It has been a pretty crazy year for GameStop. From the r/wallstreetbets movement that saw a huge spike in GameStop stock prices to the retail chain planning a large overhaul of its business approach, there has been a lot of changes for the company.
GameStop's place in the games industry has been in flux over the past few years as many gamers have moved to purchase digital games rather than physical copies. As such, GameStop has seen many members join and leave its board of directors while trying to adapt its sales strategy to include selling more gaming paraphernalia and subscriptions to its industry magazine Game Informer.
Now, according to multiple sources who spoke to Reuters, GameStop is looking for a new CEO. The company is reportedly working with an executive headhunter as well as having multiple members of the GameStop Board of Directors involved with the selection process. The change reportedly comes as part of a push from ex-Chewy CEO Ryan Cohen, who was named GameStop's board chairman last week. In a series of executive changes, including seeing both GameStop's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Customer Officer leave the company, Cohen is pushing to prepare GameStop for a transition to becoming an online-focused games marketplace.
GameStop's current CEO, George Sherman, has been recognized within the organization for doing an admirable job steering the company through a pandemic that has seen many brick-and-mortar retail chains close down. However, Cohen and other members of the board reportedly see Sherman's experience primarily being centered around physical stores like Home Depot and Advanced Auto Parts as not being well suited for the online nature of GameStop's future structure. Cohen has also been bringing on a handful of high-level executives with previous experience from both Amazon and his former company, Chewy, while pushing out former GameStop higher-ups.
GameStop's changes are not wholly surprising, although they are happening quickly given many of the previous executives and Board of Directors members had only just joined the company. However, the change in strategy is necessary, as GameStop's stock had been steadily declining before the Reddit movement which saw its stock up almost 4,000 percent from where it was last year. It is those stock prices in particular that are allowing GameStop to fund its transformation, so hopefully the changes are enough to allow GameStop to adapt to the ever-increasing digital nature of the games industry.
Source: Reuters