...Case Analysis: GameStop Group 4: Elisha Colvin Lance Bobby Dike David DeBlanc University of Houston - Downtown MBA 6208 Marketing Management November 6, 2015 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Situation 4 Questions: 4 Hypothesis 11 Proof and Action 11 Alternatives 15 References: 17 Executive Summary GameStop became the world’s largest video game retailer in 2005 with its merger with Electronic Boutique (EB). However, the company’s leadership team was concerned with how to address future challenges with competitors and changing consumer desires and preferences for product acquisition. This analysis provides an assessment of the case study, GAMESTOP, and offers answers to the pressing questions faced by GameStop’s leadership team. Our review and analysis supports that GameStop is well positioned to continue its aggressive growth and retail presence. We provide four primary recommendations listed below to facilitate the company meeting their growth goals and strengthen their ability to maintain their leadership position in the video game marketplace. GameStop should: * Focus efforts on building a larger presence in the European and emerging markets. * Consider varying its product mix, with a larger focus on used items, within its mall stores to drive higher profitability and enhance differentiation in those customers’ settings. * Align with a software developer to establish a presence in the online gaming and social gaming...
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...2005, GameStop became the largest game retailer. As a specialty gaming retailer, GameStop has set themselves apart from other retailers. While GameStop has seen its share of success and growth, as the gaming industry changes so will the demands of the consumer leading to more competition. GameStop faces a variety of competition from brick and mortar stores to online stores and online game rentals. The question that one must ask is how does GameStop stay competitive in this changing environment? What strategy can they use to stay ahead of the competition and remain the top game, retailer? Introduction/Background GameStop is the world’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer. They currently operate 4,490 stores in approximate 14 countries with the majority in the United States and Japan. Its corporate headquarters are in Grapevine, Texas. These stores are mainly in shopping malls and strip centers, with 55% of their entire store in strip centers. It's estimated that GameStop has approximately 33, 000 employees. Employees are knowledgeable about the gaming industry and are often gamers themselves. Employees are encouraged to take games and consoles home to stay up to date with upcoming gaming trends. GameStop also owns a magazine called Game Informer, considered to be a leading gaming publication. Customers that sign up for a GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro membership automatically get a subscription as well as other discounts. Problem GameStop grew...
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...Strategy Recommendation Abstract The retail industry and gaming industry are both evolving at great speed. Retailers around the globe have opened up new opportunities for customers to shop via the web no matter where they are or what they are doing. When a customer wants to shop they can, day or night. With the gaming industry, the demands for online preferences are going. For GameStop, this means to evolve the business for consumers around the world. Implementing simple changes to their website for a more customer friendly shopping experience can only aid in GameStop continuing to be a successful retailer, while at the same time developing the technology side of the business. For GameStop to maximize its brick and mortar locations, the stores will need to capture leading market share of the new console cycle, grow digital sales, and apply retail expertise to the new technology added to the GameStop family. The Business GameStop's retail network includes 6,650 company-operated stores in 15 countries worldwide and online at www.GameStop.com. The network also includes: www.Kongregate.com, a leading browser-based game site, and a digital PC game distribution platform. GameStop offers customers the most popular game software, hardware, game accessories and PC products. On the brick and mortar retail side, GameStop is continuing to grow. According to Slack (2010), “The company sees its physical storefronts as the foundation of the company, but GameStop is well aware...
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...Memorandum To: Joan Allatta- Corporate Managers of GameStop From: Helen Zhang, Section 001 Date: 12/05/2012 Re: How we can continue GameStop’s aggressive growth in the industry against the risk of emerging technology and the changing taste of consumers. Executive Summary: The objective of this analysis is to design a strategy that will continue GameStop’s growth as the largest retail gaming store in the industry despite threats from alternate methods of gaming and changes in consumer taste. Analysis will show that the retail gaming industry is an unattractive industry since the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers are high, barrier into the industry are low, and competitors are numerous. GameStop uses a broad differentiation strategy by offering a wide selection of new and used games and consoles. Its marketing strategy and reputation gives the firm a sustainable competitive advantage but its research and development give the firm a competitive parity. The environment of the retail gaming industry possesses the threat of technological and sociocultural risks. GameStop can address these risks by merging with online social media sites and contracting with its suppliers to increase barrier for new entrants in the industry. April 20, 2013 Introduction After the acquisition of EB Games, GameStop rose as the leading video game retailer in its industry. In an effort to sustain their position, GameStop will have to tackle several technological and sociocultural issues that...
