IMPACT! MINIATURES

GalakStarscraper · The Big Man Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 6176

Been having conversations with Gavin and Ramsay on Impact! as a company ... some notes to all of you who are so helpful to us.

For 2008 we were well on our way to doubling the sales from 2007 (after 2007 tripled our sales from 2006) ... in fact it looked like a sure thing that it would happen. We had a record sales month in September for the company. Then the world recession hit and our sales dropped 50% or more from the business we've been having this year.

In the end we came close ... we look to end the year around 9000 GBP short of doubling sales from last year. So let the partners of Impact! start by thanking all of you for helping us have a great 2008.

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That all said ... there comes a cost to growing Impact! as quickly as we have. In fact in just over 2 1/2 years Impact!'s fantasy football figure count in the store as of today is 216 (182 of our own, 14 limited edition still available and 20 from other companies) Compare this to G-W which currently sells a selection of 211 fantasy football figures however the vast vast majority of those cannot be purchased individually but only randomly or as part of teams. So we grew ... and grew quick to now be the company with the widest selection of fantasy football figures in thw world.

On top of this in 2008, the partners of Impact! took some of our capital in Impact! and started BBFigs.com up to carry all the G-W Bl00d B0wl figures as individual figures for purchase instead of randomly or only in teams/bloosters. At this time ... it appears that BBFigs.com should be able to have 19 of the 24 teams from that game fully in stock by its first anniversary next year. Again ... another item we have our customers to thank for as the cost of getting BBFigs.com fully stock was close to $35000 USD. So we look forward hopefully next year to BBFigs.com starting to current a profit after getting finally fully stocked (as currently any and all profits are immediately spent on buying the next B-B item not in the store yet).

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Okay that all the great news and in my mind it is very great.

However ... we decided last month that Impact! really is going to undergo a major shutdown on new stuff produced for 2009 ... ie if its not already assigned to a sculptor for production or a tournament figure ... we are not going to be working on it.

We've decided that 2 1/2 years of putting in extra money from our pockets to keep growing Impact! needs to finally slow down. In 2009, we only want to start a new miniature project if we have cash set aside from profits to do so. This was the plan of operation since Impact! started but we have not done this because we really wanted to grow the store as quick as possible the first 3 years.

As of this morning ... the Impact!'s debt to its partners could purchase a 2008 BMW Z4 Roadster convertible 3.0i with all the packages and options (if we had wanted to joint own a nice car instead of a business). We just finally need to address that fact.

We do have 5 new figures for the normal store currently being sculpted. We also have around 7 new limited edition tournament figures at the sculptors right now as well. So there will be some new releases for Impact! in 2009.

The Sarcos and Timberline Elf teams are delayed now until the partner debt is resolved. But once we have the debt resolved ... these two teams will be our top priority as we have them all sketched out and ready to go.

It would only take 3 months of sales like we had in September of this year and the partner debt would be gone ... so while we don't expect that to happen ... it is meant as a sign that during 2009 we should clear the books into the black and start working on new projects again.

Again thank you all for your support of our business .. it is very much appreciated. We look forward to helping you again in 2009.

The partners of Impact! wish all of you Happy Holidays and a good start to the New Year!

Tom Anders
President - Impact! Miniatures

GrumpyGrizzly · Joined: 11 Sep 2007 Posts: 340 Location: Bergen, Norway

Thanks for the info Galak. I can't believe how transparent Impact is sometimes.

While I have been slobbering over the Sarcos since I first saw the concept sketches, I would rather you guys do what's right for the business. Good luck in 2009!

GalakStarscraper · The Big Man Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 6176

Thom · Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 284

Thats really great news sir!

Congrats!
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Thom. . .

How many. . . Elf hides does it take to make an Elfball?

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Stout Youngblood · Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 356 Location: Lombard, IL

Well, I plan to help Impact get rid of their debt, albiet in a small way.

Rabid_Bogscum · Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 85

very forthright...thankyou Tom, and thanks to all the Impact partners

Mad Jackal · Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 240

Silently trolling is all I can manage to do right now.(Which is why I've been so quiet.)

But I do wish you guys the best.

And my hat is off to all you guys have done.

Purdindas · Joined: 31 Oct 2008 Posts: 51 Location: Scotland

Thanks for the insight into the business.

Youv'e really taken on quite alot (even Grandma Wendy

) and you guys should be proud of what you have achieved.

Bravo!
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Purdindas

sebco · Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Chambéry, France

Thanks for the info. As a customer, I would like some teams to be casted soon, but Impact! isn't meant to lose money so I really understand you have to slow down investments. I now hope your sales will keep on growing even if there aren't many new launchings. Thanks again !
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jmw23 · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 16 Location: Orlando, Florida

Galek's post makes a lot of sense. Impact is obviously a business run by hobbyists, but that's no reason for the owners to risk their financial security. Get the debt cleared, turn a profit, give customers time to buy all the neat stuff you've been putting out, and then get back to producing new models.

On a somewhat-related topic, what was the concept behind Timberline Elves? Were there plans to make any of them female?

Norse · The One, the Only Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 2811

yes, about one third of the team was female..

the concept sketches are truly awesome.. we will not show a sneek peak because they are probably 18 months away from being sculpted now, but trust me when I say they looked both elven and feral..
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in this company my painting skills are limited at best..

jolt · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 16

Sorry for the necro post.

When I first came across Elfball at GenCon '07 I was hooked. But considering the size of the company (as I perceived it at the time), I wasn't expecting a very fast release schedule. Kudos to you guys for how much you've put out in the last year and a half!

Unfortunately, my attempts to generate interest in the game locally have been fairly unsuccesful (okay, totally unsuccessful). Games like Star Wars minis, Monsterpocalypse, Heroscape, and the new WoW cmg have taken center stage in my area. Even the Grandma Wendy stuff is only stocked about half as much as it was just a few years ago.

Having spent 11.5 years of my life getting out of debt from my college loans I can certainly understand the desire to rid yourselves of that burden.

Though now I want to see feral elves! Curse you for bringing it up!

jolt
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I used to be an optimist but I got tired of always being wrong.

Cephalopod · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:57 pm Post subject:

I'll see your necro and raise a wight.

It is great to see Impact! doing so well. I look forward to future products but slowing down your release schedule to pay off debt is a smart move in a recession.

I appreciate that I'm only an occassional poster but I am a huge fan of the models and Elfball. I was almost disappointed when you decided to pick up BBfigs instead of just selling your own, but profit is profit and I hope it does well. I'll be sticking to Elball Original minis for now.

Dark Lord · Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 2682

Has Impact considered selling part of the company to larger investors?

Maybe you should go on Dragons Den?

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"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Bill Cosby

GalakStarscraper · The Big Man Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 6176