GameStop dreams of a digital empire, to become a 'technology business'

GameStop announces that e-commerce is the future of its business, and plans to double-down on distribution and fulfillment of shipped video game products.

2

GameStop wants to morph from its brick-and-mortar roots into an e-commerce titan. In a sense, the company wants to become the Amazon of video gaming while still maintaining physical stores. To help usher in this new digital age, GameStop has formed a fresh team of executives, the Strategic Planning and Capital Allocation Committee, which is led by Chewy billionaire Ryan Cohen. GameStop stock jumped by 25% to $193.72 in after-hours trading following the announcement.

As head of the committee, Cohen will lead two other seasoned marketing and investment execs, Alan Attal (previous Chief Marketing Officer, Chewy), and Kurt Wolf (capital investor), who will help raise money and lay out the company's future moves. As of October 2020, GameStop had $2.269 billion in liabilities, including $244 million in long- and short-term debts.

The committee is already getting down to business; Cohen wants to a hire a chief technology officer, a first for GameStop, who will presumably help lay out the framework for a wider e-commerce distribution network. Other plans include two more executive hires for customer service and orders fulfillment

It's also worth noting that two of the committee's members have joint roles. Attal will now lead GameStop's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which is the same board of directors that Reggie Fils-Aime belongs to (yes, Reggie is still on the board). Wolf is also the chairperson of the board's Compensation Committee.

"The Committee will continue to focus on identifying actions that can transform GameStop into a technology business and help create enduring value for stockholders. It is responsible for evaluating areas that include GameStop's current operational objectives, capital structure and allocation priorities, digital capabilities, organizational footprint, and personnel," reads the press release.

2