GAME To Cut Staff Discounts, Admits They Can’t Beat Supermarket Prices
In an internal message to all staff, GAME have told their employees that from the 26th of September their discounts will be reduced. Also from that date, customers will be unable to take advantage of GAME’s Price Promise offer due to supermarkets power to drive down prices.
The policy update (images below, sent in by a senior GAME employee who wishes to remain nameless for obvious reasons) admits that the new discounts (which range from 5% to 25%) offered to staff are a “little less”. This is the fault of a decrease in the profit margins GAME can earn on sales. It’s also been done to bring GAME’s staff discounts in line with the discounts given to Gamestation employees. The silver lining is that all (rather than previously, only some) employees will be able to borrow games from the store for free.
The leaked document also shows the firm giving up on their Price Promise (where they would match the price of other stores) after it’s become apparent that “[the] market has changed and those retailers [HMV, supermarkets and WHSmiths] will often make a big loss on individual products just to get customers in the store.” Though with some very optimistic spin they still maintain they “offer the best overall value” when you consider trade-in value, bundles, exclusives, rewards and “expert advice”.
The stores will still offer the discount in the few places in the country where there’s not both a GAME and a Gamestation.
GAME have been struggling over the past few years and recently seems to be on a push to remain relevant (and solvent). In July the company raised the prices of their pre-owned stock, and last year the company announced it would be closing 127 branches.
Ouch. I like GAME, the local one’s pretty big and the staff in there are alright. Much nicer than the local Gamestation at least, which still blares out Linkin Park and who’s staff have demonstrated rampant homophobia, obnoxious sexism and are completely inept at their jobs.
Though staff being able to borrow games from their stores is a pretty sweet deal. If anything that’s preferable to having a discount. Money off or playing the game for free, I know which I’d rather take.
Here in Australia all I’ve seen of GAME is a stupidly overpriced shop that has a woeful range to pick from, and then is quite understocked. EB Games are pretty damn bad as it is, but all the few GAME stores I’ve been to have been notably worse than them. They’re impersonal, uninviting and their shelves of security-boxed games complete the feel. Strangely, it’s not unlikely for their stores seem to smell funny too.
Are they like this everyhere?
If you can’t tell, I buy most of my games online nowadays.
I’m pissed off because my old gamestation Staff discount on Preowned was 30% across the board! buying preowned consoles is much more expensive now…
I dunno, those discounts seem pretty good. And I’d like to be able to borrow my games for free.
Let’s be honest, Tesco try to stomp on pretty much anyone. Their TVs are well cheap. It’s not a big deal, I thought GAME stopped price matching years ago anyway.
Jeez, that’s better than my discount. I get to check out games, yeah, but I get 15% on pre-owned (personally, I get 25% because I forked over the money for the 10% discount card) games, 15% off pre-owned hardware and new software, and a big fat 0% on new hardware.
As with GAME, digital content is also “expempt” from my employee discount.