THE FINALISTS 2012 Exclusive Retail Category Partner YOUR TEAM • YOUR GAMES • YOUR AWARDS
AWARD CRITERIA: Customer service, Product knowledge, Range and merchanding, Commitment to street dates, Marketing activity
RETAIL SPECIALIST RETAILER GAMESTOP
The US giant may have closed its few bricks-and-mortar stores but made a massive impact in the online space with the launch of GameStop.co.uk. Aggressive limited time price offers for Deus Ex and Driver put them on the map with consumers, gaining them valuable market share. Globally, the company is one of the most successful specialist games retailers. Flying in the face of declines seen by UK retailers, GameStop globally took over $3bn for the nine weeks ended December 31st. This year it plans to offer its own gaming tablet and a streaming games service.
HMV 2011 was a year of change for the entertainment retailer. The company sold off its Waterstoneʼs business in the summer for £53m and expanded its technology offer, with almost every store now offering a wide range of tablets, music players and other gadgets. HMV continues to support the games industry, teaming up with Nintendo for the 3DS launch back in March. It followed this up with a number of 3DS promotions, including a discount for any customers that received the retailerʼs StreetPass Mii and the chance to download One Directionʼs Miis. Contratry to rumours, HMV has told MCV it is not backing out of the games market. Instead, it is trying to strengthen ties with publishers. Its Pure loyalty card now has more than 2m customers.
The Jersey-based retailer is the winner of several previous MCV Awards, including Best Online Retailer and Best Home Delivery – but its not resting on its laurels. The company continues to grow its product range, and even redesigned its website in August to better show off the variety it offers. In a surprise move, the company was sold to Japanese online retail giant Rakuten shortly after. The Eastern firm is already having an impact on the future of the company, exploring the possibility of new business models such as payment on delivery.
This independent online retailer has shown consistent growth in the last year. Its profits for the six months ending January 31st leapt by a whopping 254 per cent, with a significant improvement in its hardware offering. Console sales now account for £8m of its turnover. Over the past twelve months, ShopTo has launched a loyalty points card scheme and even a news site in its ongoing quest to engage with its customers more. More importantly, the firm greatly expanded its warehouse operations so it can now provide 24/7 service to its customers. It has also been improving its brand awareness, most notably with pitch-side ads during the England vs Denmark match back in March.