GAME primed to take on GameStop in Euro battleground

GameStop’s acquisition of French market leader Micromania hasn’t affected GAME Group’s ambitions in Europe, insists GAME CEO Lisa Morgan.

GameStop’s acquisition saw the balance of power in European games retail shift as the US giant snapped up an extra 332 outlets in France, increasing its European store count to 1,077.

GameStop also promised further moves into the European market – but GAME Group CEO Lisa Morgan has told MCV that it is business as usual for the UK chain.

We have a detailed strategy in place regarding expansion outside of the UK and it remains unchanged,” said Morgan. Since we entered the French market in 2001 with just a handful stores, we have had strong specialist competition in the form of Micromania and this has not in any way stopped us from developing a strong and growing business, where we are now approaching 200 GAME stores.

We are well accustomed to competitors coming and going in the market and it is worth noting that we already compete with GameStop in a number of other international territories.”

And there is nothing to fear from GameStop turning its guns on the UK, added Morgan: We have been the market leaders in the UK for some time, but we are never complacent, we recognise that we have to continue to evolve our offer for our customers in order to stay ahead.

We have demonstrated in other big European markets, such as Spain where we are also the market leading games retailer, that we can and do compete effectively with GameStop. We’ll certainly continue to do just that in the future.”

– Head over to the Interviews and Features section for the full Lisa Morgan interview