GAME in Admin?

dtsazza

Percy1983 wrote: »

Interesting point, but I must say I have never wanted to play anything so badly that I will overpay for it, each to there own.

Yeah, normally I wouldn't but on occasion I do feel it's worth a few quid.

I see it as similar to "overpaying" for a takeaway from time to time, for example. We all have our vices.

Percy1983

abaxas wrote: »

It's not an issue of overpaying, but one of non high street retailers either heavily discounting or selling at a loss.

If I can get it cheaper elsewhere and choose not too then I am overpaying, how retailers get to there prices is little to do with it.

By all means I am happy for other people to overpay, helps me get things cheaper.

chris_m

abaxas wrote: »

It's not an issue of overpaying, but one of non high street retailers either heavily discounting or selling at a loss.

Or having less infrastructure costs to cover in their prices.
I'm sure one big warehouse and a website costs rather less than, say, 600 high street premises - each with rent, power, local taxes, etc to be paid (plus the necessary staff/systems to administer that lot), costs of distribution from a central depot or, maybe, increased supplier delivery charges due to sending small loads to 600 places instead of one big truck to one location, costs of staff for each of those 600 shops.
It all adds up and it all ends up on the prices that customers pay.

sabretoothtigger

The newspaper’s City Spy estimated that Blue Shore paid around 2.5p a share on average. It went on to report comments made by Gowda to video games publication MCV. “We purchase shares in companies that we believe are undervalued — we’ve been watching Game for around a year,” he said. “The fact is that Game has a very viable long-term business model for the next five to 10 years.

“Game has a huge number of assets. It even owns its Basingstoke HQ which itself is extremely valuable. The market isn’t considering these factors properly... And should administration happen, there’s still money to be made at the current share price.

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/29171/us-investor-game-rescue-bid

moneyinmypocket

Staff always helpful when I have been in so feel for them, game just can't compete with online prices.

worldtraveller

It is now!

Struggling video games retailer Game said on Monday it has entered administration, becoming the latest household name to fall by the wayside in the consumer downturn.

The firm, which employs 10,000 staff in 1,270 stores in nine European countries and Australia, said it has appointed PwC as its administrator after failing to find a buyer for the business.

Reuters

JasonLVC

It never semed to make business sense to have a "Game" and a "Gamestation" usually a few doors apart on the high street, competing agaisnt yourself really.

Another problem was Game made few friends by increasing their pre-owned sales at the expense on the new games side. Their new games were often RRP+ but within a week of a new game launched they'd be offering £££ for trade in, so they could then sell that traded in game for a little less than their new price meaning all the profit went to Game, not the publisher.

That meant less profit for the publishers such as EA and so when the time came for Game to ask for a favour and to stock EA games without a credit line, EA got their revenge and said no, then the rest followed.

Game is just an out-moded model, just there for parents to buy games for their kids. Savvy gamers buy online.

worldtraveller

Administrators are saying that they will close 277 of the UK's stores, leaving 2,104 people out of work and focus their efforts on saving the remaining 333 stores for a possible deal over the next week.Those 333 stores will continue to employ 2,814 people, as usual.

poppy10_2

List of store closures:

http://pastebin.com/uLKMaLeq

poppy10_2

Joeskeppi wrote: »

Their pre-owned games were more expensive than new versions online, a completely pointless shop.

Yep, plus the pre-owned section took up so much of the store.

Never understood how they managed to keep going so long - the prices were hideous, you could often pick up new games online much cheaper than GAME were offering for preowned. And they often had several stores within walking distance of each other, cannibalising each other's sales. Plus they were mostly staffed by spotty teenagers with attitude problems and less knowledge about video games than your average grandma.

Gamestation used to be a decent store until they got taken over by the GAME group.