When working towards WPN Premium, there are two invaluable resources that you should consult as often as possible:

• Your Retail Development Specialist—they can guide you through the ins and outs of the process


• WPN Premium Retailers—they know exactly what it's like to go through the Path to WPN Premium (and succeed!)

Today, we're focusing on the latter.

Path-to-WPN-Premium veteran Isa Flues from House of Cards in Bern, Switzerland, joins us to discuss their journey to WPN Premium—how they realized WPN Premium was a good fit, the importance of a strong brand identity, and advice for WPN-Premium hopefuls (hint: your store doesn't have to be perfect!).

The entire experience was an absolute eye-opener for me.

Reaching WPN Premium is Possible for Stores of All Sizes and Budgets

WPN: Thanks Isa for joining us today! Great job on getting yourselves WPN Premium—we'd love to know more about why WPN Premium was something that you wanted to go for.

House of Cards: To be honest, WPN Premium wasn't something we were considering for ourselves when it was first introduced. I read about it and thought, "Wow, those are lots of requirements!" I just thought it was something the bigger stores could do.

Someone from Wizards brought up the idea of pursuing WPN Premium after they'd spotted our pictures on social media. They let us know it should be totally doable for us, so we were happy to embark on that journey!

House of Cards is located in Bern, Switzerland, a city of about 133,000 people.

WPN: What was the Path to WPN Premium like for you?

House of Cards: It was an extremely valuable experience for us.

Someone from Wizards actually came to our store, and we systematically looked at every area and discussed what needed to be done. They gave us lots of crafty ideas for improvements we could do on a budget, and when they left, I had a list of things to do and ideas for budget-friendly implementation.

I still try and do this tour of my store occasionally [where I ask]:

• Is there anything that needs fixing?


• Is the presentation of wares understandable for the customer?


• Is there anything I could improve in five minutes?

The entire experience was an absolute eye-opener for me—we were a fairly new store, and still there was a corner missing plastering because customers kept bumping into it with chairs! We'd completely missed this due to organizational blindness. Once it had been pointed out to us, I spent about 30 bucks and two hours fixing it, and it looked better than new!

Strong Branding and Store Identity are Cornerstones of WPN Premium

According to Wizards' Retail Development team, a strong store brand makes a huge impact in a store's success when working towards WPN Premium.

A strong store brand helps your store's unique qualities shine. Using consistent materials, colors, and fonts help express the feeling you want your fans to have when they visit your store—and that they can't get anywhere else.

I think deciding on the more playful logo really shaped our attitude towards the way we run our business, and it reminds me not to take everything too seriously.

WPN: We noticed that you have an adorable mage as part of your company logo—how important is the sense of company branding and identity to the business? Also, does your mage have a name?

HoCus welcomes players into the House of Cards website and their brick-and-mortar store.

House of Cards: Our logo and company identity have huge meaning for us.

Our logo was the first major decision we made as a team, and it was between this cutesy mage and a more badass, more "grown up" looking one.

I think deciding on the more playful logo really shaped our attitude towards the way we run our business, and it reminds me not to take everything too seriously.

Our mascot got his name on a whim—during the startup phase, we were all talking about HoC (House of Cards) here and HoC there, and one day I woke up and texted the group, "Does that make our mascot HoCus?" And it stuck!

Don't Wait Until Your Store is Perfect to Apply for WPN Premium

WPN: Finally, do you have any words for those stores out there that are considering WPN Premium?

Warm wood and crisp white fixtures make House of Cards' interior feel cozy and clean. The neutral colors also help the bright blue store logo and mascot stand out.

House of Cards: When we submitted our WPN Premium application, we did a lot of work on the appearance of our store, and then we photographed it from the best angle we could find. Don't feel intimidated by what you see—it's the result of a process, and right after we took the pictures someone probably walked in with muddy shoes!

You've heard it right from a WPN Premium success story—getting your store to that greatest-game-store-in-the-world level is a process, and Wizards is here to help. Take the next step towards making your store the best it can be by applying for WPN Premium today.