GameStop to open 80 Kids stores by mid-November
updated 11:37 am EDT, Fri October 26, 2012
GameStop to open nearly 80 GameStop Kids stores for the holidays
Video game store chain GameStop will open about 80 new stores meant to cater to the young ones by November 15. Called GameStop Kids, the first of the stores is now operating at Grapevine Mills Mall in Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas, The Dallas Business Journal reported. The retailer is betting the upcoming holiday season will pay off for the specially-themed stores, which will carry E-rated titles only.
GameStop operates about 4,400 regular stores and the new Kids stores will be located in malls that already have a highly-trafficked GameStop location in them. GameStop was planning the expansion for about eight months already.
Other merchandise sold in the stores will include accessories and toys such as two-foot tall game characters and game-themed backpacks.
"This is really a way for us to take share away from people who are in the toy business and have an expanded assortment," said GameStop CEO Paul Raines. The stores came as a result of feedback from members of GameStop's loyalty program, PowerUp Rewards.
If successful, the stores are likely to remain open past the holidays.
