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Gamestop To Close 180-200 “Underperforming” Stores Before End Of 2019

Q2 Global sales report adjusted $32M net loss

According to a report by Engadget, Gamestop has announced that 180 to 200 of their retail locations will close their doors by the end of 2019. While the loss of jobs and stores is disappointing, this news is not a surprise to anyone who has followed the decline of the retail gaming company over recent years. A list of closing stores is not available at the time of writing this article.

Gamestop CFO James Bell announced an adjusted net loss of $32 million in the second quarter, and a decrease of global sales by 14.3 percent.

“While these closures were more opportunistic, we are applying a more definitive, analytic approach, including profit levels and sales transferability, that we expect will yield a much larger tranche of closures over the coming 12 to 24 months,” said Bell in a statement.

Among the factors plaguing Gamestop, the growing migration of gamers to digital sales and free-to-play games that have in-game purchases, rather than a physical component, are the top store killers. Gamestop has tried to augment their in-store offerings by bringing in gaming themed and “geek” accessories such as Funko POP! figures, gaming related apparel, toys and more.

Unfortunately, in-store sales are still declining, and, according to Bell, the company expects its year-over-year sales to be down for the next three to four quarters. While the future release of next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft are on the horizon, Gamestop will still have the same challenges to maintain a brick-and-mortar presence as Xbox and Playstation continue to migrate away from physical game formats for digital.

See also: WalletHub Report: 2019’s Best Cities For Gamers – Is Yours On The List?

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