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...| for GameStop Box | GameStop Corp, a publicly traded company (NYSE: GME) based in Grapevine, Texas, is ranked number 255 on the Fortune 500 list of publicly traded companies. As the world’s largest retailer of video game and entertainment software, GameStop boasts 6,500 retail stores worldwide and also operates the popular websites GameStop.com and EBgames.com. Moreover, GameStop publishes a critically acclaimed monthly, Game Informer, a magazine that covers the entire gaming industry. This marketing plan presents the results of our situational, marketing and financing analysis and presents the strategies to be employed to implement a new product offering - a video and computer game rental kiosk, referred to as the GameStop Box. | | 7/29/2011 | Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 3 2.0 Situation Analysis 4 2.1 Mission 4 2.2 Product or Service Description 4 2.3 Value Proposition 5 2.4 SWOT 5 2.5 Critical Issues 6 3.0 Market Analysis 7 3.1 Macro Environment 7 3.2 Market Size and Growth 8 3.3 Market Trends 8 3.4 Target Market Analysis 9 3.5 Customer/Consumer Analysis 9 3.6 Needs Analysis 9 3.7 Competitive Analysis 10 3.7.1 Direct Competitors 10 3.7.2 Indirect Competition 11 4.0 STRATEGY 11 4.1 MARKETING OBJECTIVES 11 4.2 FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES 12 4.3 SEGMENTS AND TARGET SEGMENTS WITH NEEDS OUTLINED 12 4.4 POSITIONING STRATEGY 12 4.5 PRODUCT STRATEGY 13 4.6 PRICING STRATEGY 13 4.7 Distribution Strategy (Direct and...
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...CASE QUESTIONS Abercrombie & #Fitchthehomeless 1) Why did this crisis occur? Why did Jeffries’s comments trigger such a large response? 2) Evaluate A&F’s response. What could the company have done better? 3) What changes should A&F make? Autobytel.com 1) How does the internet change traditional channel structures? Does the internet facilitate disintermediation, re-intermediation or can it do both? 2) Can an intermediary serving two customers avoid alienating one of the groups as it searches for ways to grow? If not, why? If so, how? 3) What is the value proposition for each of Autobytel’s customers? 4) What is the basis of Autobytel’s market leadership? Is it sustainable? Why or why not? 5) Where do you think this market is ultimately heading? Is Autobytel missing the boat? 6) What should Autobytel do? CardSwap 1) What is the value of gift cards to retailers? 2) What is the value of gift cards to consumers? Is the Consumers’ Association of Canada correct in saying there is no value to the consumer? 3) Would you use a service like CardSwap? Why/Why not? 4) What is the size of the market that CardSwap is focusing on? 5) What is CardSwap’s sustainable competitive advantage? 6) What is the value of a customer to CardSwap? How much should Poptia be willing to pay to recruit a customer? 7) What should Poptia do to generate customers? Cialis 1) What are the most relevant dimensions along...
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...The largest segment of the market (over 56%) for video game consoles are men ages 18-34. These young men are purchasing action/adventure games (39% of the video game market) and sports games (36% of the video game market). In order for Sony to capture a larger share of the video console market through their Playstation 3, Sony should adjust their marketing strategy to market towards men 18-34 and use the sports video game market to assist their marketing for the console. Current marketing techniques are designed to increase anticipation, video clips/trailers for the video games, and the utilization of humor and dramatization. Sony can use current techniques to their advantage by focusing their efforts towards men aged 18-34. Differentiating the Playstation 3 against Wii and Xbox, Sony can gain more appeal for the targeted demographic. One of the biggest interests and of young men aged 18-34 is women. Using women and perceived sexuality, Playstation 3 can create differentiation within the market to generate a greater appeal within the targeted market. Adopting a strategy akin to the current “Miller Lite” strategy could be beneficial for Sony. Through the use of attractive women to endorse and approve of men who use the Playstation 3 game console as compared to men who use Xbox or Wii. This would generate a branding image and intangibles to further differentiate Playstation 3 from the other two video game consoles, as well as...
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...from the company. Microsoft also depended on the viral movement to promote the Zune. Videos surfaced online from technological device reviewers that generated anticipation and excitement about this new device. Magazines would also feature articles on the Zune’s capabilities and high-quality characteristics versus the Apple iPod. Microsoft partnered with MySpace to influence the current social media users. Unsuccessful Advertising Strategies Microsoft’s attempt to stabilize the Zune in the competitive mp3 market did not satisfy consumers. Young college students were an important strategy that Microsoft chose to promote their new product. The iPod was the dominant and popular mp3 player at the moment. The youth makes a product popular because if they promote it other young individuals see that it is what everyone has or is speaking of. This strategy only worked for little time because Apple and other music player device companies introduce newer and better models that surpassed the Zune’s qualities. The viral videos of the Zune were an important strategy for Microsoft because the Internet is the number one source for research, especially for finding...
