Mighty Ape
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| Private Company | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1999 (as Virtual Stores) 2008 (as Mighty Ape) |
| Founder | Simon Barton |
| Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand |
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Area served
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New Zealand |
| Website |
www.mightyape.co.nz, www.mightyape.com.au |
Mighty Ape, Ltd. is a New Zealand electronic commerce company, based in Albany, Auckland. Formerly known as Gameplanet Store, it is one of the longest running online retailers in New Zealand.
Founded by Simon Barton as Virtual Stores (NZ), Ltd. in 1999, the company began by selling computer and video games under the GameZone brand. In 2003 the business rebranded to Gameplanet Store (or GP Store). Over the following years the product range expanded to include DVD movies, PC hardware and music. In 2008 the company relaunched as Mighty Ape and began selling books and toys.
Mighty Ape has launched in Australia.
Simon Barton first founded Micro-World in 1993, a small retail store in Mt Eden, Auckland, which sold Amiga computers. When Amiga production ceased, the business shifted its focus to selling video games and rebranded to GameZone. Several other stores were opened in Auckland; however this proved unsuccessful, and GameZone reverted to having one store (on Symonds St in the Auckland CBD), run with the help of Zane Hemingway. GameZone became well known for its large-scale product launch parties, including one for the original PlayStation.
GameZone created its first e-commerce website in 1998, allowing the company to begin selling video games online and cater to a wider customer base. The site was mostly developed by Simon Garner, whom Simon Barton later partnered with in 2000 to start a separate venture called Gameplanet, a gaming website which publishes video game news, reviews, previews, downloads and community forums.
GameZone began operating under the company name Virtual Stores (NZ), Ltd in 1999.
In 2003, GameZone was rebranded as Gameplanet Store (or GP Store). This coincided with the closure of the Symonds St store and opening of a new retail store on Dominion Rd in Mt Eden, and the launch of a new web site.
As GP Store grew, the product range gradually expanded to include DVD movies, PC hardware and music. While the e-commerce side of the business went from strength to strength, the retail store in Mt Eden was not so successful. In 2007 the retail store was closed, enabling the company to focus entirely on its e-commerce operations.
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Wikipedia