On news that GAME Groups share prices have fallen dramatically over the last year and that the company is expected to make a loss of £10 million, CEO of GAME Group, Ian Shepard, has defended the company in an interview with MCV.
It is very easy to look at any retailer on the High Street and write an apocalyptic headline. Our market share is high and growing. GAME is very important to the overall health of the video games industry.
We are also a strongly cash generative business. Even with the guidance we have given now, where industry analysts are concluding that we will probably make a loss this year. Even in that circumstance we will still generate operating cash flow.
And cash is king.
GAME Group has blamed a lack of consumer confidence in the market due to the economic uncertainty people are currently facing.
On top of that, some have suggested that the company hasn’t done enough to keep up with market trends and is falling behind the pack. Ian Shepard denied such allegations.
I reject the idea that GAME is not doing new things. If you come into this business, you will see a whole bunch of people working incredibly hard to grow new revenue streams.
Our performance within the market I will hold up against anybody else.
Do you believe GAME has done enough to keep up with competitors, and so be around for a while or is the company on its last legs?
tyrant161
Sorry but the problem with GAME is over pricing of new and second hand games, not to mention the terrible trade-in prices that they offer. Most people that i know, buy thier games from local supermarkets because they are cheaper…eg Modern Warfare 3 was £25 when bought with a £25 psn card at TESCO costing £50 in total yet GAME were and still are charging £44.99 for MW3 on it’s own and while the TESCO offer isn’t on any more, MW3 is still cheaper at TESCO than GAME. If they want to get my custom back, the solution is simple….they need to drop the instore prices, at least to the same as the online GAME prices which are usually around £5 to £10 cheaper than thier high street shops.
david24
game don’t really have much choice though, Tesco are making a substantial loss on MW3 and can only afford to sell it that low due to most customer buying other profit making products that make the gamble of selling it so cheap worth while. games only revenue stream is through games and selling them at a loss will just be pointless.
tyrant161
I’m not expecting GAME to sell at a loss…just have a smaller profit margin to entice more buyers. GAME could sell MW3 and other games for less and still make a fair profit from the goods. The problem is that they are not competing with other retail outlets. GAME’s online outlet is more realistic with it’s pricing…just drop the instore price to the same as the online one. When i look online at Argos or currys, i dont decide what i want then go to the high street store and have to pay an extra £5 or £10 for my item, it’s the same price online and instore. GAME charge different prices online and instore….they should be the same, and untill it is the same….people will go elsewhere for a bargain. And as for TESCO selling MW3 at a loss! Oh no it’s not, i happen to know that when your buying in figures that these big stores buy in….you get the items your buying at a lot lower price and even at £25, they will still have made money on it….not much, but they will have made money none the less.
KillaScorp
I refuse to go to game ever again. I went there with my wife, as she wants a DSi XL as she wants a bigger screen rthan her DSi, and that is the sole reason. We demo’d the 3DS, but she didnt like it as the screen was still smaller than what she wants, fair enough.
I asked the guy if he knew if there were any plans to release a 3DS XL. The other staff member turned round and said ‘No, but if they did you couldn’t afford one’
I was livid, but rather than make a scene I just turned round and walked out, and refuse to go back into one now.
Adfero
if i where the boss there buddy, that guy would have bee out of the door so fast it would make his head spin.
oh and to answer the question the guy should have:
its inevitable that Nintendo would make a 3DS XL . but at the current time the tech for a larger 3d screen requires too much battery power. in about 2 years Nintendo will probably announce plans to make one, but for the foreseeable future no.
Zephyre
What would help massivley is a real re-think of how many shops they have. Where I am (Milton Keynes) there’s 2 Game stores and a Gamestation. I hate to wish people out of jobs but surely it makes sense to roll these into 1 larger shop?
Adfero
* apologies for the rant, something i feel strongly about. *
In my humble opinion game group need to start generating workable ideas. i worked for them during the time they took over gamestation till about a year ago, and i noticed a massive shift in focus form a retailer point of view. we switched from ‘ give the customer your honest opinion’ to ‘ make the customer believe that is awesome ‘
About a year after the changeover from being blockbuster owned to game group i noticed a massive change in the way management and employees where asked to do. For instance , ‘ push xbox because we have a higher mark-up and turnover for consoles’ i don’t agree with this, if someone came in and asked “what console should i buy?” , id prefer to get some banter started and find out what their interests where when it came to gaming and make an informed recommendation out of that. something to suit their tastes not the company’s.because in the end of the day a happy customer might come back if they like the advice you gave them.
In the end of the day, game have never shown that the customer is anything else but a wallet full of cash that they had to pry off them. they need to innovate and find a way to work with developers in order to continue their trade-ins .A deal which kicks like 10% of a pre-owned sale to the original publisher of said game, and in exchange they get a game pass to put in the pre-owned game ( like what gamestop are doing in the US). thus protecting their business and giving the developer what they want. the only other way i can see to do it is to devalue games quicker to the point that its worth it to buy the game then an online pass. but that wouldn’t work with their 60% mark up on trade ins ( yes its about that figure, always has been).
They need to go back to appreciating the customer, because when they lost the ability to care about them for anything less than cash flow, they lost what it meant to be an independent games retailer, gamers aren’t stupid (half of the posts here prove that thousand fold) and they want what they want. and if you cant give it…….your outta business.
your choice game, what’ll it be ?
rSp8
Don’t get me started on GAME today! Took Batman Arkham City and Demon’s Souls down to my local store today to trade in against Skyrim. I was expecting at least £20 for Batman, wasn’t sure what I’d get for Demon’s Souls. I was offered £18 for the pair, needless to say I still own both and am Skyrim-less…
gazo69
I suspect the majority of people that shop in GAME are people that don’t know jack about how much a game should be or that you can get it miles cheaper online. Someone bought me Dead Island for my b/day from GAME for £45 o_0 and yes it was someone that knows nothing about gaming, their face was a picture when I told them.
The Lone Steven
I would say the overpricing may be a major factor in the loss of consumer confidence. ;)
If Game doesn’t change their pricing structure and the way they operate, then i can see them lasting another year if they are lucky. They need to make the games affordable not £45 for a freaking preowned copy! If i wanted to pay £45 for it, i would buy it new.
I remeber my local Game doing saturday deals every week a few years back. Shame that they stopped it. :(