That’s a lot of consoles and Funko Pops
Retail chain GameStop have announced that the company had a very successful December, with sales up 10.6% on the previous year, resulting in a year-on-year increase of $2.77 billion.
Speaking to gameindustry.biz, GameStop interim CEO Dan DeMatteo cited the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One X as having a large hand in bringing the dollars in. “We are pleased with our sales performance during the important holiday period, driven by strength in the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One X, and a solid increase in our collectibles business,” said DeMatteo. “Our results demonstrate our customers’ enthusiastic response to new products and our ability to execute on strategically targeted promotions.”
New console hardware specifically increased by some 38%, while gaming-related merchandise, such as clothing, wallets and soulless wide-headed figurines, increased by 19% to a huge $211 million.
There was, however, a drop in pre-owned game sales, which were down 8% on the previous year. Dan puts this down to a bigger consumer interest in 2017’s plethora of new games and hardware. Also of note, GameStop’s tech department, such as phones and tablets, suffered a 19% drop in overall sales.
GameStop Holiday sales raised by 11% [gameindustry.biz]
