GameStop to shutter 150 retail stores following disappointing holiday sales

Shawn Knight

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The gaming industry as a whole has enjoyed success as of late but those good fortunes haven’t been passed along to the nation’s preeminent video game retailer.

GameStop revealed in its recent earnings report that total global sales were down 13.6 percent to $3.05 billion. Drilling down deeper, the company said hardware sales slid 29.1 percent while sales of new software dropped by 19.3 percent.

Pre-owned sales outperformed new video game sales which were down 6.7 percent compared to the year-ago quarter although one can’t help but wonder if this metric is a result of its own questionable employee guidelines.

GameStop noted that the fourth quarter was significantly impacted by weak sales of certain AAA titles as well as aggressive console promotion from other retailers on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Increased overall competition from stores like Best Buy and Walmart in addition to continued encroachment from digital marketplaces have also impacted retail sales, one would think.

The company said it is planning to close between two and three percent of its stores worldwide, or at least 150 or so locations, over the course of 2017. At present, GameStop operates more than 7,500 stores across 14 countries.

GameStop took a beating on the stock market Friday with shares falling 13.61 percent on the news. As of writing (mid-Saturday), they’ve regained just 0.63 percent of their value.

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Either they have a pricing problem (hardware) or their marketing division is being out advertised. This is anecdotal, but here's what I observed over the holiday in my area.

We have a shopping area that includes Target, Walmart, Kohl's, and Game Stop. There are other retailers in the area, but these are the only ones I know of that sell video games. Keep in mind these are all within walking distance of one another, just across from one another in the parking lot.

When I was in these places, no small number of people looking for Xbox and PS4 bundles and top selling games had to be told there was a Game Stop literally next door selling the same stuff. Target or Kohl's would be fresh out of stock and people would literally tell the sales people, "do you have it at another [Kohl's/Target] store?"

Whatever Game Stop is doing, they are failing hard when clothing retailers are besting them at video games.
 
Their prices are terrible on everything. You pay premium for new systems, accessories and games. If anything, a company that specializes in gaming alone should offer the best rates but its always been the opposite. Only in the last year or two have they updated some of the trade-in value on games, and lowered the prices on used games.

I go there very rarely and I know many gamers that still want a physical copy of the game, but it downloads to your system anyways.
 
I'm kind of surprised they have lasted this long when you consider their prices, availability of top titles downloadable on the web, and the decline in the "quality" of their help ..... all a formula for doom.
 
Their prices are terrible on everything. You pay premium for new systems, accessories and games. If anything, a company that specializes in gaming alone should offer the best rates but its always been the opposite. Only in the last year or two have they updated some of the trade-in value on games, and lowered the prices on used games.

I go there very rarely and I know many gamers that still want a physical copy of the game, but it downloads to your system anyways.

Could not agree more. The Game Stop equivalent in UK is beaten regularly by local supermarkets in almost all categories except variety and second hand games.
 
Their prices are terrible on everything. You pay premium for new systems, accessories and games. If anything, a company that specializes in gaming alone should offer the best rates but its always been the opposite. Only in the last year or two have they updated some of the trade-in value on games, and lowered the prices on used games.

I go there very rarely and I know many gamers that still want a physical copy of the game, but it downloads to your system anyways.

Could not agree more. The Game Stop equivalent in UK is beaten regularly by local supermarkets in almost all categories except variety and second hand games.
Absolutely... looks like GAME and GAMESTOP use the same business model. Also have you seen how much GAME charges for pc gaming peripherals, when they actually have them available that is. I paid £50 for a steam controller that I had to wait 3 weeks to get... Were I live we have two GAME stores and I can guarantee that if one shop doesn't have what you want then the other won't have it either... And the companies wonder why they are doing so badly...
 
Last time I went into a gamestop, their selection was poor, they were far too pushy to purchase something used/sign up for a card/game informer/whatever, and felt of desperation.

they also stock so little. If a new game comes out, and you dont preorder, gamestop will say it will take weeks for new copies to come in, yet the wal mart across the street will have plenty of copies available.

Their management is incompetent, and how they have survived is beyond me.
 
It's 5k per day per store. It's abysmal. If not for used games, of which game developers don't see a penny I don't see how Gamestop is able to survive on such revenues.
 
Even their used games and consoles are too pricey. Id gladly go in and drop 40 bucks on games now and then but their prices are higher than I can find new sometimes...and their used consoles are higher than anywhere else.
 
I used thousands of Gamestop points I had accumulated by spending hundreds dollars there in order to buy a $15 off coupon to the store. I used that coupon in a buying a console, which got returned after the holidays because we wound up getting a duplicate one. When I returned the console, Gamestop game me back $15 less than the retail price. When I said that was fine, but I get my thousands of points back now too, yes? THEY SAID NO, YOU LOSE THEM ALL, DON'T GET THEM BACK, EVEN THOUGH I SPENT HUNDREDS IN ORDER TO ACCUMULATE THEM. I have not bought anything from them since, and I had spent thousands there over the years. Even the employee said it sucks, but they won't give them back when you return something. Corporate greed. What a lousy company.
 
