40K Kits Moving to GW Direct Only

[Bigred]

Warhammer 40,000 Kits Currently Available via GW Direct Sales ONLY
[URL="http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?388212-List-of-WFB-plastic-boxes-going-Direct-Only-(updated)&p=7042385&viewfull=1#post7042385"]by Warseer's Archibald_TK[/URL] 1-20-2013

This is a list for the 40K side of things that I started on another thread that I think is worth its own thread as I intend to keep it updated every month. There are two important things to remember concerning that list:
- I have to do it by comparing order forms with my own little eyes so there may be mistakes. I'll correct it as needed.
- The list may be different for the US, mine shall concern the countries that depend on GW UK warehouse, which shall include all Europeans countries.

I've organized it by range.

Before you start doing theories regarding why some boxes disappeared from the shelves, keep in mind some of them have been missing for ages (for example you may have seen some very recent rumours on the 40K side regarding Catachan and the Basilisk but in reality those are kits that went out early last year if memory serves me right).
As a final note, another poster (whose name I can't remember for now) whose retailer got info directly from GW US mentioned that the reason for that removal was that space in GW stores was becoming an issue due to the size of the range and they had to accommodate every new release (as an independent retailer we have access to the same products as GW stores, so if something disappear for them it also does for us). Since this look to be more or less the case with the Tyranids release this sounds actually quite credible.

There are boxes I won't take into consideration in the list, as their lack of presence is not really related to the current policy on plastic kits. Those are the Immolator, as well as the Ork Wartrakk and Warbuggy that have been out for years. I also won't point kits that have been replaced by a simple repackaging like Necron Destroyers or CSM Bikes going from single box to box of three, or the now infamous Dire Avengers.

Blood Angels, Chaos Daemons, Dark Angels, Grey Knights, Necrons, Orks, Space Wolves, Tyranids:
- Plastic range is complete, nothing missing

Chaos Space Marines:
- Attack Squad

Dark Eldar:
- Reavers

Eldar:
- Vyper
- Support Weapons
X Falcon
It is interesting to note the Wave Serpent entered that list yet came back on the shelves a few months later.

Imperial Guard:
- Catachan Battleforce
- Catachan Command Squad
- Catachan Jungle Fighters
- Catachan Heavy Weapon Squad
- Basilisk

Space Marines:
- Combat Squad
- Whirlwind

Tau:
- Kroot

As I said before, keep in mind I do these lists by manually comparing order forms so there may be mistakes.

[Wolfshade]

There seems no rhyme or reason for this.

Certainly, the GW-direct ICs when there was a standard GW one available, but it seems most peculiar.

[StraightSilver]

It makes sense from a retail point of view, just not from a customer point of view.

This is something all retailers started doing a while ago, it has just taken GW a while to catch up.

It's related to something called stock turn which is the number of times in a year your stock holding sells, but in a nut shell basically means slow sellers go direct, best sellers and new releases go on the shelf.

This something book shops, music shops and other retailers do as shelf space costs money.

Now that GW is reducing its store sizes shelf space is at more of a premium than ever and also because they have ramped up their release schedule they need to make room. But they also have to get their dead stock levels down which is why so many releases these days are only available for a short time.

My biggest issue however isn't so much stock going direct only, it's about stock simply not being on shelves where it should be.

I went into my local GW just after Christmas (I would normally go to Darksphere but I had vouchers) which is now a one man store. Not only is this store now closed 2 days a week but it is also now a one man store (used to have 3 staff).

I needed a box of SM Centurions (almost £50) and the Escalation book. The shop was busy with lots of kids, but no parents, and the poor guy was swamped trying to undercoat figures for the kids, run an intro game and serve customers. I couldn't find any of what I wanted on the shelf but thought I would wait for a bit just in case. I waited almost half an hour for the poot guy and then didn't want to wait any longer so walked out, but had a cigarette outside and he eventually caught up with me. When I explained they didn't have what i wanted he said "Oh we do, I just can't put the Centurions on the shelf as they get stolen, and I haven't had a chance to put Escalation out yet as I am here on my own."

So yes, they are making room for best sellers and new releases, but if a one man store cannot stop expensive things being stolen it's a sure sign their retail model isn't working.

[Herzlos]

I needed a box of SM Centurions (almost £50) and the Escalation book. The shop was busy with lots of kids, but no parents, and the poor guy was swamped trying to undercoat figures for the kids, run an intro game and serve customers. I couldn't find any of what I wanted on the shelf but thought I would wait for a bit just in case. I waited almost half an hour for the poot guy and then didn't want to wait any longer so walked out, but had a cigarette outside and he eventually caught up with me. When I explained they didn't have what i wanted he said "Oh we do, I just can't put the Centurions on the shelf as they get stolen, and I haven't had a chance to put Escalation out yet as I am here on my own."

So yes, they are making room for best sellers and new releases, but if a one man store cannot stop expensive things being stolen it's a sure sign their retail model isn't working.

It's not even a small box too. I was aware that there was a theft problem with the smaller blisters, but big boxes?

It certainly implies something is going wrong anyway.

[Bail Ohmar]

This might be old policy, but I believe GW store stocks vary depending on local orders. If an item gets regularly ordered for delivery to a store then it will get added to that stores regular inventory. Likewise poor selling items become mail order. It's store dependant, or at least this was the case 12 months ago.

[StraightSilver]

Yes they have an automated stock control ordering system which is supposed to spot local trends. Managers can still override the order if they want to I believe but generally their orders are generated by their EPOS system.

However Core range is determined centrally by GW head office, so they will tweak the electronic ordering system to make sure best sellers and new stock is ordered, but the amount each store should hold is based on their stock turn value.

All retailers aim for a stock turn figure of 6, in other words the store sales are 6 times more than their stock holding each year. If a store is delivering less than that the store becomes less viable, but i am not sure that with the smaller one man stores a stock turn value of 6 is retainable, but we'll see.

[Wolfshade]

It is obvious, by closing the stoes 2 or so days a week the people who visit them will obviously be able to visit the days that they are open :eyesroll:

[StraightSilver]

Yeah, the whole thing is crazy. Interesting that they now close almost 25% of the week and their retail sales have dropped almost 30%?

I understand the one man store model (I don't agree with it - I worked in retail management for almost 20 years and we tried it and I can tell you it doesn't work), and I understand that said staff member needs days off, sickness and annual leave. But for that you have floating staff who cover this.

You don't shut the store......

I used to visit GW regularly during the week as I preferred to visit when there were no kids, but now you take a gamble on whether they will be open, which frankly is madness!

Now I also know that most of the time I won't be able to just go in store and pick up what I want as it will need to be ordered.

I think the best thing for GW would be to adopt the "Click and Collect" model that is winning for big retailers right now. Hopefully this will be part of the new website and would encourage me to go into their stores.

Because right now there is no incentive to order from GW online when I can walk into a local independent and pick up what I want for an average of 20% cheaper....

[Bigred]

Straightsilver said:

but if a one man store cannot stop expensive things being stolen it's a sure sign their retail model isn't working.

Oh Lordy - I hadn't even considered that Straightsilver. The retail shrink percentage (inventory lost to theft and misplacement) is 1.5% for the United States. I can only imagine what it is for the 1-man stores...

[crandall87]

I'm glad this list is really small in comparison to the Fantasy list. I know a lot of this stuff has been direct only for several months. It does make sense if the boxed sets don't sell very well as it frees up shelf space for the stuff that does.