Game (retailer)
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Formerly called
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The Game Group plc |
|---|---|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : |
| Founder | Terry Norris Bev Ripley |
| Headquarters | Basingstoke, United Kingdom |
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Key people
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David Hamid (Chairman) Martin Gibbs (CEO) |
| Products |
Game consoles Video games Accessories Mobile phones |
| Revenue | £861.9 million (2014) |
| £24.8 million (2014) | |
| £2.8 million (2014) | |
| Divisions | Game.co.uk |
| Subsidiaries |
Multiplay Ads Reality |
| Website |
www www www |
Game Digital plc (formerly The Game Group plc; usually known by its high street name Game and stylised as GAME) is a British video games retail company.
The company's origins lie in the founding of the Rhino Group by Terry Norris and Bev Ripley in 1991. A number of mergers and acquisitions followed during the 1990s, and in 1999, the company was purchased by Electronics Boutique Limited, which rebranded itself as The Game Group. The company continued to expand during the 2000s, purchasing several retailers including Gameswizards in Australia.
In March 2012, several suppliers, including Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Capcom refused to supply their latest products due to concerns over Game's creditworthiness. Game subsequently entered administration on 26 March 2012, and was purchased by OpCapita the following week. Baker Acquisitions was subsequently renamed Game Retail Ltd.
The company operated in the United Kingdom under the Game and Gamestation brands from the acquisition of the latter in May 2007 until late-2012, when it was announced that the business would focus solely on the Game brand.
The company that went on to become Game was founded by Bev Ripley and Terry Norris as Rhino Group in 1991, with stores branded as Future Zone. A year earlier in 1990, a separate company, called Game, was founded by Peter Wickins and Neil Taylor. Rhino Group acquired Virgin Games Stores from W H Smith in 1993, increasing the total number of stores to 77.
In 1995, the gaming retailer Electronics Boutique acquired 25% of the Rhino Group, the name of which was changed to Electronics Boutique Limited under license from the US business, and John Steinbrecher was sent from the USA to manage the chain. The name of the retail outlets were also renamed from "Future Zone" to "Electronics Boutique". In 1999, Electronics Boutique Limited purchased a chain of retail outlets known as Game, from which the current name of the company was derived, for £99 million. At the time of the takeover Game had 86 stores. Electronics Boutique Limited went on to purchase the BarrysWorld online gaming service in 2001, the French retailer ScoreGames in 2001, and the Spanish retailer Centro Mail also in 2001.
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Wikipedia