US retailer GameStop saw a 26.7 per cent decline in net sales for the three months ending August 1st, 2020.
The firm brought in $942m for the quarter, with the drop in spending being due to – what else? – store closures brought on by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as the current console generation coming to a close.
GameStop also posted a $111.3m net loss for the period, though that actually seems an improvement on the whopping $415.3m that it reported for the same time last year. Why only seems? Well, in Q2 2019/20, the company was hit with impairment charges to the tune of $401m, meaning its net loss for the period actually more like $32m, with this year's adjusted net loss clocking in at $91.2m. So, the retailer is still making heavy losses.
The firm is trying to claw itself into the black though, selling several of its own buildings and, erm, its corporate jet. GameStop has also boasted of huge growth in its e-commerce business.
“The second quarter saw strong progress toward our strategic initiatives, fueling an 800 per cent increase in global E-commerce sales, a $133.7 million reduction in SG&A and a significant improvement in our balance sheet with $735.1 million in cash at quarter-end and a 50 per cent reduction in inventory, as compared to the second quarter last year," CEO George Sherman (pictured) said.
"These achievements combined drove $181.9 million in free cash flow for the quarter. I am extremely proud of our team, and their dedication to our mission, our strategy and safely serving our customers despite operating in an unprecedented environment.
“We believe the actions we are taking to optimize the core operations of our business by increasing efficiencies and creating a frictionless digital ecosystem to serve our customers, wherever and whenever they choose to shop, are enabling us to navigate the COVID-19 environment while positioning us well for the launch of the next generation of consoles.
“While the ongoing pandemic continues to create a somewhat uncertain environment in the short term, we are very pleased by the consumer response at GameStop to the few recent video game product introductions and we believe we are ready, with expanded service and payment options, to handle the expected surge in demand and participate in a very significant way in the console launches later this year.”
