GAME has laid-off a total of 46 people at its head office in Basingstoke as part of a company restructure.
Last week it was revealed that the specialist retailer was facing credit problems and 'possible stock issues' as a result.
It later admitted the financial problems were forcing the company to reassess the future of its overseas operations.
Although it has since secured a lending agreement that enables it to continue trading the future of its overseas stores is still uncertain.
As part of the new cuts Tricia Brennan, current commercial strategy director, will become chief commercial officer and Tom Devine, the company's UK MD, will be channel director effective immediately.
"The proposed restructure will result in around 46 fewer roles at our central support centre in Basingstoke," a spokesperson has said.
"Our proposed new structure will change the way that we operate and will enable us to be significantly more efficient in our relationships with suppliers and customers."
Comments
27 comments so far...
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
To add further flame to the fire....last friday i went into both my local GAME and Gamestation to purchase Soul Calibur V and FFXIII-2 on launch day. at the front of each store, there were shelves full of cases for these 2 games with £39.99 price tags. Yet i'm refused service because they only have stock to fulfil all their pre-orders. As well the staff are very patronising towards me and make loads of excuses. This is what I have come to expect, as they only seem to employ sweaty students who have no knowledge of games. they also state that the publishers purchase shelf space in stores for advertising purposes. How the hell can they think it is acceptable to put cases of games on shelves with price tags when they ain't got the stock available?? where is the logic. This is blatant breach of trading standard policies and is false advertising! I have never felt so violated! Thank god for online shopping!!
dicky1993 on 7 Feb '12 said:
ah not good when lay offs are made
uncle_peanuts on 7 Feb '12 said:
As a sales assistant in a Gamestation store, I can tell you that stock levels have been low and it isn't that the store/staff are withholding the game from you, it is just unfortunate. Also, they are right in saying that game advertising has to be put on the shelves even if they don't have stock of some games. Also, you most shop in a terrible store because all Gamestation stores I have ever been in, the staff have been knowledgeable and helpful. Also, violated..... really? A bit over dramatic I feel.
svd_grasshopper on 7 Feb '12 said:
these GAME threads are the latest bandwagon to be jumped on, despite no-one ever shopping there.
they are like cheap fuel to keep the cogs turning at CVG.
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
I can understand what you are saying, and I feel violated because I feel i was being spoken to like an idiot....but thats just me as a person and the way i see things. However, I am very sure there would of been many ppl who have gone in to buy them games, only to have the same frustrations. I'm sure you can agree with me, that it is false advertising to put them cases out with price tags when you aint got the stock to do so. Surely it would be a good idea to maybe put stickers over the price tags stating "due in stock shortly" or something similar. Maybe you give a s**t about how you talk to customers, but over the past 6 years, I cannot say that I have had any pleasant experiences shopping in either GAME/ Gamestation. And i'm sure the majority of ppl who read this article will agree.....
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
To you Walter White sir, GAME are bitches YO!!
Gambini on 7 Feb '12 said:
Good lord, don't admit to that on here!
BA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
Josh298 on 7 Feb '12 said:
if they want to make money cut prices & give better trade value. the games retailers stand no chance against internet sites and asda etc they need to undercut them and people will go their but the people in high positions are to greedy n look where greed is getting them
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
Every Gamestation I have been in smells as bad as your local CeX, plus the majority of the staff feel they are gods cus they sell computer games! most the time they don't know s**t! D
Barca Azul on 7 Feb '12 said:
What people tend to forget is that people that work in retail often do so purely as a job, not a hobby and just sell whats in the shop. They probably dont have time to access the internet like people on here, so often you can have information quicker than they have or be more knowledgable than the sales assistant.
They also have to work with the general public, and having worked in non-gaming retail in the past, I can tell you, its no fun in general. Some customers are nice, others not. The online shop is a two way street, they dont have to deal with people face to face either.
As for game, its a company like many others to come that will lose out to online giants and supermarkets. The thing is, when your bored on a Saturday whilst shopping, would you still like 5/10 minutes in a games shop?
Barca Azul on 7 Feb '12 said:
Its not greed, its called occupancy costs. Having stores in the high street isnt cheap. likewise the same applies if you want to walk in to a shop and buy/change a game instead of waiting for it to be delivered!
Zabba 2 on 7 Feb '12 said:
It's not false advertising at all. It would be false advertising if the price was stated wrongly or something. If there's no games in stock, then the ones on the shop floor are marked "display case" therefore that's what it is.
What difference does putting up a sign saying "out of stock" make? It doesn't change the fact that the game isn't in stock. It's actually more inconvenient to do that, because deliveries come in every day, potentially with a few copies of the new release, or someone could trade in the title at literally any time.
