Ronald Connell, Owner/Manager, Other Worlds Games & Comics
Many of you have asked the delicate question of how the store is doing during this incredibly difficult year.
I am humbled by your concern and I apologize for taking so long to respond in writing. I did not realize how many actually wanted to know. Here’s the short of it: Thanks to so many of you WE ARE, THANKFULLY, STILL OPEN. This may not seem much but it is more than many games, comic stores and other small businesses across the country and across the world can say. We are down about 35% from this same point in 2019, we haven’t had in-store events since last March, no camps, not nearly as much walk-in traffic and with still no light at the end of this grim tunnel. Even with the holidays, we are bracing for slow walk-in traffic and possible winter storms. But, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Five years of change in five months. Although some stores were better positioned, NO ONE was truly prepared for this cataclysmic interruption in our economy. In our industry, after ELEVEN YEARS of constant growth in hobby games, there have been many casualties in 2020. No one ever knows exactly how many game stores there are at any given time, but recent reports from an industry talk I attended (online) indicated 15 to 25% of all sanctioned, tournament stores/venues (by Wizards of the Coast) and comic store accounts (by Diamond) from December, 2019, in North America have closed permanently. A loss of 1,200 to 1,800 stores. This figure is not solid, is difficult to pin down is likely higher than reported. Still, a dramatic, near hyper-speed shifting of the game store landscape.
Those game stores who remain at this point have been able to survive by the following: Online presence with social media/websites/newsletters, pre-existing or rapidly-implemented online sales, and they were NOT previously as dependent on random foot traffic. NONE of these stores have been able to host any measurable in-store organized play since the beginning of the pandemic.
How has Other Worlds done it thus far?
First) Financial Aid early. In the Spring, right after lockdown, I launched my first-ever GOFUNDME campaign (which many of you graciously contributed to). I also applied to every form of loan or grant that became available. We gradually received help from the federal CARES Act, the BINC Foundation (booksellers), Oregon State emergency loan and another state-funded small business relief grant. Without this aid, and the continued patronage and support from YOU and the greater community, I don’t think I would be sitting here writing this. Leastways, not as confidently with an eye to the future. So, A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL!
2nd) Responding to demand, we rapidly moved our kid’s Dungeons & Dragons camps to an ONLINE format with Discord and Roll20. This has been very successful and currently we still have around 30 kids (6 groups) meeting at various times throughout each week. This has been a tremendous reward, emotionally, for myself and the DM’s just to see the kids enjoyment, especially during these dark times, and with great relief expressed unanimously by all their parents. An ancient dragon-sized THANK YOU to Emily, Duncan and Boone, the Dungeon Masters, for their commitment and perseverance. (I suspect they are also enjoying it as much as the kids 😉
3rd) Comics. After things went quiet in April from Diamond, Marvel, DC, et al., we weren’t sure what the future of the comics industry would morph into. As things began to open in late-May and as the wheels of the comics industry, which had never before been forced to stop so suddenly, slowly picked up speed, we were able to fall in step and resume our weekly subscription service. There have been a few hiccups, such as DC breaking way from Diamond (after 25 yrs), interrupts in ongoing titles and some new releases being delayed (some still are) but many other new titles have released, including the new DUNE and NORSE MYTHOLOGY (Gaiman) comics. These were both announced earlier in the year and there was concern they would be delayed until 2021. Thankfully, not so.
4th) D&D. As awful as these circumstances, a lockdown makes for an ideal time to play long campaigns of Dungeons & Dragons, paint minis and learn to play D&D online (myself included). As a result, D&D sales nationwide and at our store have been out-performing previous years. People are buying ALL the books (I still prefer them over their online counterparts), painting minis (big bump in sales here) and seemingly continuing to play in-person with quarantine friends and family. HUZZAH!
5th) Magic. We’ve had above average online sales of sealed Magic: the Gathering boxes during the pandemic. We were setup for that months before the shutdowns. Any problems had been supply-side (manufacturing/distribution delays). Demand for Magic is now higher than supply in most cases. In April we were forced to pause our online Magic ‘singles’ sales when our online service, TCGPlayer.com, was forced to shut down their warehouses due to their state’s mandate. By June, their servers came back on line and we got back to selling Magic singles online, in greater volume (so did just about every other game store). The effect has been that sales of Magic, Pokemon, sports cards and other collectibles have been soaring during the pandemic.
6th) This month we launched a new ONLINE STORE. This new site is separate but connected to our regular website and uses our regular Square merchant services. This will give shoppers a better, smoother, shopping experience, give us better inventory tracking and result in fewer fees for us. To go along with this we have also added a new Neighborhood Delivery Service.
7th) We have decided to bring back a selection of GAMES WORKSHOP products. Just last week we received our first shipment of Warhammer (fantasy) and Warhammer 40,000 (sci-fi) minis/models! It turns out that Games Workshop models have been selling really well globally during this pandemic. Perhaps an indicator that many have discovered the fun of painting minis when forced to stay home for extended periods of time.
Thankfully, with all factors combined; financial aid, your individual support and all of the above strategies, we have been able to navigate this incredible crisis. We are able to remain open, to pay our wonderful, committed employees, guaranteeing their pay through the end of the year, as well as pay all our bills and distributors on time and even thrive a little during this Covid year. Somehow, we are also still keeping it fun for ourselves (and hopefully many of you). Accomplishing all this with fewer open hours, without any organized play, (FNM and Magic prerelease events) without drop-in gamers, kid’s camps nor Free Comic Book Day would be unthinkable for a game store in the before-times.
A BIG sense of loss for me has been the absence of all the kids and regulars playing in the store. Many of whom have become like friends. Will we ever see them all in the store again? To me, the last several years has not just been about running a business, which has become my own passion, but it has also been about providing a safe place for the kids and creating positive, memorable experiences and joy that I could see on their faces. Playing games, reading comics on the floor, browsing the aisles with wide eyes filled with wonder, or just sitting at the tables in groups of new-found friends acting like grownups with their fizzy (soda) drinks – this brought ME joy, satisfaction and as big a reward as any paycheck.
After thirteen and a half years of owning Other Worlds and getting to know so many of our customers, I am still working my tail off to make it to at least year 14 this Spring. I hope to continue this long campaign of store ownership adventure and fun with all of you well beyond 2020 and hopefully, the gods willing, eventually, to see the kids and other gamers back in the shop for more tournaments, D&D and summer camps.
I remain optimistic and grateful to be in business and to have the community support that we, as a store have had. I can only hope that the upcoming holidays will be safe for all and strong for all small businesses. I also hope the really cold weather holds off at least until January and that folks will have good reason to step outside their doors, safely, and visit their favorite shops for the holidays and in the new year beyond. Stay safe!
Be Kind, Ron
