I want to note that the retailing is to build consistent profits and cash flows to support entering the market as a manufacturer. So I typically use my initial investment to open 2 discount megas, use the profit and a little debt to open a third a few months later, then build my first R&D center, build my next 4 discount megas and then open up 3 more R&D centers. My favorite way to play is with 7 cities and I target the cities with the cheapest land first. I want my first R&D center about 6 months into the game, and all of my initial R&D centers (in this case 4) built by 18 months. Typically I will pick one of the products that is not being sold by a seaport and R&D for 1 year as I will be producing that product first and R&D the rest for 2 years. So if I random leather goods as my expertise then I R&D wallets, leather bags, belts, and briefcases first because of the bonus tech I get. I use those profits to set up new stores and R&D centers which I use to research whichever product class I specialize in. The first is seaport products are typically better quality than what you can produce initially which means that retailers will want to sell those first, and the second is it takes time for the AI to build a retail presence which means there just isn't a ton of demand for new products to retail from the beginning of a game.įrom my experience the best profits in year 1 and 2 come from retailing the seaport goods. There are occasionally situations where you can start the game, open a factory first, turn off internal sales and turn a profit by selling to AI retailers, but this is rare for a few reasons I've identified. My early game strategy is to try and get a discount mega store in every city before I move on to manufacturing. So without further adieu here is my strategy and opinions on the best way to move into manufacturing.

It's worth noting I'll be speaking from a custom game situation where the game starts and what you do is up to you, instead of being directed by a scenario. This game has a steep learning curve from the beginning so if you're a Day 1 player this might not be very helpful, but its more aimed at a player who has already gotten the hang of retailing from seaports, turning a tidy profit and moving into manufacturing. So I've been playing this game for about 6 months and I've put enough time in that I think I have enough understanding to help a new player, so this is my attempt at a guide write up to manufacturing for new players.

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