GameStop

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GameStop Corp.

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN US36467W1099
founding 2000
Seat Grapevine , United States
management George Sherman, CEO
Number of employees 14,000 (2019)
sales $ 8.24 billion (2019)
Branch Electronics retail
Website http://www.gamestop.com/
As of February 1, 2020

The GameStop Corporation is an American, and claims to be the world's largest retail chain for computer games and entertainment software. It is based in Grapevine , Texas and operates more than 7,535 stores in 18 countries, over 1,200 of which are in Europe. GameStop is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol $ GME . In addition to the retail chains, the company also sells the computer game magazine Game Informer . Subsidiaries are also EB Games , ThinkGeek (1999 to 2019), Geeknet(since 2015), Moviestop, ZiNG Pop Culture and Micromania-Zing .

Spread of GameStop

GameStop has offices in the following countries: Australia , Denmark , Germany , Finland , France , Italy , Ireland , Canada , New Zealand , Norway , Austria , Sweden , Switzerland , United States . GameStop now has 5830 stores worldwide, 1211 in Europe alone.

story

Origins and predecessors

The company's origins go back to Charles Babbage's software retailer, which was active in the USA between 1984 and 1994 and was run by Harvard Business School graduates James McCurry and Gary M. Kusin. The name is dedicated to Charles Babbage . The company quickly began to focus on console games. The company merged with Software Etc in 1994 and became the NeoStar Retail Group . Between 1996 and 1999, the sales under the newly established company was Babbage's Etc. continued. The company was bought by Barnes & Noble Booksellers in 1999 for $ 215 million. In May 2000, Barnes & Noble bought the computer game trading company Funco for 160 million US dollars, thereby also acquiring the rights to the computer game magazine Game Informer , which has been published since 1991. In December, Funco was renamed GameStop. GameStop was floated on the stock exchange in February 2002.

Upswing (2004 to 2016) and criticism of business practices

In 2005 GameStop acquired the computer game trading company EB Games for 1.44 billion US dollars and was thus able to expand worldwide. Over time, the company also bought other computer games trading companies. The company also achieved an economic upswing through the resale and exchange of used games and hardware at a discounted price. This model is criticized on the one hand by companies because of lost revenue through resale and on the other hand by sellers because of low pay compared to the resale price. The Circle of Life program launched in 2017 , which aimed to increase the resale of games, came under fire because employees had to meet a certain quota and were allowed to lie to do so. GameStop says it does not monitor the quota of employees after the negative reviews of the program. Employees report, however, that GameStop still engages in similarly objectionable business practices. In October 2017, GameStop introduced a subscription model for used games in the USA. The company has also come under fire for security loopholes in credit card payments in online retail.

Downturn (2016 to 2020)

The company's market value has fallen since 2016. The main reason for this is the increased online trade. However, the first closings of several hundred branches due to the outsourcing of software retail to online retail took place in 2012. Hundreds more branches have been closed since 2017. In 2018, GameStop recorded the largest loss in company history at $ 673 million. A sale has therefore not been ruled out since 2018. In 2019 GameStop announced that it would close over 200 stores due to falling sales. In the second quarter of 2019, GameStop announced a loss of $ 400 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also had severe negative economic consequences for the company, as all branches in many countries had to be temporarily closed. GameStop tried to defend itself for the time being and came under criticism for inadequate security measures.

Sharp rise in the share price in January 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, computer games as a pastime grew in popularity. The Gamestop share price also benefited from this, although many stores had to remain closed. In early 2021, the rate rose from USD 20 on January 12 to over USD 480 on January 28. The reason for this is the entry of activist investor Ryan Cohen, who wants to position Gamestop more in the online distribution of video games. Fueled by discussions on Twitter and in the Internet forum Reddit , many private investors got into the share. Previously, hedge funds had sold the shares of Gamestop short because they expected share prices to fall and wanted to make a profit. In conjunction with the price-driving demand from private investors, the short sellers were forced to liquidate their positions with buybacks at any price that came about. There was a short squeeze that pushed the share price .

GameStop Germany GmbH

GameStop Germany GmbH in Memmingen

GameStop Deutschland GmbH is a subsidiary of GameStop Corporation and operates 217 branches in Germany, 29 in Austria and 19 in Switzerland. It is based in Memmingen , which also acts as the headquarters for all of Europe.

GameStop enables its customers to trade in used video games. GameStop offers the items bought second-hand in addition to its range of new goods.

