It’s been quite the year; for both the store, and for the hobby in general… We saw a dramatic shift in our perception of the way our customers were using our products and facilities, leading to a gradual, but ultimately fun pivot for our business. As well as that, our hobby saw GW enter the FTSE 100, square based and Epic Warhammer return from the dead, Tuomas Pirinen deliver a grimdark skirmish game, WotC publish new(ish) Dungeons and Dragons and FFG bring us unlimited Star Wars cards! I’m sure I’m missing lots, but in short, it’s been a year. Here’s some fun stuff we did, and where we plan on taking it in 2025, if you’re interested in that sort of thing….
First off… This! It can be argued that previously (and even now), Brett and Steve aren’t amongst the most internet savvy folk. This is in large part due to our terriffic age, coupled with our firm belief that the internet won’t actually catch on. Despite these reservations, a concerted effort was made to be more visible, with links to our facebook, instagram, X, kofi and such here https://linktr.ee/phoenixgamesstourbridge, as well as our discord channel, which has become a virtual shop of sorts, allowing our in-store customers the facility to book tables, plan and organise games, view upcoming events and generally chew the fat. That link is available upon request, to prevent grizzly bots and scammers that we would refuse to spend the time to actually administrate. Next up…
One of the resounding successes of the year was undoubtedly our first Phoenix Fest Event! In addition to the awesome rallying round of our demo game volunteers, a particular highlight for us has to be the Golden Phoenix (TBD) painting competition. Going into the event, we had no idea quite how well represented and high quality the competition was going to be, and we plan to lean further into this and devote more attention, space and organisation to it. We also received incredibly favourable feedback about the 20% discount… shocker! Phoenix Fest 2 (Eclectic Boogaloo) is currently pencilled in for the 23rd and 24th of August. Get it in the diaries! And speaking of succesful events…
The Bring and Buy was, in a word, a triumph! Not only did it generate a bit of cash for our participating customers, and give folks a bargain or two and a good rummage, it helped kickstart our burgeoning second hand business, that we’ll be annoying you with in the New Year, with more and more stuff advertised on social media, the shop floor, and with an eVilBay store too! With the various financial struggles the business has suffered, from COVID, to a decrease in miniature sales and board/card game decline, us moving into this sales channel has already proven lucrative, while also giving you wonderful people access to miniatures, books and gubbins that we otherwise would never have on the shelf! Result! Our next Bring and Buy is specifically for Board Games, and set for Feb 1st and 2nd. The FB event link can be found here https://fb.me/e/7XjXigo3N and our next big tabletop wargames Bring and Buy is pencilled in for the 5th and 6th of July!! Onto products for ’25…
Moooooore racks!!! Increasingly, we’ve noticed a demand from our customer base for hobby products… Paints, tools, glues, basing materials and sprays now make up a significant part of our off-the-shelf sales, and as such, we’re expanding this in the new year. Beginning with the above Gamer’s Grass rack, and moving into an AK Diorama rack, the full range of Two Thin Coats and a Colour Forge display, in the next few months, the store will look very different! Don’t despair if this isn’t your bag, Warhammer, card games, board games, D&D and historicals will still be represented and available to order, as always. We’d never leave you hangin’! And to finish…
We try to keep our events schedule as fluid as possible, to cater to the wild and unforseen trends of the lunatics that frequent the store, but some staples are already vaguely in place. Here’s what we know so far:
- Blood in the Old World Campaign conclusion – Spring will see the dramatic finale of our 16 person Warhammer the Old World Map Based Campaign that will have run in store for a calendar year!
- Warhammer 40K Tournament Structure – Beginning in March, we’ll run three 40K tournaments a year, in a bid to find and crown our 2025 Store Champion! We’ve pencilled in March, Aug and Nov as the offending months, but stay tuned for updates.
- Horus Heresy Tournament – In April, HH devotee Mark will run his second Heresy tournament in store, with a pack that we know will be as in-depth and fun as any tournament west of Terra! Keep ’em peeled!
- The aforementioned Bring and Buys (2/3 Feb and 5/6 July), and Phoenix Fest (23/24 Aug).
- Other giggles – We’ll no doubt be running campaign events and tournaments for the games that rev our collective engines as the year progresses, so stay tuned for Bolt Action, Old World, Legion Imperialis, Blood Bowl and AoS silliness, along with any other games that tickle our fancy (Silver Bayonet and Trench Crusade, we’re looking at you).
So it’s already looking to be a busy year ahead! We’ll keep you updated as we go, but hopefully this helps plot out a sort of “road map” for the year ahead, and goes into some detail the business decisions we’re choosing to make, in the name of transparency. Thank you so much to all who supported us in 2024, and see you in the New Year, you beautiful people! x
Comments are closed