C-SUITE

GameStop's Cheat Code

Yep, we’re doing it. We’re covering GameStop. The r/WallStreetBets sweetheart has aggressively reshuffled its executive leadership in recent weeks, in hopes that fresh, e-comm focused talent will propel it from dinosaur retailer to 21st century e-tailer.  

Avengers, assemble: Earlier in the month, GameStop tapped Chewy.com cofounder Ryan Cohen to chair a digitization committee. According to Bloomberg, Cohen has become the de facto CEO, despite only being a board member. 

• On Tuesday, GameStop scooped up Amazon executive Elliott Wilke to lead its growth efforts. 
• Cohen also recruited his Chewy colleagues Andrea Wolfe and Tom Petersen as VP of brand development and VP of merchandising, respectively.  
• Other recent hires include a slate of Amazon and Chewy alums, including a COO, CTO, and head of e-commerce. 

Reminder: The digital pivot is a hard one. While some have made it, legacy retailers like J.Crew, Guitar Center, and more all capsized during Covid. GameStop itself shuttered 693 stores in 2020. 

How it started, where it’s going 

Back in the GTA: San Andreas days, if you weren’t getting games from Walmart, you were buying them from GameStop—but not anymore. The decline of malls and the ability to purchase and download games via console have both hurt sales. 

•  61.4% of US gamers prefer downloading their games, compared to 30.6% who still enjoy a physical copy, per 2019 Limelight Networks survey data. The rest either rent or trade their games.

Last gasp: In 2020, GameStop increased global e-comm sales 191% to ~$1.47 billion, but that’s still just 29% of its total revenue. And overall, GameStop’s revenue declined 21% to $5.09 billion in 2020. GameStop wants to grow its e-comm sales further by modernizing its fulfillment network to improve delivery speed and shifting its product offerings away from physical games.  

Bottom line: GameStop’s advantage as a retailer is its name recognition as the go-to for games and accessories. By adding experienced talent faster than the Brooklyn Nets, it’s trying to give itself every opportunity to capitalize on that advantage. 

E-COMM

Spinning a Delivery Yarn

DIY now means “deliver it yourself” for Michaels. In a category first, the arts and crafts retailer is partnering with Instacart for same-day delivery through Instacart Marketplace.

• Nearly 100 Michaels stores in Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, DC, will have first dibs on expedited deliveries. 
• In a few months, all 1,272+ US Michaels stores will be onboarded to Instacart.

We know Instacart’s riding the e-comm wave to expand delivery partners. With Michaels, Instacart’s total client list has swelled to 600+ retailers. But what’s drawing a crafting brand into the mix? 

Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail, told Retail Brew that same-day delivery is generally “a useful feature for creating loyalty and boosting customer service.” 

• Not that it’s a necessity for the crochet set. Saunders said same-day delivery orders are “probably a small number relative to all online orders” at retailers like Michaels.

Competitive crafting: Once shoppers learned doomscrolling wasn’t a real hobby, crafting sales made pandemic winners out of Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics. The former’s new digital investments may also = new attempts to outpace category rivals. 

• Coloring and art supply sales rose 17% year over year in 2020, per NPD Group data.
• The results? A new owner for Michaels, an IPO for JoAnn.  

SPONSORED BY MARKETERHIRE

The Common Denominator of Brand Domination

What do established and growing brands like Netflix, Allbirds, and HelloFresh have in common? 

They trust MarketerHire’s network of vetted marketers to make all their wildest marketing dreams come true—marketers who specialize in specific disciplines like Content, Growth, Paid Social, SEO, and more. 

MarketerHire understands that no two brands are exactly alike, which is why they let you hire marketers hourly, part-time, or full-time—depending on your needs. 

You get matched with marketers based on your wants through proprietary tech coupled with a human touch. And it’s free for prospective customers (that’s you) to meet marketers and start working together risk-free. 

Think of MarketerHire as the matchmaker that actually works. And if sparks aren’t flying with your marketer after your first date, they’ll continue to find matches until you meet your one true marketing love.

