Videogame retail giant GameStop ($GME) recently announced that it would shutter almost 200 of its 5,700 worldwide locations. Blaming online shopping and digital sales of games, the chain is looking to lower its retail overhead as it readies itself for a digital-only future.
"We're on track to close between 180 and 200 underperforming stores globally by the end of this year," GameStop CFO Jim Bell told investors on its second-quarter earnings call this week.
The company expect to close more stores in the next one to two years, and that is probably a good move. That's because according to a proximity analysis, there are already enough GameStops to go around.
For every GameStop in the world, there are 2 other GameStops within 5 miles, on average, and there are 6.2 other GameStops within 10 miles. In other words, gamers who want to head to a real-world GameStop have options within a ten- to twenty-minute drive.
It's likely that the deepest location closures will take place in urban areas where GameStop store density is already high. In New York City, for instance, there are as many as 7 GameStop stores within 1 mile of one another and 35 stores within 5 miles.
The GameStop located at 682 6th Ave in Manhattan has 35 other GameStops within 5 miles.
That's right: The GameStop located at 682 6th Ave in Manhattan has 35 other GameStops within 5 miles.
In short, GameStop is competing with itself in a shrinking brick-and-mortar videogame marketplace. Among the most-crowded areas, Astoria, Queens ranks at the top with an average of 32.5 GameStops 5 miles from one another followed by Woodside, Queens with 32. The top-10 most-crowded GameStop areas are all in the New York Area.
Outside of the New York area, dense zones include Maywood, CA and Doral, FL.
|
City |
State |
Other stores within 5 mi |
|---|---|---|
|
Astoria |
NY |
32.5 |
|
Secaucus |
NJ |
17.0 |
|
OZONE PARK |
NY |
17.0 |
|
Maywood |
CA |
16.0 |
|
Howard Beach |
NY |
15.0 |
|
Lakewood |
CA |
14.3 |
|
South Richmond Hill |
NY |
14.0 |
|
Lynwood |
CA |
13.5 |
|
SOUTH GATE |
CA |
13.0 |
|
Doral |
FL |
13.0 |
Density in high-population areas isn't a factor in the continental United States, either. Puerto Rico is also extremely dense in terms of store proximity: for every store there, there are 4 GameStops within just one mile.
While store performance, as Bell told investors, will likely be a major factor for GameStop when it comes to determining which stores it will close, proximity data like that found here will likely come to play. After all, if a customer will still have a GameStop within a few miles even after a closure, no one (other than that store's employees) loses.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- GameStop's public data trails spell out the impact of the shifting videogame industry
- Do the Gamestop layoffs signal another challenge for the struggling retailer?
- How violent were July's best-selling video games? Not very, according to new data
