Retail

39 exclusives for GAME in 2010

Exclusive deals for Collector’s Editions may irk some of the gaming public, but the strategy has reaped big rewards for retailer GAME in the last year. "Last year we offered customers 39 exclusive versions of titles, and on average they delivered a market share around a third higher than when …

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GAME presses on with store closures

Plans to drastically reduce its UK store count are to continue as previously outlined at GAME. In April 2010 chairman Peter Lewis stated that the group aimed to reduce its UK store count to 550 by Christmas 2013. This number was reiterated today by chief executive Ian Shepherd, who added …

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GAME names new non-exec chairman

Chris Bell will become GAME’s new non-executive chairman on June 15th. He takes over from current chairman Peter Lewis, who is retiring. Bell has been a member of the GAME board since 2003 and currently acts as senior independent director. His previous employers include Ladbrokes and Allied Domecq. "Under Peter’s …

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GAME bullish despite profit drops

Retailer GAME has reported profits in line with its January forecast, though it has suffered notable drops in both sales and profits for the year ending January 2011. Turnover fell from 1.772bn to 1.625bn, with overall sales falling 8.3 per cent year-on-year. UK & Ireland sales fell by 12.8 per …

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Grave expectations for GAME financials

Leading UK video games retailer GAME reports its annual financials tomorrow – and the national press is expecting a significant slump in profits. The Guardian reports that GAME will report a 60 per cent drop in profits for the year ending January, a downturn it blames on the rise of …

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Tesco acquires Blinkbox

Retailer Tesco has made a bold move into the digital space by acquiring a majority 80 per cent stake in video-on-demand service Blinkbox. Blinkbox, which launched in April 2008, boasts around 2m UK visitors a month and has a catalogue including over 9,000 movies and many TV shows. It offers …

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Games hit Argos profits as MD steps down

Argos’ parent company Home Retail Group has reported a drop in full year profits. The firm has cited the tough retail conditions and a decline in gaming as reasons for the drop. Sales are down three per cent to 5,852 million and its profits are down 13 per cent to …

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Asia growth sees Tesco profits rise

Retail powerhouse Tesco has reported a surge in profits for its financial year ending February 28th 2011. Group sales climbed 8.1 per cent to 67.6bn, with profit jumping 12.3 per cent to 3.8bn. Asian profit was up 30 per cent year-on-year which helped offset the disappointing UK performance, which accounts …

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UK retail suffers March fall

Almost one million fewer games were sold at UK retail last month compared to the same period in 2010. The latest figures from GfK Chart-Track paints a bleak picture of the UK games market. In total, 19.3 per cent fewer games were sold last month compared to March 2010, with …

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OPINION: Taking Tesco seriously

I was sitting in a conference last month listening to a big retail exec discuss the future of video games. He spoke about no longer selling discs, but rather the rights to access content. He discussed streaming services and DLC. He even suggested bundling Xbox games with PS3 titles. But …

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