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Anthony Upton/PA Archive

GameStop Ireland plans to cash in on pop-culture hype with a new shop for 'nerds'

The retailer will open one of the first ThinkGeek-branded store outside the US in Dublin.

VIDEO GAME RETAILER GameStop will open one of the first brick-and-mortar ThinkGeek shops in Europe in a well-known Dublin shopping centre.

ThinkGeek is a formerly online-only retailer based in the US that sells accessories and clothing to pop-culture ‘nerds’. It was acquired by GameStop last year for $140 million.

The gaming giant already operates a similar concept store called Zing in Ireland and other European markets, but this will be the first physical shop under the ThinkGeek moniker in the country.

Michael van den Berg, managing director of GameStop in northern Europe, told Fora that the dual-branded shop will open in “a sought-after mall in Dublin”.

“There are already thousands of Irish nationals that are buying from ThinkGeek and having their products shipped from the US to their homes,” he said, describing the brand as “the largest e-commerce player” of its kind.

Some of the items for sale are exclusive to ThinkGeek, which van den Berg said will differentiate the brand from its Zing shops and the refurbished GameStop Plus stores that also sell novelty items.

thinkgeek opening ThinkGeek opening in Orlando YouTube YouTube

GameStop Plus

GameStop has been selling ancillary products like plush toys for 25 years, van den Berg said, but it “always came up incidentally” when a new game or console was released.

Now, half of the company’s stores in Ireland will be rebuilt as GameStop Plus shops where “50% of the store space is video games and 50% is collectibles”.

Despite the hefty overhaul – van den Berg said each shop was stripped back to “bare concrete” – the company’s revenue model will still rely heavily on traditional game sales.

“In a category like this, I think it is clear that you must have a range,” van den Berg said.

It doesn’t work if you put in a small fixture that has five caps, two t-shirts and a couple of key rings. In order to be successful and cater to the audience, you have to have a substantial range of products, which changes very often.

He said the video games industry is a “cyclical business” that peaks when new consoles are released but plateaus in intervening years. It is hoped sales of quirky toys and apparel will help bridge that gap.

Industry threats

One of the biggest threats to the traditional video game industry is the rise of mobile gaming.

Van den Berg said GameStop is competing in that sphere through its mobile game publisher, Kongregate, which it acquired in 2010.

The company is also being challenged by publishers that encourage gamers to download games online through the likes of the Xbox Games Store instead of purchasing a disc version from physical stores.

Vietnam Pokemon Go Pokemon Go mobile game Hau Dinh / AP/Press Association Images Hau Dinh / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images

“Gamers are collectors,” van den Berg said. “You have to understand that it’s very much a type of customer who likes to see the collection of games it has.

“The physical game has a residual value,” he added. “A very intricate part of our ecosystem is that we not only gladly sell you that new game, but also gladly buy it back from you.”

He also argued that brick-and-mortar retailers can offer “discoverability” to players through suggested sales by GameStop floor staff.

The time and bandwidth it requires to download a game – which is much larger than a music or video file – is an added benefit to physical retailers.

However, he acknowledged that “technology has a way of advancing and that may not always be there as a barrier”.

It’s a question of not holding back the tide, but getting into it.

Standalone shops

According to the most recent accounts from GameStop Ireland, the company reported losses of almost €1.5 million for the financial year ended 31 January 2015, pushing accumulated losses so far to over €11.5 million.

When asked about this, van den Berg said:

The reality of the situation is very much that GameStop has done an awful lot to get the business right-sized and on track. We have looked at how we can position (the company) and make sure (our) fortunes return.

He said if the flagship Gamestop-ThinkGeek store performs well, there was a strong possibility the firm would launch more standalone ThinkGeek shops.

“One must do so diligently,” van den Berg noted. “We want to be here and for the hundreds of people that we employ for many years to come.”

Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie

Correction: This article said the first ThinkGeek shop in Europe will open in Dublin. The brand will launch a store in Stockholm a week beforehand.

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    Mute winding_down
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:17 AM

    Thank you.

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    Mute Robert Rusk
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:33 AM

    “Boole’s work in mathematicians is now central to the design of computer circuits.”

    Boole’s work is in fact one of the most important concepts in computer science (if not THE most important). It is a fundamental building block of modern logical reasoning.

    133
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    Mute UndercoverGarda
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:17 PM

    How easy is it to count in binary?

