GameStop has put increased pressure on its employees to generate as much revenue as possible during customer interactions amid growing concerns of the company’s imminent failure, a new report finds, emphasizing thatnext-gen consoles may be GameStop’s last chanceto stay in business.
In a series of interviews with Polygon, employees, including current and former store managers, expressed concerns and frustrations with GameStop and its future. “The company is frantic and distrustful,” one assistant manager said, “The structure is falling apart and they’re scrambling.” Last month,GameStop announced that 55 US stores were closing, which hasn’t helped employees' opinions of the company.
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One former manager cited in the report believes thatGameStopmay close as many as one thousand locations this year, despiteGameStop planning major redesignsfor stores, which seek to transform into a sort of cultural center rather than a typical retail store. It’s a different direction for the company, which has promised investors it will find new revenue streams before the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X this fall.
Still, it isn’t clear if any of the changes will be enough. Increasingly frustrated employees also cited lower customer presence in stores, and along with it, missing sales targets on an almost-daily frequency. This has led district managers to further emphasize trades for products like cell phones and tablets, which have higher profit margins, but have a lower success rate, and, according to employees, frequently lead to customer frustration due to the line of questioning involved in the process.
Employees also reported stock concerns throughout the holiday season, with GameStop sometimes failing to send copies of games besides preordered copies. According to employees, even the algorithm for getting games in stores has changed. Previously, every three preorders would result in an additional copy of a game on store shelves– now, it’s closer to a 5-to-1 ratio.
GameStop is in serious trouble, with some anticipating that the company is bound to close soon. The company attempted to find a buyer last year, but was unable to reach any deals. AsGameStop’s profits drop by staggering amounts, the company’s future is becoming increasingly clear, but that’s not a good thing.
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