Company closed 74 stores in 3rd quarter, marking 462 closures this year
Game retailer GameStop revealed in a conference call and quarterly financial report for the third quarter ending on October 31 on Thursday that it is closing 700 stores this year. In a strategy to “de-densify” the GameStop store base, the company closed 74 stores in the third quarter, for a total of 462 stores this year so far.
Since 2019, GameStop has closed about 800 stores worldwide, and it expects to close a total of 1,000 by the end of the 2020 fiscal year.
GameStop’s net sales were down 30.2% compared to the third fiscal quarter of 2019, which the company stated is due to the past few months being the end of a game console cycle, limited availability of hardware and accessories, an unplanned shift of software into the fourth fiscal quarter or to fiscal 2021, and an 11% reduction in the store base. GameStop experienced a 24.6% decline in comparable store sales and a 257% increase in global e-commerce sales.
GameStop expects to have positive comparable store sales results and profitability in the fiscal fourth quarter. In November, the comparable store sales increased 16.5%, and its total net sales were US$791.1 million, compared to US$747.6 million in November 2019.
Sources: GameStop, ICv2 (Milton Griepp)
