The latest retailer to announce closures this year is video game outlet GameStop, which reported a double-digit decline in sales last quarter, and has seen their stock fall by over 30 percent in the past year. This year, the company will focus on its other retail brands, moving away from its traditional stores.
“The Company anticipates that it will open approximately 35 new Collectibles stores globally, and approximately 65 new Technology Brand stores,” states GameStop in its latest SEC filling. “The Company also anticipates that it will close between 2% to 3% of its global store footprint.”
The closures are estimated to effect at least 150 stores. As video game consoles continue to shift game purchases toward digital downloads, the decline in retail sales is to be expected, though GameStop appears to be focused on shorter term reasons behind their lagging numbers.
“The fourth quarter was significantly impacted by weak sales of certain AAA titles and aggressive console promotions by other retailers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday,” continued the SEC report. “As a result, new hardware sales declined 29.1% and new software sales declined by 19.3%.”
CNBC reported last month that digital video game downloads are up nearly 10 percent year-over-year to a total of $7.5 billion in online-only sales in January 2017.
No list of closures has been publicaly made available as of the time of publishing. GameStop operates 20 retail locations in Central Ohio.