GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) (“The Company”) today
announced that it has entered into a multi-year strategic
partnership agreement with Microsoft Corp., further advancing its
strategy to expand its physical and digital video game offerings,
as well as enhance the Company’s retail technology infrastructure.
With over 5,000+ retail stores worldwide and its world-class
eCommerce platform, GameStop leverages its vast customer network,
PowerUp Rewards, and omni-channel capabilities to deliver enhanced
gaming solutions to its customers. Through this partnership,
GameStop will standardize the Company’s business operations on
Microsoft’s cloud solutions and hardware products to deliver rich
new digital experiences to customers, creating the “ultimate gaming
destination” for gamers in its vision to be the premier
omni-channel customer access point for video game products.
The partnership includes enterprise and commercial elements.
- Under this
agreement, GameStop will standardize its back-end and in-store
solutions on Dynamics 365, Microsoft’s portfolio of cloud-based
business applications and customer data platform, empowering
associates with integrated experiences across its business
operations including finance, inventory, eCommerce, retail and
point of sale. This will enable store associates the ability to
access omni-channel insights about customer preferences and
purchasing history, real time information on product availability,
subscriptions, pricing, and promotions in order to provide a
differentiated and personalized in-store customer experience.
- Additionally,
associates will be equipped with new Microsoft Surface devices that
will transform the in-store experience and help unlock new retail
experiences in the future. The mobility of Microsoft Surface will
allow associates to move freely within the store footprint, meeting
the needs of customers faster and more efficiently. Microsoft
Surface devices have already been an important part of the digital
modernization strategy for store management.
- As part of its
transformation, GameStop plans to roll out Microsoft 365 and
Microsoft Teams to its stores, empowering more than 30,000 store
associates with enhanced productivity and collaboration tools. With
Teams, store associates will more easily be able to ask questions
and share insights with one another, enabling them to provide a
better customer experience. Associates will also benefit from
enhanced security and identify management
capabilities.
- Following decades as
an essential provider of the Microsoft Xbox gaming platform and
services, GameStop has expanded its Xbox family of product
offerings to include Xbox All Access, which provides an Xbox
console and 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to players with no
upfront cost. GameStop and Microsoft will both benefit from the
customer acquisition and lifetime revenue value of each gamer
brought into the Xbox ecosystem.
George Sherman, GameStop’s Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“This is an exciting day at GameStop as we announce the advancement
of an important partnership that capitalizes on the power of our
operating platform and significant market share in gaming to
accelerate our digital transformation; drive incremental revenue
streams; and over time, further monetize the digital world of
gaming. Since joining the Company last April, we have been on a
mission to evolve our strategy to take advantage of our undisputed
leadership position in gaming. Clearly, GameStop is a top
destination for an entire spectrum of gaming products, and we are
excited about the opportunity to leverage our capabilities in
support of the launch of the next generation of gaming consoles and
expand our reach and connection to the worldwide gamer community
through this partnership.”
“GameStop has become a popular destination for gamers to find
their favorite video games, hardware and accessories, socialize
with others in the community, try out new games, and get educated
on the latest tips and trends,” said Matt Renner, President, US
Enterprise Commercial, Microsoft. “By harnessing the power of
Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, GameStop will be able to modernize
its technology infrastructure and support store associates and fans
in new and exciting ways. This partnership also provides GameStop
with advanced retail management technologies that will drive
operational efficiencies throughout its omni-channel platform.”
Phil Spencer, Microsoft, Executive Vice President of Gaming,
added: “For many years GameStop has been a strong go-to-market
partner for our gaming products, and we are excited about
continuing and evolving that relationship for the launch of the
Xbox Series X|S. GameStop’s extensive store base, focus on digital
transformation in an omni-channel environment and expert gamer
associates remain an important part of our gaming ecosystem, and
we’re pleased to elevate our partnership.”
Jim Bell, GameStop’s Chief Financial Officer commented, “We
believe Microsoft’s integrated retail technology platform will
enable the continued development of our frictionless omni-channel
digital environment, providing customers with an exceptional
cross-channel experience for all things video gaming.” Mr. Bell
continued, “By standardizing on Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, all
accessed with Microsoft Surface devices at our fingertips, we will
be able to create a better connection with our associates and
provide them with powerful new tools to deliver rich engaging
experiences to our customers while significantly enhancing our
cross-channel view of inventory ensuring the most efficient
delivery of products to our customers.”
About GameStop
GameStop Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in
Grapevine, Texas, is the world’s largest omni-channel video game
retailer, operates over 5,000 stores across 10 countries, and
offers the best selection of new and pre-owned video gaming
consoles, accessories and video game titles, in both physical and
digital formats. GameStop also offers fans a wide variety of POP!
