GameStop Closing Hundreds More Stores This Year
GameStop is closing hundreds of more stores this year. Like most, GameStop is having a rough 2020. [...]
GameStop is closing hundreds of more stores this year. Like most, GameStop is having a rough 2020. While the retailer expected the release of next-gen consoles -- PS5 and Xbox Series X -- to turn its luck around, so far this hasn't happened. Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to disrupt commerce, and like most businesses, GameStop has felt this disruption considerably. That said, perhaps it should come as no surprise that it plans to close between 400 and 450 stores around the world during this fiscal year.
The news comes way of the company's latest earnings call, which it had with investors today for its Q2 earnings. More specifically, the information comes via Jim Bell, the company's CFO. According to Bell, the company has already closed 388 stores around the world this year, with 206 of these closures coming during this latest quarter, or in other words, the past few months.
As a result of these closures, GameStop's store count has fallen to 5,122 stores. This is over 600 fewer stores than it had at this time last year. And unfortunately for GameStop employees, the closures aren't stopping, with GameStop already confirming there's more coming this year and in 2021.
That said, none of this comes as a surprise. Not only has GameStop been struggling the past few years, but it already announced in 2019 it was planning to close quite a few stores in an attempt to "de-densify."
Of course, it remains to be seen if this strategy will work, but it's not like the video game retailer has many options. In an increasingly digital market, brick-and-mortar retailers such as it were always going to have to take drastic measures to transition to a new era.
As for the closures themselves, it remains to be seen which stores are on the chopping block. That said, if any more information is provided on this we will be sure to update this pot.
In the meanwhile, feel free to leave a comment or two or three letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ to talk all things gaming.