Game Group’s UK and Ireland sales fell back by 12.4 percent in the first half of this year, the company says in a trading statement – but the drop was expected after “exceptional” sales of Wii Fit, Mario Kart and Grand Theft Auto IV bumped sales up 25 percent last year.
The retailer says pre-tax profit was in its target zone of between £13 million and £16 million – way down from £36.4 million a year ago. But Game expects a filip from winter-weighted sales of titles like Wii Fit Plus, DJ Hero and Singstar: Take That. It’s planning to open 50 to 60 more stores in time for its big Christmas period, finding £16 million in synergies from its earlier Gamestation merger.
Third-gen console sales are still growing, albeit more slowly than before. We expect our preowned business to continue to grow as consumers focus increasingly on value for money. Now Game is recession-conscious, saying: “We expect our preowned business to continue to grow as consumers focus increasingly on value for money.” But HMV is going after Game’s video games market as its core recorded music biz looks threatened, with copycat pre-owned and loyalty card schemes. Release.