Corporate greed. What a lousy company.

Exactly. When the executive suits take over the modus operandi of a creative company, it's most likely doomed to fail. There always need to be intelligent decision making of course, but companies need to remember to put the customers/their interests for games first rather than trying to milk them out of all their cash at any given chance.
 
Having bought many things from gamestop and only being offered maybe 30% (if that) of what I paid for them to take it off my hands........these guys can go down the rabbit hole for all I care.
 
The fact you can't trade a 60 dollar game for another 60 dollar game is absurb to me. you need like 3 games to get 1 new one and thats bs
 
If you dont mind the wait or a digital code ebay ftw. I once got a new game that would not play, they wouldn't let me return it and claimed my system scratched it. I haven't been back since.
 
My last time in a GameStop they wouldn't even honor their own website's promotion (that wasn't even online exclusive.) Horrible return policies, and just bad overall service is what's putting them out of business.
 
I quit going to game stop a few years ago. They low ball you on trade-ins and they resell for way too much.
 
The fact you can't trade a 60 dollar game for another 60 dollar game is absurb to me. you need like 3 games to get 1 new one and thats bs
So you think you should be able to consume a game and then get a whole 2nd new game basically free? Now how exactly is a company supposed to pay rent and wages off of free? Now what if they can't resell the game you traded in? Not everything gets bought. So they are expected to take a $60 loss? Dude, you are the one whose mindset is absurd. Gamestop is a horrible company and you are a horrible customer. The fact that you buy a $60 game and you play it, you consume $60 of entertainment. Do you go to the movies, watch a movie, and then try to trade your ticket in?

The fact is, all the customers care about is their own bottom line and then they demonize corporations for protecting their own bottom line. I think Gamestop's owners sleep well knowing that its customers would screw them over in a heartbeat. Fact is, they know they are in a dying market and they are scratching and clawing to stay profitable. Do I wish they were a bit more moral in how they treat customers and employees? Yeah. Fact is, Gamestop's customers deserve Gamestop.
 
From every thread on reddit where gamestop is mentioned, I'm not surprised. The management seem like a-holes who don't care about staff.

Your staff don't get looked after, neither do your customers - The people who pay the wages!

Their are some good staff working there from what I hear but "middle" and "regional" management have no ****ing clue and just want pressure sales to try and compete with online retail.

Give me nice friendly staff who are looked after, no pressure to buy a package deal, a rewards scheme, no BS when trying to preorder and demo consoles in store, I will happily pay $10/$15 extra over online prices.
 
Maybe one of the 4 GameStops within a 10 mile radius of where I live(74k population) will stay open.
 
So you think you should be able to consume a game and then get a whole 2nd new game basically free? Now how exactly is a company supposed to pay rent and wages off of free? Now what if they can't resell the game you traded in? Not everything gets bought. So they are expected to take a $60 loss? Dude, you are the one whose mindset is absurd. Gamestop is a horrible company and you are a horrible customer. The fact that you buy a $60 game and you play it, you consume $60 of entertainment. Do you go to the movies, watch a movie, and then try to trade your ticket in?

The fact is, all the customers care about is their own bottom line and then they demonize corporations for protecting their own bottom line. I think Gamestop's owners sleep well knowing that its customers would screw them over in a heartbeat. Fact is, they know they are in a dying market and they are scratching and clawing to stay profitable. Do I wish they were a bit more moral in how they treat customers and employees? Yeah. Fact is, Gamestop's customers deserve Gamestop.
dude I've literally bought a brand new unopened game from walmart and took it to gamestop still wrapped and have had this happen. gears of war when it was just released, just to see what they'd say. my mindset is fine. the fact you compared a movie ticket which is a temporary 1 time thing to owning a permanent hard copy of something has me questioning your mindset lol......and I'm pretty sure the fact that I've accepted all of gamestops horrific offers without complaint makes me a pretty decent customer of theirs. I've given them plenty of business while taking substantial losses both from game and console trade ins.
 
dude I've literally bought a brand new unopened game from walmart and took it to gamestop still wrapped and have had this happen.

And? So you shouldn't have to pay for the privilege to be able to trade in a game, even if unwrapped? I hate Gamestop as much as the next person, but expecting to trade one for one without even purchasing the first game there is lunacy.
 
Going by the prices these guys are charging vs online, even for pre owned, it's a miracle they're still going. That and physical is fast on the way out, for better or worse.

The whole thing's been reduced to a skit to rip off parents. It's over for GameStop.
 
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