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...Group 5 Group 5 Group Members: _ Hoang Ngoc QuynhAnh _ Pham ThanhTu _ Truong ThanhThao _ PhungNhuThao _ Le Vinh Hoang Minh _ Tran DinhHuy _ Mai Quoc Tuan Case Executive Summary Nintendo’s Strategy in 2009 Bachelor of Business – BBUS 2012 Subject: Strategic Management Date of presentation: 11/4/2012 2012 Strategic Management Project Assignment Cover Sheet We agree that all group members have contributed equally to the group work. Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION: 3 II. ANAYLYSIS OF INDUSTRY AND NINTENDO COMPANY: 3 1. Industry circumstances: 3 2. Key success factor: 3 3. Competitively important resources and capabilities of Nintendo: 4 III. ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NINTENDO: 6 Table of Figure Figure 1: Estimated Industry Revenue by Platform Holder 8 Figure 2: Estimated Console Software Dollar Sales 8 INTRODUCTION: This paper will provide a general look inside the market supremacy in the console segment of the video game industry. It also shows the strategic issues and recommendations for Nintendo company. ANAYLYSIS OF INDUSTRY AND NINTENDO COMPANY: 1. Industry circumstances: Sales of video game consoles, software, and accessories reached a record high of $23.1 billion in 2008, which was 19 percent greater than 2007 industry revenues. Growth in the industry had fluctuated significantly over the past few decades and had been driven by technological and society trends, among other factor. Despite the increasing...
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...Strategic Plan Strategic Plan ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Netflix: Strategic Plan Prepared by Carlos Contreras Jasprit Dyal Jessica Hoeschen Francisco Solano-Downs Yen-Chen Wang Prepared for Dr. Gary Wishnjewsky Date submitted August 22, 2013 Seminar in Strategic Business Management Department of Management California State University, East Bay at Hayward, CA Management - 4650 Industry Analysis Relevant Industry Trends Netflix falls under the broad umbrella of the movies and home entertainment industry. The company has been part of the wave that is taking this industry into the future in terms of how consumers are interacting with home video entertainment in particular. In general, we can observe that consumers are increasingly demanding more instant and personalized experiences when watching video entertainment as well as more mobile availability. There seems to be a “when I want it, how I want it” type of movement among consumers with declining interest in DVD’s and scheduled television programming and increasing use of online streaming or rental alternatives. Netflix is catering to these trends with its streaming service and seems to be well positioned, at least for now, to be successful in the future if it can manage to avoid more strategic “missteps” along the way. It is important to note how the public perceives and values films as an entertainment source here in...
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...Ruksana Aktar | 09102130 | 07 | Md. Al Amin | 09302012 | Section: B International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Date of Submission: 29th May, 2012 Current Situation: Best Buy was a specialty retailer of consumer electronics. It operated over 1,100 stores in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. With approximately 155,000 employees, it also operated over 2,800 stores in Canada, Mexico, China, and Turkey. The company’s subsidiaries included Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, and Pacific Sales. In Canada, Best Buy operated under both the Best Buy and Future Shop labels. From a strategic standpoint, Best Buy moved from being a discount retailer (a low price strategy) to a service-oriented firm that relied on a differentiation strategy. In 1989, Best Buy changed the compensation structure for sales associates from commission-based to non- commissioned-based, which resulted in consumers having more control over the purchasing process and in cost savings for the company (the number of sales associates was reduced). In 2005, Best Buy took customer service a step further by moving from peddling gadgets to a customer centric operating model. It was now gearing up for another change to focus on store design and providing products and services in line with customers’ desire for...
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...TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES #938 Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City Prepared By: Feniquito, Emilyn C. Gonzales, Ornelly C. IE41FB1 Presented to: ENGR. MANUEL Q. SANTOS October 6, 2011 I. INTRODUCTION CORPORATE PROFILE Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep into the long tail by housing them all in numerous warehouses and distributing products from many partner companies. Amazon directly sells, or acts as a platform for the sale of a broad range of products. These include books, music, videos, and consumer electronics, clothing and household products. The majority of Amazon’s sales are products sold by Amazon, with the remaining amount from third-party sellers. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It has direct international operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Since 2004, Amazon has begun to rapidly expand its web services arsenal. Products such as Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Amazon S3 (Simple Storage System), Amazon Route 53 have been large successes. Some of Amazon’s recent acquisitions include Shopbop (2006), Abebooks (2008), Zappos (2009), LOVEFiLM (2011). As of Q1 2011, Amazon has approximately 137 million active customers worldwide. It was also reported that there...
