I don't know if GW ever explicitly said why they did it, but I think it's just for accessibility - when a kid says "I want warhammer for christmas!" it's easier for parents to know where to go. A lot of adult / more experienced hobbyists won't buy anything from actual GW stores cause all 3rd party store offer a discount.
Yeah the stores are the same as they used to be, just renamed/rebranded. They still sell the games that don't have warhammer in the title like kill team, blood bowl, etc.
I don't know if GW ever explicitly said why they did it, but I think it's just for accessibility - when a kid says "I want warhammer for christmas!" it's easier for parents to know where to go. A lot of adult / more experienced hobbyists won't buy anything from actual GW stores cause all 3rd party store offer a discount.