Further job cuts at GAME as UK boxed game sales fall 8%
But it's all part of normal business activity
There have been further job losses at GAME's Head Office as the firm continues to cut back in the face of a difficult UK retail landscape.
The firm has been reorganising its internal teams to cope with a drop in physical retail sales and a reduction in store count. Meanwhile, it has increased focus on its esports business - particularly related to Belong, its new retail initiative where gamers can pay to play PC games on high powered hardware.
It's been a quiet year for games sales in the UK. Even after the release of Spider-Man last week, physical game unit sales are down 8.2% year-to-date with revenue down 6% (GfK figures). GAME expects sales for its next financial year to be slightly lower year-on-year as a result.
The latest round of redundancies have been on a small scale, and follows the departure of chief marketing officer Natalie Amosu and commercial director David Rimmer.
Although always a crucial period of the year, the Q4 sales window will prove even more important in determining the overall market performance in the UK. Alongside the big annual releases, including FIFA, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed and EA's shooter (this year Battlefield V), this Q4 will also see the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76. Fallout is extremely popular among UK consumers, regularly selling in excess of one million copies, while Rockstar's last title, GTA V, is the most successful boxed game in UK retail history.
Despite declines in the UK, GAME has reported a increase in sales for its Spanish retail business.
The firm's focus, however, remains with Belong, which now exists in 20 locations and will soon be added to Sports Direct outlets, too. The company expects to have 100 Belong arenas in three years.