It’s been a rough several years for Gamestop. After expanding and consolidating video game stores at a record pace, the rise of digital downloads have had a severe impact on the company. Over the past few years they’ve tried to adjust to market conditions in various ways, such as the purchase of ThinkGeek, but we have to say we didn’t see this one coming.
Reggie Fils-Aime, the celebrated ex-President of Nintendo of America, has been appointed to Gamestop’s Board of Directors. He joins two others, William Simon and James Symancyk, who have the task of enhancing corporate governance and business transformation.
George Sherman, Gamestop CEO, issued the following statement as part of the formal announcement:
The Board refreshment and governance enhancements announced today represent an important milestone in GameStop’s transformation as we continue to evolve the Company’s business strategy for long-term success. We are pleased to welcome Reggie, Bill and J.K. to the Board. They are each highly qualified and bring significant, relevant experience to our turnaround. We look forward to immediately benefitting from their expertise and perspectives as we navigate the evolving gaming and retail environments, execute on our strategic initiatives and prepare the Company to maximize value-creation associated with the next generation of console launches later this year.
Our Take
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Gamestop ever reclaiming the relevance it once held in the gaming industry. Market conditions are simply not conducive to their business model. That said, we’re certainly interested in seeing what changes are brought to the table.
