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Medium Turnaround Profitability Strategy Root Cause Analysis

Fantasy to Reality

#Gaming #TTRPGs #Retail
ProHub Comment

This is a turnaround case requiring structured root cause analysis across market fit, financial performance, and competitive positioning. The candidate must synthesize survey data, competitive benchmarking, and financial statements to identify that while 'Events' are loss-making and 'Artwork' has thin margins, new categories ('Supplies' and 'Accessories') present growth opportunities. The key insight is that closing 'Events' generates the capital needed to fund the transition.

Estimated Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source HKUST
50 / 100
A local business owner has been operating a gaming company (“Daring Mazes & Monsters”, or DM&M) selling products and services for role-playing games. Despite 3 years of effort and significant investments, he is struggling financially to keep his business afloat. What should he should do?

Clarifying Information

  1. Client sells TTRPG stories (books) pan India and runs paid games in Chennai.
  2. TTRPGs (Table-Top Role-Playing Games) are easy-to-learn group story-building games with rules and dice (think: similar to board games). Players either build their own stories or use pre-made ones (like in DM&M’s books).
  3. Client creates and sells all stories and artwork himself but has admin staff.
  4. Client outsources distribution and faces no problems with the supply chain.
  5. Client is a YouTube sensation in India and well-known locally for their events.
  6. Goal: Client seeks a deep dive into the business and advice on next steps.
  7. TTRPG hobbyists are a relatively smaller market but spend money frequently.
  8. No specific persona targeted – caters to families, school groups, adults, etc.
  9. No new competitors have entered the market since DM&M began.
  10. Prices across competitors are similar since customers are price conscious.