More GameStop Stores Will Close in 2020

The number of GameStop Stores closing in 2020 will be higher than the original 320 estimate. On September 9, 2020 during an earnings call, it came up that around 400-450 of the 5,122 stores now open will be closed. In March 2020, the estimate for store closures in 2020 was said to be around 320. [Thanks, CNN!]

This also doesn’t mean that GameStop stores will be safe from further downsizing in 2021. During the call, Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell suggested even more stores would close next year.

In its story, CNN did point out that GameStop’s online sales had grown in the second quarter of 2020. While the retailer did attempt to bill its stores as “essential retail” during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, for a period of time starting in March 2020 it did close its doors to customers and rely on online purchase and curbside pickups. The earnings call said online sales accounted for 20% of all sales and were up 800%.

GameStop stores appear globally, though the number of them will be cut by 400-450 in 2020. As part of its other 2020 affairs and adjustments, former Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime was added as an independent member of the company’s board of directors.