They tried to sell us cutbacks as "simplification".
The current financial crisis of Watchtower in historical context (part 1)
by slimboyfat 165 Replies latest members private
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darkspilver
Cut backs since 1990s? Yes and No - that is part of the problem....
The Magazines - doubled1990 = 621,120,000 magazines (32 pages)
Watchtower - 13,950,000 copies-per-issue
Awake - 11,930,000 copies-per-issue
At 25 US cents each = $2,900,000 gross income-a-week
(2017 equivalent approx $5,300,000)2005 = 1,182,744,000 magazine (32 pages)
Watchtower - 26,439,000 copies-per-issue
Awake - 22,842,000 copies-per-issue
The Bethelites - doubled1990 = 11,092
2005 = 20,119
2016 = 19,818
The Field Operatives - doubledAnnual spend on special pioneers, missionaries, and traveling overseers
1991 = $40 million (2017 equivalent = $70 million)
2005 = $104 million (2017 equivalent = $130 million)
2016 = $213 million
Annual Increase - Three-quarters decrease1991 = 5.9%
2005 = 1.3%
2016 = 1.8%
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pontoon
The more broke they say they are the more the money rolls in. That's why every assembly starts with a imaginary deficit of 1,000s of $. Crying for money is simply part of their business MO.
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slimboyfat
There is a difference between saying that cutbacks began in the 1990s and saying that more was produced in 1990 than was produced at any later date. You've switched one for the other and refuted the made up claim. Also remembering there were around 4 million JWs in 1990 compared with more than double that, over 8 million now.
All the measures you have pointed out have peaked and are in decline:
Magaizines (in terms of pages) peaked around 2012 (or whenever they cut the size and frequency) and is in decline, as is the number of languages in decline
Number of bethelites peaked in 2015 and is in rapid decline
Spending on "field operatives" peaked in 2015 and is in rapid decline
Annual increase last year was anomalous because of Congo and Zambia. Even with the anomalous boost from those countries it was one of the lowest increases ever
A more significant statistic is that fewer people were baptised JWs as a percentage of total JW publishers than at any other time in their history - see jwfacts graph
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sparky1
Shepherdless, you have your own viewpoint about what I have posted and of course I don't agree with you. We can agree to disagree. I take it that you live in the United Kingdom? As such, business may be conducted differently than here in the United States. I was a Bethelite and know for a FACT that Watchtower is a preferred NATIONAL/CHARITABLE account with its vendors. For years, the automobiles in the Brooklyn fleet were a GIFT from the paper companies that did business with WATCHTOWER. Free, no cost, gratis, zip, zero. Let me give you an example of how a NATIONAL/CHARITABLE/FLEET account works:
My business has an account that purchases $100,000.00 a year from us. Besides getting the 'rock bottom' price that we are able to give, we also allow the 2% cash discount for prompt payment. On top of that, we must sell them filtration products way below our cost. As an example, a top of the line oil filter for your vehicle may cost you about $10.00 at a car dealership. That same filter costs a NATIONAL ACCOUNT less than $3.00. Multiply that by thousands of dollars a month and that adds up to huge savings. The only way that we can make money on the filter is to apply for 'back door' money from the manufacturer. Now, here is the kicker, because they are a NATIONAL account, manufacturers group together to rebate them back 4% on their purchases. Add to that the fact that we also GAVE them a $12,000.00 machine for FREE and in order to get our money for the machine we must get rebated back by the manufacturer. We have tried to sell them other products but we can't because other vendors offer an even bigger discount and even bigger CASH back rebate then we can. My small business alone gets back over $60,000.00 a year in cash and rebated discounts. Now, take WATCHTOWER, which does millions of dollars a month in business. Their 'cash' kickbacks are certainly not peanuts.
