Nearly two years ago I wrote an article about GAME group, the leading video game retailer in the UK. The firm had just announced that profits had slumped by a third, swiftly followed by the departure of the CEO and COO. Facing pressure from all angles, GAME needed to work quickly to turn the business around.
In the intervening two years little has changed. A plan to put the business back on track failed to make significant changes, with at most 60 stores being closed. Suppliers are deserting the business out of fear that they’re not going to be repaid, while a rent bill due later in March may bring things to a final conclusion. For many, the failure to stock big releases such as Mass Effect 3 signal the end of the chain.
So where did it all go wrong. Are GAME’s ongoing issues symptomatic of wider high street woes and a depressed economy, or is the company itself largely to blame? Will there be a future on the high street for all our entertainment, or will this hasten the shift to online-only sales?