GameStop Hits International Milestone Of 1000 Stores

Representatives of game retailer GameStop, owner of both GameStop and EB Games outlets have announced that with its latest wave of retail openings, it has reached a milestone 1000 international stores in addition to its nearly 5000 U.S. locations. The company says that in the past 30 days alone it has opened new locations in Canada, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Overall, its game stores can be found in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It also operates locations outside Europe in Australia, Canada, Guam, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and, of course, the United States. The subject of its international locations has come up most recently following the sale of Blockbuster's UK game outlets, Gamestation, to UK native Game Group PLC, which operates the retail franchise Game. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said, following GameStop's record Q1 earnings, that the sale was a "lost opportunity" for GameStop. "In our view," said Pachter at the time, "the UK has room for over 1000 GameStop stores, and given that there are currently fewer than 30, we believe that the territory presents the most compelling opportunity for growth. The sale to Game Group creates a greater barrier to entry into the UK market, and we think that it sets GameStop’s growth plans back by at least two years in that territory."