vinyl figures, collectibles, board games and more. Through
GameStop’s unique buy-sell-trade program, gamers can trade in video
game consoles, games, and accessories, as well as consumer
electronics for cash or in-store credit. The company's consumer
product network also includes www.gamestop.com and Game Informer®
magazine, the world's leading print and digital video game
publication. General information about GameStop Corp. can
be obtained at the Company’s corporate website. Follow
@GameStop and @GameStopCorp on Twitter and Instagram and
find GameStop on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/GameStop.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements - Safe HarborExpectations
about quarterly results are based on preliminary unaudited
information about the first fiscal quarter of 2020 and are subject
to revision. Although the quarter is now completed, the Company is
still in the early stages of standard financial reporting closing
procedures. Accordingly, as normal quarter-end closing and review
processes conclude, actual results could differ materially from
these preliminary results. Factors that could cause actual results
for the quarter to differ materially from those contemplated by
these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
inaccurate assumptions; unrecorded expenses; changes in estimates
or judgments; and facts or circumstances affecting the application
of the Company’s critical accounting policies.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such statements are based upon management’s current beliefs,
views, estimates and expectations, including as to the Company’s
industry, business strategy, goals and expectations concerning its
market position, future operations, margins, profitability, capital
expenditures, liquidity and capital resources and other financial
and operating information, including expectations as to future
operating profit improvement. Such statements include without
limitation those about the Company’s expectations for fiscal 2020,
future financial and operating results, projections, expectations
and other statements that are not historical facts. All statements
regarding targeted and expected benefits of our transformation,
capital allocation, profit improvement and cost-savings
initiatives, and expected fiscal 2020 results, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant
risks and uncertainties and actual developments, business decisions
and results may differ materially from those reflected or described
in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among
others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
reflected or described in the forward-looking statements: the
uncertain impact, effects and results of pursuit of operating,
strategic, financial and structural initiatives, including the
Reboot strategic plan; the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on our
business, including governmental restrictions intended to mitigate
the outbreak; volatility in capital and credit markets, including
changes that reduce availability, and increase costs, of capital
and credit; the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on capital markets;
our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of product to meet
consumer demand, including due to supply chain disruptions on
account of trade restrictions, political instability, labor
disturbances and product recalls; the timing of release and
consumer demand for new and pre-owned products; our ability to
continue to expand, and successfully open and operate new stores
for our collectibles business; risks associated with achievement of
anticipated financial and operating results from acquisitions; our
ability to sustain and grow our console digital video game sales;
our ability to establish and profitably maintain the appropriate
mix of digital and physical presence in the markets we serve; our
ability to assess and implement technologies in support of our
omnichannel capabilities; the impact of goodwill and intangible
asset impairments; cost reduction initiatives, including store
closing costs; risks related to changes in, and our continued
retention of, executives and other key personnel and our ability to
attract and retain qualified employees in all areas of the
organization; changes in consumer preferences and economic
conditions; increased operating costs, including wages; disruptions
to our information technology systems including but not limited to
security breaches of systems protecting consumer and employee
information or other types of cybercrimes or cybersecurity attacks;
risks associated with international operations; increased
competition and changing technology in the video game industry;
changes in domestic or foreign laws and regulations that reduce
consumer demand for, or increase prices of, our products or
otherwise adversely affect our business; our effective tax rate and
the factors affecting our effective tax rate, including changes in
international, federal or state tax, trade and other laws and
regulations; the costs and outcomes of legal proceedings and tax
audits; and unexpected changes in the assumptions underlying our
outlook for fiscal 2020. Additional factors that could cause our
results to differ materially from those reflected or described in
the forward-looking statements can be found in GameStop's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020
filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's Internet site at
http://www.sec.gov or http://investor.GameStop.com. Forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the
date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result
of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may
be required by any applicable securities laws.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release are "forward-looking statements"
based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to
risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially
because of factors described above as well as:
- intense competition
in all of our markets that may lead to lower revenue or operating
margins;
- increasing focus on
cloud-based services presenting execution and competitive
risks;
- significant
investments in products and services that may not achieve expected
returns;
- acquisitions, joint
ventures, and strategic alliances that may have an adverse effect
on our business;
- impairment of
goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant
charge to earnings;
- cyberattacks and
security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue,
increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or
competitive position;
- disclosure and
misuse of personal data that could cause liability and harm to our
reputation;
- the possibility that
we may not be able to protect information stored in our products
and services from use by others;
- abuse of our
advertising or social platforms that may harm our reputation or
user engagement;
- the development of
the internet of things presenting security, privacy, and execution
risks;
- issues about the use
of artificial intelligence in our offerings that may result in
competitive harm, legal liability, or reputational harm;
- excessive outages,
data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to
maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
- quality or supply
problems;
- the possibility that
we may fail to protect our source code;
- legal changes, our
evolving business model, piracy, and other factors may decrease the
value of our intellectual property;
- claims that
Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of
others;
- claims against us
that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes;
- government
litigation and regulatory activity relating to competition rules
that may limit how we design and market our products;
- potential liability
under trade protection, anti-corruption, and other laws resulting
from our global operations;
- laws and regulations
relating to the handling of personal data that may impede the
adoption of our services or result in increased costs, legal
claims, fines, or reputational damage;
- additional tax
liabilities;
- damage to our
reputation or our brands that may harm our business and operating
results;
- exposure to
increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a
global business, including the effects of foreign currency
exchange;
- uncertainties
relating to our business with government customers;
- adverse economic or
market conditions that may harm our business;
- catastrophic events
or geopolitical conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that may
disrupt our business; and
- the dependence of
our business on our ability to attract and retain talented
employees.
For more information about risks and uncertainties associated
with Microsoft's business, please refer to the "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of Microsoft's SEC filings,
including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are incorporated by reference
in the Prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement,
copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft's Investor
Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft's Investor
Relations website
at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor.
Contacts:GameStop Corp. Investor Relations(817)
424-2001investorrelations@gamestop.com
Microsoft Media RelationsWE Communications for Microsoft (425)
638-7777rrt@we-worldwide.com
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