Start hiring better marketing talent and join MarketerHire today. 

RSVP

You Left Something in Your Cart...

We’re eight days away from the kickoff of Retail Brew’s virtual event series, The Checkout. If you haven’t completed your (free) registration for next week’s event on Thursday, April 8, at 1:30pm ET, here are two reasons to RSVP, ASAP.

1. The topic. All things social commerce. Our discussion will cover...

• Why Instagram, Snap, TikTok, and Twitter are investing in social shopping
• Why US user adoption rates are lagging—and how retailers can boost conversions
• Where social commerce will expand in 2021 and beyond

2. The panelists. We’ll be joined by two experts with firsthand insights on all things social shopping. From Instagram, director of product management Layla Amjadi will unpack the ’Gram’s latest mobile mall developments. From Doe Beauty, CEO Jason Wong will provide an operator’s unfiltered perspective on which social platforms convert purchases (and which don’t). 

Whether your brand is rolling in followers or just getting started on social, you won’t find this insiders’ look at social commerce anywhere else. So RSVP right here to guarantee your spot.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Votes are being counted in Amazon’s historic unionization election. 
• Meanwhile, Amazon reportedly recruited loyal workers to defend it on Twitter.
• Lululemon reported men’s and women’s sales rose by double digits in Q4. 
• Tonal, the at-home fitness company, is reportedly prepping for an IPO.
• Pizza Hut will open pick-up windows for online orders at 1,500 stores. 

SPONSORED BY ENDEAR

Retail clienteling’s greatest sidekick. Endear ensures your retail sales team can give customers the same one-on-one attention whether they shop in-store or from their couch. Easy to onboard with out-of-the-box integrations. Get your team up and running in just a few clicks with virtually no dev lift. Score a code for 50% off your first three months of Endear right here.

COMMUNITY

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew's readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here and introduce yourself.

Today we’re sipping the CPG tea with Farah Jesani, cofounder and CEO of DTC chai brand One Stripe Chai. She also goes by Chief Chai Officer. 

Tell us a little about building your brand: I get to spend my days creating by hand something I love that’s also a part of my cultural identity—chai! Every day is exciting because I know I’m building something important for others like me who wish the masses could get a (literal) taste of the drinks our parents grew up enjoying.

One thing we can’t guess about your career from LinkedIn: I work with way more cardboard boxes and pallets in the warehouse than most people would expect. There are a lot more logistics and heavy lifting, both literal and figurative, than you might imagine for a beverage company.

Favorite project you’ve worked on: In 2020 we began partnering with BIPOC ceramicists on limited edition drops of modern interpretations of kulhad, the handleless clay cup in which chai is traditionally served. It’s so unique and special!

One retail trend you’re excited about: The unapologetic explosion of bright, vibrant ingredients, spices, and dishes that were previously relegated to specialty markets. Brands are owning every part of who they are with multicultural products—Omsom, Diaspora Co., Fly By Jing, and more—and taking up space in our everyday lives and on a national stage. Founders refuse to be brushed aside to the “ethnic” aisles in grocery stores, and I cannot wait to give these new retail items a home in my pantry.

Favorite retail accounts to follow: Retail and Morning Brew (duh!), Alli Ball’s podcast, and Cassandra Daily.

SWAPPING SKUS

Clout-chasing, 20-something suburbanites will do whatever it takes to not miss the latest streetwear drop. But some streetwear brands don’t want their aesthetic to get stale—so they’re laying out visions for the future. 

• After recently opening its first European store, Kith plans to keep paying its debts to Black culture, which fueled its rise in popularity. (Business of Fashion)
• Brownstone, a streetwear/luxury brand for “insiders,” wants its clothes to represent cultural outsiders who grew up in the internet age. (Forbes)

ICYMI

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Exclusive: Consumers Share Their Post-Pandemic Grocery Shopping Habits
• ThredUp CEO Lays Out Post-IPO Plans
• Guess Pulls Telfar Lookalike Bags Following Social Media Backlash