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...I. Introduction a. Company History And Background Nintendo started as a small Japanese business by Fusajiro Yamauchi near the end of 1889 as Nintendo Koppai. Based in Kyoto, Japan, the business produced and marketed a playing card game called Hanafuda. In 1956, Hiroshi Yamauchi visited the US, and this is when he realized the limitations of the card business and hence moved on to different arenas of the gaming world. In 1963, Yamauchi renamed Nintendo Playing Card Company Limited to Nintendo Company, Limited. During 1963 and 1968, Nintendo set up a taxi company, a "love hotel" chain, a TV network, a food company and several other things. All these attempts at expanding and diversifying the business failed, except toy making, where they had relatively prior experience with from selling playing cards. In enormous debt, Nintendo was trying to withstand the Japanese toy industry; it was still small at this point. Due to the short product life cycle of toys, innovation and constantly new product development was vital. This was the beginning of a major new era for Nintendo. In 1970, Hiroshi Yamauchi discovered the hidden talents of Gunpei Yoki, a maintanace engineer at the factory, who built what was later called The Ultra Hand which soon turned into a huge success, selling approximately 1.2 million units. Yokoi was soon moved from maintenance to product development. Nintendo’s first step into the video games industry was in 1975. At the time, home video game consoles were...
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...07-046 Rev: December 8, 2011 Sony's Battle for Video Game Supremacy John Sterman, Khan Jekarl, Cate Reavis As Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony Corporation, settled in for his flight back to Japan from New York, a number of pressing issues occupied his mind about Sony’s future. At the forefront, Sony’s next generation video game console, the PlayStation 3 (PS3), was set to launch worldwide on November 17, 2006, a mere week away. Despite PlayStation 2’s (PS2) dominance in the last generation of gaming consoles, Stringer understood that past successes were no guarantee of future success in the intensely competitive game industry. Microsoft had launched the first volley in the last console war by releasing the Xbox 360 in the fall of 2005. Within one year, almost 4 million Xbox 360s had been sold worldwide, giving Microsoft a significant head-start in the race for market dominance. Meanwhile, Nintendo, a competitor thought to be dead due to the lackluster sales of its previous console, the Nintendo Gamecube, had generated significant “buzz” around its new entry, the Nintendo Wii (pronounced “we”). Targeting more of a mainstream audience than Sony and Microsoft, the Wii, scheduled to launch just two days after the PS3, posed a serious threat to Sony’s market share, particularly due to its $249.99 retail price, half the price of the PS3. Stringer also knew that there was much more at stake than winning the console war. The next generation of the DVD market was at stake as well...
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...Paul Noonan Micky Thakkar Carlton Graham Dave Hasty Christina Carroll Busgr 567, Marketing Strategy Dr. Joyce Hunter May 25, 2010 Case Study: Blockbuster, Inc. [pic] Table of Contents: Dave Hasty Mission Statement, History of Blockbuster, pg. 3-5 Carlton Graham/Paul Noonan Marketing Strategy, 5-6 Marketing Mix, 6 Target Markets, 6-7 Micky Thakkar Marketing Objectives and Goals 7-10 Paul Noonan/Micky Thakkar Advertising and Promotion Strategies 10-13 Environmental Analysis and Porter Analysis 13-15 Christina Carroll SWOTs 15-19 Netflix SWOT Redbox SWOT Blockbuster SWOT Competitive Advantage Strategic Focus Paul Noonan Financials 19-20 Future Trends 20 Recommendations 20-22 All Questions 22-25 Bibliography 26 Compiled by Paul Noonan The History of Blockbuster Inc. Blockbuster’s mission statement is “To be the global leader in rentable home entertainment by providing outstanding service, selection, convenience and value.” Blockbuster is an American based chain of retail stores renting DVD, Blu Ray, and video games. They have over 9,000 locations in the US and 25 other countries worldwide. It is headquartered in the Renaissance Tower located in Dallas, Texas. The first store was opened in Dallas, Texas 1985 by David Cook. Cook had started a company called Cook Data Services Inc. in 1982 selling software to Texas’s oil and gas industries.[i] When the industry went flat Cook was searching for another source...
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