I don't hope to convince anyone here that I am 100% correct. We can't all be right, but we could all be wrong. My issue with the OP is that it is myopic. I agree that the WATCHTOWER is in financial difficulty. But it is a temporary cash flow issue until their new business model moves ahead full steam and the cash flows more freely into their financial pipeline. They are priming the pump with the new Kingdom Hall construction.They just got overeager and drunk on their own plans. They have had to pull back and move at a more moderate and reasonable pace. They have lied to the 'flock' about their history, they have lied about 1975, they have lied about the child abuse issue to their 'flock' , they lied to the Australian commission about 'theocratic warfare and lied about the issue of being 'God's only mouthpiece'. I could go on and on about their half truths and misdeeds and you people know it. What in the 'holy hell' makes you people think that they are now being 'truthful' about their financial condition?
The WATCHTOWER is using predictive analytics, predictive modelling, and 'big data' moving forward. My best friend from my youth is an Elder. We rarely speak because I am a fader. However, the last time I had a 'shepherding' call, one of the Elders told me that my friend is involved in doing a survey at the request of the Organization in every Congregation in our circuit. This is ostensibly under the guise of seeing which congregations need a new hall the fastest. It is a census to be given to the Governing Body and it will be held in Warwick in a database. I would like to see the WATCHTOWER religion go down for the count just like most of the people here. However, I stick with my premise that the OP is building castles in the air because he is not taking the full picture into account.
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Incognito
Just because a higher volume of magazines were printed in times after 1990, doesn't mean they were actually read or even distributed.
I recall from childhood, the number of unread magazines stockpiled in my parents basement. Our regular magazine order was only minimal over what was needed for the family. When the donation arrangement started, some (many?) increased their magazine order over time, usually in optimiism. When a person is not forced to pay for an item, it's then easy to justify taking additional, just-in-case they run-out.
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slimboyfat
But it is a temporary cash flow issue until their new business model moves ahead full steam and the cash flows more freely into their financial pipeline.
What is there new business model?
Until 1990 they made millions of dollars a week selling books and magazines. Since then they've been cutting costs to survive. What's the new idea to make a profit before the money runs out?
They can have all the big data they like. Unless they can get back to selling something for less than it costs them to produce it doesn't work.
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sparrowdown
I have given reasons for my view on this subject over and over.
WT knows full well that the money they were spending on Bethel branches and the expenses that go with running them also expenses such as printing, missionaries etc all unsustainable when donations are drying up and the recruitment outlook from western countries is looking sad.
Having a "yard sale" is a great idea when business is slow so merging congs, selling KHs, pruning bethelites, cutting down on printing all makes sense from a business standpoint.
What also makes sense from a business standpoint is to admit that times have changed and your business needs to change with them.
Well duh!
People do many things online now - even get their dose of religion.
So they stop pouring money into stuff that's draining the finances and put their money towards a website instead - all making sense so far?
Not just any website mind, this a website built to last into the future, a website with a broadcasting studio, an animation department, a music studio, a movie department an online onestop shop for all things WT.
This new venture isn't just some make-do til armageddon el cheapo website no, it's a firm "digital foundation" ( their words). They're spending money hand over fist on this beast, and they're damn proud of it.
I don't see any of it going anywhere anytime soon, I only see their digital foundation/empire expanding and their physical presence getting smaller.
The WT we all knew is definitely going going ... but IMHO WT as an entity is not.
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slimboyfat
sparrowdown yes they are moving out of print publishing and into digital broadcasting and publishing. The things is, they made millions of dollars a week selling books and magazines over many decades. How do they plan to replicate that income from their digital output? In fact how will it generate any income at all? They could start charging subscriptions for their channel and web content, or they could include paid advertising. That's how businesses make money from digital content. So far Watchtower has done neither. So how is there digital output making them any money?
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sparky1
"What is their new business model?" Don't insult me. You have read all my posts. You need to go back and read them again. You ask for opinions and feedback on your posts and then you won't even consider them because they don't fit the fantasy paradigm that you have created. Sorry to be so blunt, but you don't have a clue what you are talking about.