    It’s as easy as 01 10 11.

    73
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    Mute Leigh Power
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    Dec 10th 2014, 1:27 PM

    There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don’t.

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    Mute Robert Rusk
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    Dec 10th 2014, 4:47 PM

    “Boole’s work in mathematics is now central to computer science.”

    Close enough …

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    Mute Enda
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:21 AM

    Fair play to the both of them

    109
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    Mute Atticus the Accuser
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:00 PM

    P.C gone mad! If a scientist of his calibre has a theory maybe the evidence should be explored before the witch hunt and burning commences.

    There’s a reason you only see black guys winning the Olympic 100m sprint Gold and there’s a reason you don’t see them win any medals for swimming! To state such a fact is true!

    Human intelligence has a genetic component and also takes in environmental factors.No surprise that Bill Gates in school by random chance had access to one of the most advance computers in the USA at the time.He had the genetic predisposition of a high intellect and the right factors in his environment and he became a Titan in computers.

    If people in Africa don’t have the same standard in education well obviously they’re unlikely to fulfil any genetic potential in intelligence. It doesn’t mean under different environment they wouldn’t.

    If someone said all black people are not as smart as all white people that statement is false and obviously racist.But if someone said due to environmental conditions plenty of Africans may not develop the full potential of intelligence compared to the Western population that statement has evidence.

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    Mute Dee4
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:22 PM

    @Att , re your swimming example it depends on the reasoning and if the reasoning is true. Swimming is a relatively expensive middle class activity so chances are Africa will not feature high in Olympic swimming or Dressage or yachting. If its genetic , less buoyancy (I have no idea) then its either true or not true. The next issue would be misusing the facts for propaganda to propagate hate.

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    Mute Leviathan
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    Dec 10th 2014, 3:07 PM

    Can you explain to me how swimming is a relatively expensive “middle class” activity?

    Aside from a pair of shorts…you really don’t need anything else for it. Its no different than walking either…you wouldn’t necessarily need lessons to learn, just an attentive parent.

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    Mute Andrew McQuillan
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    Dec 10th 2014, 5:45 PM

    Atticus, your last paragraph is not an accurate description of the comments of this man. Unintentionally or not, you have rewritten a version based on a possible intention of different phraseology. His own words were very different, racist, and at odds with the scientific research that his own developments unlocked.

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    Mute Vera Dawber Power
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:31 AM

    What a wonderful kind gesture..God bless you..and thanks.

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    Mute Thierry Rat
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:14 PM

    POlitical correctness restricts science

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    Mute Frank
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:53 AM

    Barack Obama should do the same with his with all the proceeds going towards victims of drone strikes.

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    Mute Dee4
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:21 AM

    bit if a misleading headline, if I understand the story he will donate a % of 3million? hardly the same as “donate some of his millions to an Irish university”

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    Mute Enda
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    Dec 10th 2014, 11:30 AM

    Indeed. 4 plus “other” charities will also get a share of the 3 million so hardly millions each as claimed.

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    Mute Dee4
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:40 PM

    Why all the dislikes?? the article states the proceeds are €3.8 million and he will give some to cork, which to implies a sum probably well under a million

    “Watson said he hopes to use some of the proceeds of the medal’s auction to set up an institute dedicated to George Boole at University College Cork.”

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    Mute Steve M
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    Dec 10th 2014, 12:56 PM

    Puts into perspective some of the comments you see here like yesterday “Thats why everyone hates Americans” “Americans are fat and stupid” etc

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    Mute Leviathan
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    Dec 10th 2014, 3:32 PM

    Those crusties generally are only referring to white, Christian Americans. Its the safe group to slag off without offending their PC cohorts.

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    Mute Ollie
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    Dec 10th 2014, 4:37 PM

    Well done to both

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    Mute jp quinn
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    Dec 10th 2014, 5:14 PM

    Boole is Cool.

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    Mute johnhindepost
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    Dec 11th 2014, 12:22 AM

    100% William Rowan Hamilton, 1005 George Boole and 52% of James Watson are Irish.

    Mathematics and the fundamentals of computing discovered by Irish.
    Now we know why all these companies are setting up second base here in Ireland.
    We Irish got the geek gene……………..yehaw!!!

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    Mute Colm Kelly
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    Dec 11th 2014, 4:32 AM

    Boole was English

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