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As GAME continues to ride the increasingly turbulent waters of UK High Street retail, chief executive Ian Shepherd has explained how he intends to tackle two of the biggest challenges facing his chain – digital game sales and online retail.
There is no doubt that there is going to be evolution in the technology of our industry and in how consumers buy – it is already visible in the market,” he explained.
It is, however easy to overstate the magnitude and speed of that change – consumers still overwhelmingly prefer to buy video games as physical boxed product and the view of our industry is that this is likely to remain the case for some time.
His view is backed up by new numbers from GfK Chart-Track that claim only four per cent of total UK video game sales are digital.
However, even as we are cautious about the speed with which the ‘download revolution’ will happen, we must be bold in preparing for it. Fundamentally, we believe that the strength of our customer relationships and our brand position as an expert and trusted retailer give us strength in those emerging channels and our investment in them will continue.
On the second issue, that of others challenging our market position, I recognise that there are strong competitors both on-line and on the high-street. I believe that to be successful in this industry a retailer must offer a joined up brand proposition across every channel. Most importantly, that proposition must exceed consumer demands for service, range and value. More than in many other sectors, there is a significant place for the specialist retailer in the video games market.”
To read Shepherd’s statement in full, click here.
