ABOVE: Analog Games Co-Owners Adam and Hollee Klesh stand behind their new check-out counter, as the store is fully cleaned up, marked with signage and stocked with games and gaming accessories as a full-fledged store.
FAIRMONT – After opening in a limited capacity in mid-December, Analog Games is officially full of product and operating as a full-fledged store.
The store sells a variety of gaming items, including board games, cards for Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, accessories for both games, items for Dungeons & Dragons and 3D-printed knick-knacks from a local artist.
To reach this point, Co-Owner Adam Klesh said the biggest piece of the puzzle was securing a distributor, which they accomplished in January.
“We found a good one who was able to sell us a lot of Magic: The Gathering product, and some Pokémon stuff,” he said. “The more we build the relationship with them, the more stuff we’ll be able to get.”
There are only a few distributors across the USA, and the Kleshs needed to apply in order to start a partnership with one of them. Co-Owner Hollee Klesh said there are pros and cons when it comes to who they work with and how many distributors they work with.
“We could add another distributor, or switch over distributors,” she said. “They give priority on the good products to people who buy a lot from them. We pick one distributor, buy as much as we can from them, so we go higher up in their rankings. If we were to get a second distributor and order from both, we would lower ourselves in their rankings on both of them. Our distributor is really good. They’re very easy to work with, but their selection is a little more limited.”
She said becoming a part of official company play networks has also been helpful in securing inventory and support.
“For example, Wizards of the Coast, which is the owner of Magic: The Gathering, has a play network that you can become an official certified store in,” she said. “Getting in with them helped us get more products from our distributor, so they know we’re like a legit business. We’re working right now on getting in with the Pokémon network so that we can get more Pokémon products. It’s a process.”
The store has also established several weekly events for Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, as well as hosting monthly events with topics picked by the owners or from customer requests and interests. So far, these events have hit a good level, but they are open to even more.
“We’ve been consistently getting six to eight people for every event, but it has expanded above that,” Hollee said. “I think we had a dozen people in for Friday Night Magic.”
“I didn’t have any expectations of more and more people coming in,” Adam said. “I’m glad to see we have a lot of people coming in, and if all the tables are being used, I love to see that.”
ABOVE: Co-Owner Hollee Klesh looks over just some of the items available at Analog Games, as she talks about the vision for the store and how they’ve displayed what they have available.
Over the last few months, the store shelves have filled out more and more as products have become available and shelf space tidied up. Hollee said dice and more board games were their last two categories, and they’ve now filled these out to be at full stock.
“It’s really exciting,” she said, “When we first started this, we had a table with a tablecloth on it and a couple random games on a shelf we were hoping people would play. As we’ve been filling this out, it’s felt more and more real. I’ve never run a store before. I worked as a cashier, but I’ve never owned my own business. I’ve never run anything on my own like this.”
They also have a new feature called Cabinet of Curiosities, where random items are placed in slots of a fancy cabinet, and a price sticker is placed over each one, at a lower price than the item inside would usually sell for. Once people pay, they open the cabinet drawer, and the surprise item is revealed to them.
In mid-December, Adam also talked about the store being a third space, where people could come in, hang out and play games freely. Hollee said this has panned out in the way they’ve hoped for, but they’re still open for more.
“I’d like to see more of it. I think we’re not seeing a lot of families right now or kids. I think it’s important for kids to see that third space be used to have a gathering place, to have somewhere. Maybe they come in here when they’re 8, and then they start coming in on their own when they’re 12 or 13, and they just kind of grow up in a comfortable space.”
Overall, Hollee said it feels exciting with the variety of things they’re selling. Adam said he’s happy with the way the store is now and happy to see people come in.
For more information or questions, visit facebook.com/analoggamesmn/.