Subject: Survival
I will be straight to the point.
It is not sustainable for GameStop to operate a money losing business. The mission is to operate hyper efficiently and profitably. Our expense structure must allow us to endure any adverse scenario. Whether it’s a difficult economy or revenue deceleration from shrinking software, we must be profitable. Our job is to make sure GameStop is here for decades to come. Extreme frugality is required. Every expense at the company must be scrutinized under a microscope and all waste eliminated. The company has no use for delegators and money wasters. I expect everyone to treat company money like their own and lead by example.
Prospering in retail means survival. If we survive, we stay in the game. Survival is avoiding the deadly sins that often lead retailers to self-destruct. This is usually a result of the following - buying bad inventory, using leverage, and running expenses too high. By avoiding these self-inflicted mistakes and focusing on the basics, GameStop can be here for a long time.
I expect everyone to roll up their sleeves and work hard. I’m not getting paid, so I’m either going down with the ship or turning the company around. I much prefer the latter.
It won’t be easy. Best of luck to us all.
Ryan
I don't think that NFTs were necessarily a bad decision. It gives GameStop a stake in a potential transition from brick and mortar to digital downloads. Shareholders asked for an NFT dividend, similar to Overstock, so GameStop would need experience. And crypto in general could be a transparent alternative to a corrupt financial system. Gary Gensler shot down Ryan Cohen's balloon with Operation Chokepoint –– broadening the definition of securities, suing crypto companies, and creating regulatory uncertainty.
Valid point.
I just don't see NFTs in video games being anything more than play to earn treadmills or more art NFT stuff that has no value. There really wasn't any sign GameStop was making sensible moves on that front.
Given the broader sentiment of gamers towards NFT stuff, I never really bought the whole idea that gaming with NFTs is going to be the next big thing. People don't want some shoddily coded shooter with NFT avatars. People want ownership and second hand markets for regular games. That's where I would see it fit in with GameStop. Get some big names to issue game keys in the form of NFTs, check a linked wallet for the NFT and launch if the NFT exists. Done with the game? Feel free to sell your NFT license with baked in profit sharing for the publisher / developer. That'd have been a thing and kicked DRM in the nuts, too.
Maybe that was their plan, Cohen never telegraphs his moves. But what I saw wasn't innovative or interesting, when it comes to their core business.