Web links

Commons : GameStop  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CEO as of April 15, 209 , accessed April 22, 2019
  2. ↑ a b c GameStop 2019 Annual Report , accessed June 9, 2020
  3. ↑ GameStop News: GameStop Acquires Micromania, France's Leading Video Game Retailer
  4. ↑ 10-K. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  5. ^ Roger W. Roland; David E. Salamis (2005). Jay P. Peterson (ed.). "Game Stop Corp". International Directory of Company Histories . 69 . Detroit: St. James Press. pp. 185-189.
  6. ↑ Kathryn Jones (Aug. 26, 1994). "Company News; Two Software Peers Combine Their Specialties". The New York Times .
  7. ↑ Maria Halkias (November 27, 1996). "Babbage's Software Etc. sold to one of the founders - Judge chooses bid over Electronics Boutique's". The Dallas Morning News .
  8. ^ "Barnes & Noble plans to buy Babbage's for $ 215 mln". Reuters News . October 6, 1999.
  9. ↑ Rebecca Quick (May 8, 2000). "Barnes & Noble Makes Another Play in Video Games --- Funco Purchase Wagers That Future Growth Action Will Be in That Industry". The Wall Street Journal .
  10. ↑ Frank Musero (10 September, 2001). "New Game Plan For Barnes & Noble: Spinoff". The IPO Reporter .
  11. ^ Raymond Hennessey (February 14, 2002). "Deals & Deal Makers: GameStop Rises 12% on First Trading Day". The Wall Street Journal .
  12. ↑ Jeffrey Ball (April 19, 2005). "GameStop to Buy Videogame Firm For $ 1.44 Trillion". The Wall Street Journal .
  13. ^ GameStop Buys EB Games - IGN. Retrieved April 18, 2020 (English).
  14. ↑ Matt Matthews: In Depth: The State Of GameStop, Part One. Retrieved April 18, 2020 (English).
  15. ↑ GamePolitics News | GamePolitics. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  16. ↑ GameStop Is Ripping You Off, And Here's How They Do It.Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  17. ↑ GameStop: "We're afraid for our jobs!" Staff on "Circle of Life". February 5, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Serious allegations against GameStop - employees feel compelled to lie to customers. February 4, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  19. ↑ GameStop changes frequently criticized "Circle of Life" program. February 25, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  20. ↑ GameStop scandal - Employees accuse: Improvements are useless. March 15, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Gamestop employee unpacks: "Eleven Years of Hell" - derStandard.de. Retrieved April 18, 2020 (Austrian German).
  22. ↑ GameStop - Introduces flat-rate gaming for used games in the US. October 31, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  23. ↑ GameStop - Allegedly massive security hole in credit card payments. April 10, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Emily Bary: Videogame Sales Are Fading and It's Crushing GameStop. Retrieved April 18, 2020 (American English).
  25. ↑ ERA: 2016 physical games revenue down 16.4% year-on-year, but digital up 12.1%. In: MCV / DEVELOP. Retrieved April 5, 2017, April 18, 2020 (UK English).
  26. ↑ Gamestop: 200 branches worldwide will be closed. November 19, 2012, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  27. ↑ GameStop: Game retailer is now closing hundreds of branches. March 27, 2017, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  28. ↑ GameStop lost $ 673 million in 2018. April 3, 2019, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  29. ↑ René Resch: Gamestop in the crisis - chain is to be sold. June 20, 2018, accessed on April 18, 2020 (German).
  30. ↑ GameStop keeps crashing - many branches will still close in 2019. September 11, 2019, accessed on April 18, 2020 .
  31. ↑ heise online: Games retailer GameStop wants to close 200 branches. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  32. ↑ GameStop closes 200 stores and suffers huge losses. September 12, 2019, accessed April 18, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Jan Paul Fori: Gamestop: Will the Corona fatal blow now follow? Retrieved on April 18, 2020 (German).
  34. ↑ GameStop: Employees in the USA apparently concerned about the lack of Corona measures. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Gamestop - Flash mob on the stock exchange on tagesschau.de , as of January 26, 2021 3:05 p.m., accessed on January 28, 2021
  36. ↑ Andreas Neuhaus: Elon Musk supports the fight against shortsellers - Gamestop shares are up to 158 percent up. In: Handelsblatt. January 28, 2021, accessed January 28, 2021 .
  37. ↑ GameStop Deutschland GmbH: Expansion