Hey can someone explain to me where this data comes from and how exactly its gathered?
All it says in the article is 'The charts are based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.' - I feel as a community that prides itself on data there's a lot of variables here that it would be neat to know how the numbers exactly shake out.
Speaking of Warmahordes, it seemed to have a really solid community a few years back though I did start hearing that certain builds were getting so overpowered it was harming player engagement. I figured the switch to Mk3 would have gone a ways towards rebalancing the game. also, many of the California game stores that host Armada still do Warmahordes weekly nights even in areas where Armada is nearly dead for regular games.
Certainly, if you'd told me Armada would be outselling Warmahordes within 2 years back in 2015 I would have been shocked.
2 minutes ago, Captain Weather said:Hey can someone explain to me where this data comes from and how exactly its gathered?
All it says in the article is 'The charts are based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.' - I feel as a community that prides itself on data there's a lot of variables here that it would be neat to know how the numbers exactly shake out.
I believe they give that information directly if you are a paid subscriber. ICv2 is a retailer magazine and subscription service that advises stores on larger sales trends in the nerd/geek pop culture market for things like video games, comic books, board games, etc. So in this case, they probably called up a bunch of subscriber stores that they consider "average" and asked them for details on what items were selling, the quantity, etc. Then they also called distributors and manufacturers and asked them approximately the same things, tailored to those industries.
Then they combine and compare the data, which should tell them:
How much of each product are distributors ordering from manufacturers?
How much of each product are individual retailers ordering from distributors?
How much of each product is being sold by retailers to their customers?
If there are discrepancies between numbers, then ICv2 can look into those. For example, distributors may be ordering large amounts from manufacturers for a hotly anticipated new product with lots of preorders at the retailer level. So even though there aren't sales at the retailer level yet, ICv2 can notify their subscribers that a new product is expected to be very popular on release.
1 hour ago, thecactusman17 said:I believe they give that information directly if you are a paid subscriber. ICv2 is a retailer magazine and subscription service that advises stores on larger sales trends in the nerd/geek pop culture market for things like video games, comic books, board games, etc. So in this case, they probably called up a bunch of subscriber stores that they consider "average" and asked them for details on what items were selling, the quantity, etc. Then they also called distributors and manufacturers and asked them approximately the same things, tailored to those industries.
Then they combine and compare the data, which should tell them:
How much of each product are distributors ordering from manufacturers?How much of each product are individual retailers ordering from distributors?
How much of each product is being sold by retailers to their customers?
If there are discrepancies between numbers, then ICv2 can look into those. For example, distributors may be ordering large amounts from manufacturers for a hotly anticipated new product with lots of preorders at the retailer level. So even though there aren't sales at the retailer level yet, ICv2 can notify their subscribers that a new product is expected to be very popular on release.
The biggest flaw with the ICv2 data, which I have discussed ad naseum on other forums and will not regurgitate here, is that it does not capture direct sales by companies. This most notably impacts GW, where their business mix is roughly 38% trade, 41% retail, and 21% direct mail order. The ICv2 survey is likely only capturing about 38% of GW's total order flow, so it's very likely 40k is number one with a bullet once you incorporate sales through all channels.
With that said, the ICv2 data is fine, but you have to understand what it is, and that's a good representation of 3rd party distributors and independent retailers, so someone running their own retail chain or selling via other channels might not be captured.
24 minutes ago, Reinholt said:
The biggest flaw with the ICv2 data, which I have discussed ad naseum on other forums and will not regurgitate here, is that it does not capture direct sales by companies. This most notably impacts GW, where their business mix is roughly 38% trade, 41% retail, and 21% direct mail order. The ICv2 survey is likely only capturing about 38% of GW's total order flow, so it's very likely 40k is number one with a bullet once you incorporate sales through all channels.
With that said, the ICv2 data is fine, but you have to understand what it is, and that's a good representation of 3rd party distributors and independent retailers, so someone running their own retail chain or selling via other channels might not be captured.
GW has an unusual business model that is primarily pushed through their directly owned stores and vertically integrated online store, so I imagine that ICv2 doesn't capture their data well at all. And it's still telling that despite all of that they are number 2.
That said, among 3rd party resellers X-Wing has been doing almost as much business as Magic The Gathering, and MTG has been almost singularly keeping some stores afloat in California. There are plenty of game stores that are basically a MTG counter and card tables, with everything else being extra.
18 hours ago, thecactusman17 said:GW has an unusual business model that is primarily pushed through their directly owned stores and vertically integrated online store, so I imagine that ICv2 doesn't capture their data well at all. And it's still telling that despite all of that they are number 2.
That said, among 3rd party resellers X-Wing has been doing almost as much business as Magic The Gathering, and MTG has been almost singularly keeping some stores afloat in California. There are plenty of game stores that are basically a MTG counter and card tables, with everything else being extra.
This has been the case for many years. Board game resurgence really helped a lot recently, but even 20 years ago MTG was singularly responsible for most of the game shops I know of and/or had worked in staying open. X-wing has been solid, and 8th has apparently been incredibly difficult to keep on the shelves due to insane demand. Armada surprises me, honestly, as it always seems like a couple players here and there, and it tops out pretty quick in terms of maximum unit investment if you are planning/playing around 400pt fleet norm.