The brainchild of Scott Hunstad and Paul Van Der Werk, Good Games was born five years ago, and as both a retail outlet and gaming environment it has filled a hole in the market.
“WeÍre not just a retail store. We sell retail products but we are very community driven, so we have events in-store so people can come in and play. Three-quarters of most of our stores are dedicated to player space, for people to come in and play tournaments or play board games or card games,” Paul says.
“We knew there was a bit of a hole in the market for that kind of store and with the global economy, we knew that we needed to give people another reason to come into the store. It canÍt just be to pick up what they want to buy.”
Paul admits that if Good Games only functioned as a retail store, it, like many retail outlets today, would be struggling to overcome the issue of consumers shopping online rather than in-store.
“IÍd say 90 percent of the games we sell are distributed or manufactured in America, so there are plenty of options where customers can buy direct from the US and a lot of the time itÍs cheaper. ItÍs a hard market for us because customers have options overseas now and with the dollar the way it is, they have good options now,” he says.
But there is no online equivalent for what Good Games offers in terms of interacting with other gamers and competing face-to-face. “Gaming is a social activity. ItÍs very much community driven. People can come and play with their friends or play with people that have like interests. And it gets them out of the house. The idea of a retail store where you just sell products, we think, is less likely to succeed than our business.”
The success of Good Games is very much reliant on the cult-like following that gaming has and one of Scott and PaulÍs most important jobs is to make the franchise known to the gaming community. Obviously, one of the most effective ways to do this is online, as thatÍs where Good GamesÍ typical customers — men and boys between 11 and 40 — spend a lot of their time.
And while the franchisors want gamers to be familiar with the Good Games brand, theyÍre not interested in mainstream marketing or prominent shopping centre locations.
“We donÍt really target the walk-by traffic or the gift buyers. WeÍre after the gamers who want to come in and play and buy the products,” Paul says.
“[Targeting a mass audience] would mean weÍd have to set up in a different way. WeÍd have to be in shopping centres and weÍd have to pay triple rents and pay a lot of money for a big space, and it might not be worthwhile. WeÍve put ourselves in a situation where we need the room and itÍs not justifiable to pay WestfieldsÍ rates we donÍt think itÍs necessary.”
Paul adds that each Good Games location needs about 200 square metres of space, so they are usually found in upstairs or downstairs loactions, rather than on street level. And with 90 percent of the outlets positioned out of shopping centres, franchisees need to trust that theyÍre part of a niche industry and are what Paul calls “destination stores”, so rather than hunting down customers, franchisees need to trust that gamers will find them.
And itÍs easy for franchisees to know whatÍs going on in the gaming industry, because according to Paul, most franchisees are dedicated gamers themselves.
“Normally theyÍre all gamers,” he says. “The only exception is that we also get parents of gamers. This type of franchise is really driven by the love of the game. The love of the product. TheyÍre driven by working in an industry for enjoyment more than anything else.”
Most people inquiring about operating a Good Games franchise are in their late twenties to early forties, have been working in IT for 10 to 15 years, are sick of the corporate world and want to do something that they enjoy.
And with an initial investment of around $30,000, which includes your exclusive territory, equipment and training with a five year term and four further five year franchise options, the cost of jumping onboard is “pretty reasonable,” says Paul.
With 13 stores across NSW, Victoria and the ACT — five of which are franchised, Paul and Scott are looking to expand and believe that franchising is the best way to move forward.
“It allows the people that are interested in having a business to have some ownership. It is a lot of gamersÍ dream to have their own game store, and franchising gives them some ownership but still gives them the brand and the help that we provide,” Paul says.