AUS: Redundancies at GAME

Following a troubled few months at its UK operations, a number of redundancies have been made at the Australian arm of video games retailer GAME.

In addition, the chain has reshuffled a number of key executive positions and has plans to close several of its outlets. MCV has been lead to believe that between 10-20 jobs have been lost in total, including Australian directors Rob Lukic and Tony Pagano, both of which have resigned.

GAME has confirmed to MCV that Mark Axon, a three-year veteran at the company, takes charge of Australian operations with his chief responsibility being to improve business performance”. Axon’s previous employers include Wal-Mart and Marks & Spencer.

Matt Precious, who has been working at the GAME UK for ten years, has uprooted and moved to Sydney and will become the new Commercial Director in the region. The Australian team will be supported by commercial strategy director Tricia Brennan.

We are reviewing our store base and brand proposition in Australia to ensure we can compete more effectively and deliver further growth,” a statement released to MCV confirms.

GAME’s major rivals in the country include EB Games, JB HiFi and Big W.

Australian magazine One to Another claims that: 2009 was a bad year for the UK giant as it struggled to gain a share of voice and market share in the face of such huge and very Australian competition.”

The news follows the departure of chief executive Lisa Morgan and UK COO Terry Scicluna in April, as well as the confirmation of a fresh bout of UK store closures.