If the sign "out of stock" was put out, but a few copies had just come in on delivery or one had just been traded in, customers would leave upon seeing the sign. If there's no sign, it takes only a few seconds to ask a staff member and they can inform you if they are expecting any in shortly or actually do have some recently acquired.
It's not the stores fault. They sell what stock they receive and have very little control over it. Also, if you're aware that people who pre-order games get them, then just pre-order the game! In most cases it's free and takes a minute at most.
So many people bitch and moan, yet have no understanding of the way it all works.
billysastard on 7 Feb '12 said:
game arent my favourite company but its sad to see the greedy publishers getting their way by destroying the LEGAL gaming ecosystem with their online piracy encouragement passes, how long before we loose all retail gaming except a few "big" titles at supermarkets, and it wont stop there, it'll hit online retailing later as well and soon enough the only way to buy any games will be through digital distribution directly from the makers with no discounts, no preowned and them in complete control of YOUR games console.
we have to stop it now, boycott / pirate all online pass companies games, stop the greed, fight for the hobby we love.
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
Of course i love to bitch and moan, but for 1. none of the cases said "for display purposes" only and what difference would a different sign "not in stock" make? Well it would mean myself and others not being mislead and wasting time taking the case to the counter, just to be informed it aint in stock. after all I did walk into the store seeing the price tags and could of been non the wiser to assume they wudnt be in stock. We could argue about many trivialities and different perspectives on the situation, but I know trading standards rules and they were in the wrong.
sean5238 on 7 Feb '12 said:
all the Game hate aside its a loss for the employees and while I agree with some comments regarding some staff lack of knowledge, overall in several years of dealing with game and/or gamestation most of the staff have been very friendly up until the last couple of years when they have obviously been made to ram stuff at people as soon as they walk in the door.
if however all the job losses are at senior management level i wont miss them as they seem to be running the business to a grinding halt. gamers are a community regardless of platform. if game or game group dies then it will be less choice for all of us and is that a good thing? less choice = bad times and higher prices.
KK-Headcharge78 on 7 Feb '12 said:
Any chance people can stop equating their personal bad experience in one game store with an employee or too with that of the entire 550+ stores? Tell you what if I worked in game and had every tom dick and c**t coming in telling me 'that it's cheaper in Asda...' (which often it is) I'd be Captain miserable bastard too, in fact why don't you f**k off to Asda and look forward to buying all your games either online with no touchy feely or from faceless supermarkets who, believe me, will rape your ass with terrible service and prices in the long wrong.
Well that's probably what I'd say, maybe, but let's at least have some perspective, it's not all one way. Confusing greed with commercial desperation appears pretty common too.
ladycroft142 on 7 Feb '12 said:
I don't get why people are always badmouthing GAME staff, by the sounds of it I must live near the only good store as the staff are all too happy to spend time chatting over the latest games. ASDA may have good prices but some of those savings obviously stem from customer relations training their employees clearly didn't have.
yep on 7 Feb '12 said:
I saw a dickhead like you kicking off in Game the other week. It blows my mind how absolutley entitled some people think they are. And you say they are making excuses? Maybe they are just stating it AS IT IS. Get over yourself!
With regards to the staff, what the hell do you expect? Maybe they should only employ staff on 80k a year who've had 10 years training and charge £250 per game to cover the cost.
Maybe one day I'll open a shop, I hope you come in because i'll certainly be showing you violated.
verynaughtyboy on 7 Feb '12 said:
If the answer was that straightforward I think that GAME would be doing that. Supermarkets quite often sell games at a loss which can be subsidised by the sales of other kinds of items in store. Cheap games are the bait to get you in store and then they make money off you elsewhere. I can't help but buy doughnuts when I buy a new game - ring doughnuts, not jam!
The point, and it has been made elsewhere by others, GAME can't afford to undercut Supermarkets. They don't have the money and they would be selling all their games at a loss. That is the kind of economic policy that you only get from governments... Yes, I'm looking at you Greece!!!!!
tsazio on 7 Feb '12 said:
For anyone who has read the ''GAME facing credit problems, possible stock issues'' article from 1/2/12 and saw the comment i posted for it...
And so it begins!
KK-Headcharge78 on 7 Feb '12 said:
If the answer was that straightforward I think that GAME would be doing that. Supermarkets quite often sell games at a loss which can be subsidised by the sales of other kinds of items in store. Cheap games are the bait to get you in store and then they make money off you elsewhere. I can't help but buy doughnuts when I buy a new game - ring doughnuts, not jam!
The point, and it has been made elsewhere by others, GAME can't afford to undercut Supermarkets. They don't have the money and they would be selling all their games at a loss. That is the kind of economic policy that you only get from governments... Yes, I'm looking at you Greece!!!!!
