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Global video games retailer GameStop has said that like-for-like store sales for the nine weeks ending January 2nd were up 4.4 per cent.
That represents 4.9 per cent growth in the US and 3.9 per cent internationally. Total global sales grew 1.8 per cent to $2.99bn, up from last year’s $2.94bn. The company’s ThinkGeek acquisition helped multichannel sales jump by 47.4 per cent.
New hardware sales were actually up, increasing by 4.5 per cent. GameStop thanks Sony and Microsoft price promotions for that. Next-gen software sales were up by 38 per cent year-on-year, although last year they climbed by 94.4 per cent.
Overall new software sales were down by 9.7 per cent, however, with the drop in new Nintendo releases blamed. Pre-owned sales fell by 0.3 per cent, although in the US sales of pre-owned next-gen games grew by over 50 per cent.
GameStop added that non-GAAP digital receipts, thanks in no small part to Kongregate, jumped 9.8 per cent to $325.6m and are on track to exceed $1bn in fiscal 2015. Collectibles revenue was up by over 300 per cent, with Sphero’s smartphone-controlled Star Wars: The Force Awakens BB-8 playing a big part.
"We are pleased with our holiday sales performance,” CEO Paul Raines said. Our positive comps were fuelled by strong sales of new video game consoles and collectibles. Growth in our diversification efforts, Tech Brands and collectibles, more than offset a decline in new software sales in terms of revenues and gross margin dollars.
It is exciting to see our transformation strategy paying off with our new businesses meaningfully contributing to the company’s sales and profitability."
The performance compares well with the recent struggles endured by GAME on this side of the pond. GAME saw its share price crash just before Christmas after it reported a 6.7 per cent decline in revenue in the build up to Christmas.
On the day its share price fell by over a third to around 125p. As of today GAME stock has fallen even further, currently trading at 100p, having previously fallen to as low as 93.2p. At its peak in December 2014 it was trading at 360p, representing a drop of some 72 per cent.
