Re: GW Price-rise list!
Posted by Vlad The Impala on May 29, 2012; 9:15pm
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/GW-Price-rise-list-tp7578085p7578089.html
I've been crunching some numbers - it's not pretty.
First off, let's understand that the government's measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, was measured on the 22nd of May at 3%. That is the lowest its been for over two years, falling from a peak of 5.6% in September 2011. The CPI tracks thousands of branded products against their price 12 months previously, changing their sample to reflect market trends (recently, for example, they dropped DVD rentals from the list but added the cost of a subscription to netflix or lovefilm). This is the standard measure of inflation in the UK, and is used to calculate "Index Linked" figures such as state benefits and pensions; a second measure (the Retail Price Index, or RPI) tracks the costs of products TO RETAILERS (ie before tax and any promotions) is less vulnerable to fluctuations and provides a better LONG TERM measure of inflation, but as we do not have the trade prices available we will have to compare GW's RRP against the CPI.
We must also consider the global commodities market in these calculations. Between December 2010 and December 2011, prices for (raw) plastics in the EU remained static or FELL by around 1%; prices for resins fell by between 3 and 4%. Metal prices do not concern us since post-finecast GW is melting down their old stock of metal minis and has 0 cost in this area.
Here endeth the economics lesson
So, the figures (by product line):
Warhammer Fantasy: Up 10.25% - not bad, but marred by the fact that army books have had two separate price hikes (the first in January, and now another in May), giving a 22.2% increase on their price this time last year.
40K: Up 12.92%. The biggest culprits here are all Space Marine (or variant chapter) plastic kits which increased by up to 33% - GW clearly feels the need to milk their cash cow.
Lord Of The Rings: Up 11.15% ON RELEASE PRICES IN FEBRUARY. Looks good, but this does not take into account the repackaging of LotR infantry from boxes of 24 for £16.50 to boxes of 12 for £13.50 in February; if we factor in those figures the actual increase on basic infantry is a whopping 81.8% since this time last year, and the average goes up to 48.1%
Hobby Supplies: Up 16.5%
Terrain: Up 18.0%
Fineca$t dodged a bullet - possibly because resin prices have fallen globally so all GW needs to do is freeze prices to increase their profit margins.
The figures for hobby supplies and terrain are bad, at 5.5 and 6 times the rate of inflation, but (almost) excusable because these ranges did not increase last year.
WFB and 40K are about what I have come to expect by now - 3-4 times the rate of inflation on plastic kits, despite the fact that plastic prices have remained static. Although you have to remember that 40K codices will get a gradual price rise when they go to hardcover which will bring the figures up by a LOT over the next year.
But the figures for Lord of the Rings are shocking. Between the repack and the completely arbitrary price rise, ALL the basic infantry have gone up by 27 times the rate of inflation since this time last year.
Why has LotR increased so much? Standard economic theory would suggest that you only increase prices if demand is (or is expected to be) outstripping supply - so do GW REALLY expect demand for LotR minis to increase by almost 50% when the hobbit movie comes out?! No. It's a game of smoke and mirrors to mislead the shareholders. Remember that most of GW's shareholders don't understand the industry, and certainly don't keep track of individual prices; and all they see in the shareholder's report is the total VALUE of sales. So by ramping up the prices now, GW can create the illusion that sales of LotR will have increased this time next year - justifying their multi-million dollar license while sales actually fall...
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/GW-Price-rise-list-tp7578085p7578089.html
I've been crunching some numbers - it's not pretty.
First off, let's understand that the government's measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, was measured on the 22nd of May at 3%. That is the lowest its been for over two years, falling from a peak of 5.6% in September 2011. The CPI tracks thousands of branded products against their price 12 months previously, changing their sample to reflect market trends (recently, for example, they dropped DVD rentals from the list but added the cost of a subscription to netflix or lovefilm). This is the standard measure of inflation in the UK, and is used to calculate "Index Linked" figures such as state benefits and pensions; a second measure (the Retail Price Index, or RPI) tracks the costs of products TO RETAILERS (ie before tax and any promotions) is less vulnerable to fluctuations and provides a better LONG TERM measure of inflation, but as we do not have the trade prices available we will have to compare GW's RRP against the CPI.
We must also consider the global commodities market in these calculations. Between December 2010 and December 2011, prices for (raw) plastics in the EU remained static or FELL by around 1%; prices for resins fell by between 3 and 4%. Metal prices do not concern us since post-finecast GW is melting down their old stock of metal minis and has 0 cost in this area.
Here endeth the economics lesson
So, the figures (by product line):
Warhammer Fantasy: Up 10.25% - not bad, but marred by the fact that army books have had two separate price hikes (the first in January, and now another in May), giving a 22.2% increase on their price this time last year.
40K: Up 12.92%. The biggest culprits here are all Space Marine (or variant chapter) plastic kits which increased by up to 33% - GW clearly feels the need to milk their cash cow.
Lord Of The Rings: Up 11.15% ON RELEASE PRICES IN FEBRUARY. Looks good, but this does not take into account the repackaging of LotR infantry from boxes of 24 for £16.50 to boxes of 12 for £13.50 in February; if we factor in those figures the actual increase on basic infantry is a whopping 81.8% since this time last year, and the average goes up to 48.1%
Hobby Supplies: Up 16.5%
Terrain: Up 18.0%
Fineca$t dodged a bullet - possibly because resin prices have fallen globally so all GW needs to do is freeze prices to increase their profit margins.
The figures for hobby supplies and terrain are bad, at 5.5 and 6 times the rate of inflation, but (almost) excusable because these ranges did not increase last year.
WFB and 40K are about what I have come to expect by now - 3-4 times the rate of inflation on plastic kits, despite the fact that plastic prices have remained static. Although you have to remember that 40K codices will get a gradual price rise when they go to hardcover which will bring the figures up by a LOT over the next year.
But the figures for Lord of the Rings are shocking. Between the repack and the completely arbitrary price rise, ALL the basic infantry have gone up by 27 times the rate of inflation since this time last year.
Why has LotR increased so much? Standard economic theory would suggest that you only increase prices if demand is (or is expected to be) outstripping supply - so do GW REALLY expect demand for LotR minis to increase by almost 50% when the hobbit movie comes out?! No. It's a game of smoke and mirrors to mislead the shareholders. Remember that most of GW's shareholders don't understand the industry, and certainly don't keep track of individual prices; and all they see in the shareholder's report is the total VALUE of sales. So by ramping up the prices now, GW can create the illusion that sales of LotR will have increased this time next year - justifying their multi-million dollar license while sales actually fall...
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