GameStop’s stock might be a lot higher than where it started the year, but GameStop the company is still in need of retooling. With fewer people going into stores to buy games, GameStop is still losing revenue, which means they’ve gotta come up with an idea to compete in an increasingly digital market.
To help come up with that idea, Chewy-co-founder Ryan Cohen will head a new committee, along with fellow board members Alan Attal and Kurt Wolf. Called the Strategic Planning and Capital Committee, the group will be tasked with pivoting GameStop towards e-commerce by locating additional digital revenue streams.
One idea that's already been implemented is a revenue-sharing partnership with Microsoft. Announced ahead of the Xbox Series X launch, the "multi-year strategic partnership" sees GameStop receive a portion of every digital sale on any physical console purchased from a GameStop store.
GameStop has always been a household name among gamers, but the company rose to international prominence following the highly publicized stock rally that pitted Reddit against Wall Street hedge funds. Some amateur traders profited in the millions, while others were caught holding the bag after trading platforms restricted sales of GameStop stock.
The issue gained the attention of politicians that accused those platforms of market manipulation, leading to an SEC investigation. GameStop's stock has since declined, although it's still well above where it started at the beginning of January.
Cohen's appointment to GameStop's board of directors is believed to have been one of the factors leading to GameStop's sudden stock surge. GameStop's stock price has since fallen back somewhat, but it's still well above where it was at the beginning of the year (it’s currently at $181 as of the time of this writing).
Cohen might also be the force behind recent stock surges. He's taken to posting cryptic tweets on Twitter in recent months, such as this one featuring a McDonald's ice cream cone and a frog emoji or a more recent tweet featuring a barf emoji and a stuffed dog.
Source: Reuters