GameStop reported its sales results for the 2018 holiday season, which showed the company suffering decreases to many of its top revenue generators. Hardware, software, and pre-owned sales all decreased in the 2018 season, whereas accessories and digital currency grew.
The total global sales for holiday 2018 were $2.63 billion, which was a 5% decrease compared to the 2017 holiday period. But that compares the nine weeks ending January 5, 2019 to the nine weeks ending December 30, 2017, which the store notes isn’t a comparable sales period. By shifting the sales periods to end on January 5 and January 6, respectively, total store sales increased 1.5%. That includes a 3.6% increase in the US that helped offset a 3.1% decrease internationally.
The company also broke down several types of revenue for comparison. New hardware sales were down 6.1%, due to the Xbox One X launch in 2017. It says this was partially offset by the growth in Nintendo Switch sales. New software decreased 8.3%, due mostly to Black Ops 4 launching outside of the holiday window in October 2018, versus Call of Duty WW2 in November 2017. Its pre-owned sales declined 16.4%. Technology brands sales were not included in the comparable store sale measure, but decreased 19.3% due to a decrease in store traffic.
Some revenue streams did grow, however. Accessories grew 28.7% based on controller and headset sales, whereas collectibles increased 3.7%, and digital receipts (such as digital currency) increased 16.8%.
Despite the mixed news, GameStop sales were up today, rising 1.01% to $15.93. At one point it even hit its highest figures since September. This all comes amid reports that GameStop could be up for sale itself, as two private equity companies seem interested in the purchase. That deal may reportedly be finalized by mid-February.
Source : https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-holiday-sales-were-down-but-its-not-all-b/1100-6464500/