Yep and some people think that Game are on a level playing field regarding buying power of stock, well equate 500+ stores for GAME vs 5000+ stores for Tesco, not to mention supermarkets are experts in driving down prices generally.
ShadowAviation on 7 Feb '12 said:
Meh. Went on a rant about GAME already, then actually had a think. In fairness, their service isn't that bad. They let me try out a 3DS and gave me some good reasons for buying it (I didn't tell them I'd had it pre-ordered at Gamestop since January). Secondly, they do make nice deals on occasion and their workers are pretty okay. Compare this to Smyths, where the rep didn't even bother typing anything into the computer when I asked did they have NMH, just told me 'no' ( I was desperate at that point). Also, you have supermarket giants who try to appeal to the gaming community with cheap prices, but make the actual gamers cry ( I've seen Tesco peddle a Scooby Doo game). Really, we should be grateful for what we have, instead of whining all the time. Hey, it's either that or get swamped by Angry Birds merchandise (which GAME ironically sell). Hmmm... this sounds suspiciously like another rant. Blame it on exam stress.
sean5238 on 7 Feb '12 said:
as per KK's comments, quit the 'ive been violated' BS and wake up and smell the coffee. regardless of your own opinion of Game's corporate identity or even its selling practices, the fact is we need more options on the high street or internet to buy OUR games from. Internet Only can be painful sometimes and likewise some of you think the high-street experience is lacking, BUT if you don't like it then choose with your feet... man the f*ck up and shop elsewhere otherwise I'm more than welcome to join in a petition (if that would go anywhere!) to give Game Groups' upper echelons a rocket in the a55 about what all gamers want to see in their store and offer CONSTRUCTIVE (sorry for the caps-lock) criticism..
I've been gaming since my first Binatone and at the age of 42 am still gaming (albeit a bit slower), stop the bitching, fan boyism and try to be constructive. if enough of us pull together then why not see if we can get to speak to Game's directors etc. Those that can - DO, Those that cant - WHINGE
jmaddison on 7 Feb '12 said:
....and yet you yourself are talking like a 'dickhead' and making empty threats to me across the internet. I think you need to grow up. Obviously it is easy for you to talk like that, because we ain't talking in person man to man.....actually, how about you go sit in a corner and have a quiet word with yourself
jobs a good'un ey 
Stryker89 on 7 Feb '12 said:
I am glad to see more people seem to be getting fed up of the incessant moaning some folks love to do when an article about GAME pops up. Seriously you're just giving off this "woe is me" vibe, and it's doing my head in. Oh and yes, before you ask, I do work at GAME. I will bloody defend it too. You think we're stupid? Try being on the other side of the till yourself, it's not a walk in the park my friend, especially when you get several people day after day who think they're entitled to the most ridiculous things. Trying to return an item with no proof of purchase comes to mind... I apologise too, if we don't know EVERYTHING there is to know about games. Most of us who work there do have a life outside the shop, and whilst I enjoy keeping up with news on games, it's completely unreasonable to assume we are the all-knowing oracles of gaming.
Zabba 2 on 8 Feb '12 said:
Both GAME and Gamestation use a 'gutting' system. This means, if a game is in stock, at least two copies (may be more for big releases) are required to have their manual and disk stored in the drawer, with the actual game cases put out on display. If there's no game in stock, no proper boxes can be put out because there simply aren't any. Therefore all cases on the shop floor will be specially printed display copies, with a piece of text stating this (usually on the back), or failing that, they will lack a barcode, which is also a clear indication of it being a display case. It is not the fault of the company that you did not consider this, only your own.
You've just gone and ignored my point about daily deliveries and trade-ins which clearly addressed this issue. Sign or no sign, it doesn't change what's in stock and what is not. I feel the need to reiterate it briefly. The very fact new stock can come in daily, or instantly in regards to trade-ins, makes "out of stock" signs completely redundant. In the future, use common sense. If you doubt the stock availability, or are after a new release, ask a member of staff first, rather than going straight to the game cases and complaining about "wasted time".
Considering display cases are used in possibly every single retail store in the UK in some shape or form, and the lack of control that individual stores have on their stock levels, I highly doubt trading standards has such a strict stance on the matter. Furthermore, I've found customers who bring up trading standards use it as an intimidation tactic towards the retail staff and nothing more, usually to little avail.
I again recommend you to pre-order your games in the future.
rhyfel on 8 Feb '12 said:
its not good for anyone to lose there jobs but greed has got game to where it is today, instead of working with the game developers on some sort of a deal on the sale of used games GAME decided that it wants all the pie, its been rammed down are throats for years that GREED IS GOOD well tell that to the 46 people who have lost there jobs.