If you were a fan of Capitalism II, a popular business simulation game that was released in 2011, then imagine playing something very similar, with many more features… and with real players from all over the world. This article teaches you how to find your way… and survive in Virtonomics with retail stores.

So it was easy to win again in Capitalism II because once you understood how the computer AI works, the rest was just copying your formula again. But can you do the same with a game that involves real human beings behind the monitor?

If you thought the answer was ‘no’, that’s where you’re wrong! In fact, it’s still the same: YES, you can. The key to winning a business game, whether offline or online, is to treat it like your own business.

First of all, you need a business plan. You need to know which path you need to take to build a very big business in Virtonomics. I know of some players who started out by building factories first, becoming suppliers, and then trying to dominate the market for the particular industry. I would call this as the background route. And then I know some players who would do market research and then choose to open retail stores up front first, managing their vendors and their retail stores. This is what I would call the front-end. Personally, I would prefer to start with the initial movement, since much, much less capital is needed for this path.

Overall, my business plan was to generate a consistent, positive revenue stream through the front end, and then focus on the back end to lower my costs (and thus further increase profits) by producing my own products. Ultimately, laboratories must be built to research (and sell) new technologies to increase the quality of products.

So now that we’ve chosen to go the front-end route, we start by doing our market research. You can do it through [Game] -> [Report]. Select the country/city and the product you want to sell. Pay attention to two important things here:

1. Local supplier information

2. Store information

Local providers in Virtonomics would mean companies not controlled by players that are in the market. Stores would refer to those controlled by players.

In essence, you want to have a competitive advantage over local suppliers. It could be the same price but better quality products. Look at the list of vendors you have access to and select your products from there.

Another thing you want to take note of is the location of the store. Customers who shop in City Centers tend to be more concerned about quality than price, compared to customers who shop in the suburbs. Also, take note of the country’s wealth index. In rich countries, quality is generally favored over price.

Repeat this step for all products.

Once you have identified good markets for your business entry, build an office in that region. Equip your office with the relevant employees and computer equipment. Next, build a 500m2 retail store in the city center. As with your office, employ staff to staff your retail store.

Select your supplier and make your stock purchases from them. Keep in mind that you need to stick to a single department (same product production line) to begin with. Also, keep in mind that supplies will only arrive after a game update, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see your stock in your store yet!

As you may have guessed, the last step would be to set the prices of your products. This can be a bit intimidating for new players, but luckily Virtonomics offers some great reports to help you get started. Once again, head over to the Market Report and select your country/city this time. I recommend that you set your price using this approach:

Your selling price = Price from local suppliers * (Quality of your product / Quality of product from local suppliers)^0.5

Prices should be reviewed for each different country. As a general rule, you should increase your selling price by 30% for very rich countries and reduce it by around 30% for selling the same products in poor countries. You should modify this as you see fit.

This is basically what you need to do to set up and manage a retail store. Repeat for other retail stores in different countries and keep in mind that you could get the same products and price from the same suppliers, but may be charged differently due to different customs/delivery charges. Adjust your prices accordingly as well.

Now wait for a game update, your products should arrive and your stores are ready for new customers! Once you have a steady stream of income, you may want to consider increasing the size of your stores or running basic marketing campaigns to increase the number of customers in your store.

In my next article, I’ll discuss my strategies (and some theories) around store optimizations, labor efficiency, and how to get a leg up on your fellow competitors.

Feel free to contact me for help on Virtonomics, my player ID is erevion. I will be more than happy to help you.