Game sales up 94 per cent for Virgin Megastores
US retail chain enjoys massive growth from videogame products as sales increase online and in-store
Virgin Megastores has revealed that sales of videogame products in the US have risen by a massive 93.9 per cent for the 2007 fiscal year.
The company attributes retail growth to a widening of the product offering, better e-commerce functions and an improved footfall in stores.
"Virgin Megastores are being recognised as a lifestyle entertainment shopping destination, rather than solely a music retailer," commented Simon Wright, CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group, North America.
"This is our second consecutive year that has produced sales that have exceeded our expectations. We attribute this success to a shift in our product offering, an increase in our marketing strategy and a new focus on e-commerce."
The 93.9 per cent increase in videogame sales stormed ahead of other products such as books (up 19 per cent) and DVDs (up 13.9 per cent). Overall sales at the US retail chain were up 11.5 per cent nationally, with the company's flagship store in Hollywood seeing sales grow 21 per cent.
In November last year, Virgin Megastores in the UK and Ireland began a rebranding as Zavvi following a management buyout.
The strong videogame sales growth for Virgin follows similar record figures at rival chain GameStop, were 2007 sales were up 33 per cent to USD 7.1 billion.