GAME Store Closures Are Probably on the Way

It’s hardly any secret that highstreet gaming retailers are in something of a crisis at the moment. For example, GameStop in America seems to be teetering on the brink of collapse. In the UK, until their purchase earlier this year, the ‘Game’ brand seemed to be heading in a similar direction.

Since the purchase of GAME by Mike Ashley back in July, however, so far things have been pretty quiet. Almost ‘business as unusual’ in fact. Given that the purchase was formalized over 3 months ago many would’ve assumed that some closures would have already happened as it looked to restructure to balance the books.

Well, while it hasn’t happened yet, in a report via GamesIndustry, it seems likely that it will happen within the next year. Why? Well, an independent auditor has been contracted to perform (essentially) a company audit. Yes, it’s about as grim as it sounds!

GAME Store Closures are On the Horizon!

The report confirms that property consultancy firm CBRE has been contracted to evaluate all the stores. They will then issue a report recommending which locations need to close and those that should move to less expensive premises.

With reportedly over half of their 259 stores having less than a year on their current lease agreement, we could potentially see a significantly huge restructure. This, in its bluntest terms, will result in (probably) many closures! It is, however, suggested that if they are able to negotiate a reduced rental figure this may not be as bad as it sounds! In fairness, highstreets are currently desperate for stores!

What Do We Think?

Despite GAME and GameStop having absolutely no association with each other, their problems are very similar. In basic terms, over-expansion, a failure to react to the digital transition, overall poor relationship with both its staff and customers and good old fashioned greed.

When GAME was purchased, store closures seemed a foregone conclusion. With this ‘audit’ now in place, however, don’t be surprised to see your local store either move or disappear within the next year. And for those of you who work there, it may be prudent to brush up your CV. It’s unclear at this point just how harsh the medicine has to be to cure GAME.

What do you think? Do you still use retail stores for your gaming? If not, when was the last time you did? – Let us know in the comments!