From: Ground Zero Games <jon@g...>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 13:40:33 +0100
Subject: [OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT] Re: Geo-Hex and GZG
Hello all, As you've probably noticed in the recent email from KR at GeoHex, the licence for GeoHex to produce and distribute GZG ranges and publications for the US and Canada is now terminated. I thought I'd better make an [OFFICIAL] announcement to clarify the situation and allay any fears and rumours that might arise from this news, so here goes..... The termination of the licence has been at KR's request, though it has actually only just pre-empted me making the same move from this end, so in effect it's a mutual decision. GeoHex has done a good job of bringing our products to the attention of the North American market over the last nine years, but over that time the market and the hobby have both changed enormously - when the licence was instigated, online sales were unheard of and international mailorder was pretty uncommon, and I (as GZG) in the UK did not have anything like the capacity or organisation to even think about supplying the US market in any realistic way except by licencing the product lines out to a US-based manufacturer. Things are, of course, rather different today; the huge growth of online sales means that now almost anyone can mailorder from anywhere in the world with confidence and security (at least if you go to reputable suppliers - which I sincerely hope we are!!). Additionally, we now have a MUCH greater capacity for production and supply than we did nine years ago (hey, we've had a 100% increase in staff numbers, for one thing.... <grin>), to the point where we can now turn round most mailorders within 24 hours rather than 28 days! Having goods produced under licence has had it's good side for us, of course - we have got a lot of market exposure in the US that wouldn't have happened if we'd just been seen as a tiny UK-based manufacturer of obscure products (even though that's exactly what we are!); the downside is that, despite a lot of product being shifted in the US, we only ever get to see a TINY amount of the money that is generated by this.... the retail store gets it's cut, then the distributor gets theirs, then the licenced manufacturer gets theirs, then finally at the end of the line we get to see a rather small percentage figure of what's left as royalties. Now, I'm not complaining about this - it's how the system works, and how the licence was negotiated; BUT, the point is that if we even sell a _small fraction_ of the US sales figures as direct mailorder, then we actually get to see a lot more hard cash, which is good for everyone because it keeps us in business and keeps us producing all the stuff that you guys want! So, for a while at least, we're going to see how things go with direct sales. We won't AT THIS STAGE be appointing another US distributor or licencee, though I don't rule this out at a later date if a suitable person/company should come up; in the meantime, everything that we produce can be supplied to you direct from the UK, via the webstore (<www.gzg.com>), or by phone or fax (UK country code (44) +1449 722322, UK working hours for phone or anytime for fax), and even by good old-fashioned snailmail. We will also be able to supply at trade prices to individual retail stores in the US and Canada (or anywhere else for that matter), something that we've been strictly prohibited from doing in the past by the terms of the licence agreement, so any game stores that still wish to carry our product will be able to get it direct from us (that means no hassles with their distributors telling them that stuff is not available because they couldn't be bothered to order any from the next link up the chain....). Now, here's the bit where you can all help (if you want to, that is!): Firstly, please forward the news release below to any other mailing lists, discussion groups, forums etc. you may be on, to whom you feel that the news might be relevant or interesting (please DON'T just forward this whole email, as most of it is intended for GZG list members only - just snip out the release at the foot of the email and post that). Secondly, please help us to keep up the visibilty and profile of the games and minis in North America; a lot of stores will most likely lose interest when they find they can't get supplies from GeoHex any more, and of course the inevitable wild rumours will start to circulate about us going bust, etc, etc.... Please spread the word as far as you can - tell people that we're VERY much still in business, and NOTHING has changed at our core business in the UK; in fact we're hoping that it may be the springboard towards more expansion and a faster release of cool stuff...... Also to this end, I want to look at possibilites of supporting games and presentations at US conventions in the same way that KR has in the past - we won't usually be able to be there in person, of course, but we'll be happy to supply prizes, vouchers etc - this is something that needs a lot of looking into, and won't be set up overnight, but I hope to get systems in place by which any support that you can give us will be repaid in both gratitude AND free stuff....! Thirdly, if you are one of those who have already ordered from our Online Store, please tell your friends - and anyone else who'll listen - how easy and quick it is! A lot of US customers are, I think, a little wary of overseas ordering - so if you've tried it and are happy with it, then please spread the word (if you've tried it and are NOT happy for whatever reason, please tell us - the fact that we've received very little feedback about any problems hopefully suggests that there aren't very many!). If any of you have any comments or endorsements on our mail-order service that you wouldn't mind us quoting in publicity material, then please email them to me....! Oh, yes - we WILL be responding to all the requests for lots more pictures on the Store site, just as quickly as I can arrange it..... So, please talk to people - tell them what is REALLY happening (show them this mail if they don't believe you!). Tell your friends and club buddies to take a look at our online catalogue and store (there'll be some special deals there again for May....), tell your FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) to drop me an email about direct trade order terms, offer to run games at clubs, stores and cons, whatever you can think of.... we just need to ensure that the wider gaming community out there beyond List-land stays aware of us and what we produce. If anyone has any questions, feel free to mail me either on or off list (onlist if it will be of general interest, offlist otherwise please). Thanks for your support past, present and hopefully future! Jon (GZG) -------------------------------- GZG NEWS RELEASE (28.04.02): > From GZG - publisher of FULL THRUST, STARGRUNT and DIRTSIDE, and With immediate effect, we have agreed with GeoHex to terminate the licence under which they have acted as our North American agent, licencee manufacturer and distributor. This in no way reflects adversely on either company (GZG or GeoHex), but is due to the changing market for games products and miniatures on both sides of the Atlantic. GeoHex will no longer be manufacturing our lines under licence, and will not be supplying any GZG product after June 4th 2002. We at GZG are still VERY much in business, supplying all our product lines by direct mailorder from our base in the UK - customers throughout the world are welcome to order online from our Store site at <www.gzg.com>; we pride ourselves on providing an easy, quick, efficient and friendly service with surprisingly low shipping costs. Please check the Store site out - we will have some very special offers and deals running throughout the month of May! At the moment we have no immediate plans to appoint a new US distributor, though if this changes we will of course announce it as soon as we can - in the meantime, we are very happy to supply you directly. As well as individual sales to customers, the termination of the distibution licence means that we can now also offer direct trade sales to