but online sales and unrealistic expectations from a few asking for additional discounts (on already razor thin margins) or using the facilities and resources without mind that it comes at a cost, which is often fueled further by the store owners buckling under the demands in order to keep their baby alive. I will be contacting Tezzas, D6, Games Shack and any other store in the local area soon to make an effort to work together and make the gaming community stronger for us all. Good luck Aaron on whatever format you decide to go ahead with. As a final note, I have managed to unshackle myself from the treasurer role of the Western Front Gaming Group, a role that Andrew Harris has graciously accepted. This now makes the club totally independent and NOT governed, or affected by KayJays in any way besides having my facilities to operate from and discounts being for club members only (which I will give some of to other club members also once I roll out the new package next week). I will be encouraging the club to also contact other stores to help run demos or whatever, but ultimately their events are decided by them and my support of it is subject to a policy of inclustivity and an agenda of promoting gaming in general. Anyhow that is my essay of the week and I thank those that managed to get through the entire post. Have a great Sunday all and good gaming.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 23:56:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015