[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
manufacturer of all associated miniatures ranges.

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
retailers in North America - retail stores can email to <jon@gzg.com>
for
further details.

Please feel free to email me at <jon@gzg.com> if you have any other
queries
or questions at all.

Jon Tuffley, GZG, April 28th 2002.