After firing former CEO Matthew Furlong and naming Chewy founder Ryan Cohen executive chairman back in June, GameStop has officially named Cohen their new president and CEO.
And, per an email obtained by Kotaku today, he’s apparently looking to make some big cuts at the company, saying his “mission is to operate hyper efficiently and profitably.”
“Extreme frugality is required,” he said in an email to staffers today. “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.”
Cohen first joined GameStop back in 2021, around the peak of the meme stock frenzy that became so publicized that it inspired Dumb Money, a film from I, Tonya and Cruella director Craig Gillespie that released earlier this month.
Cohen’s involvement drew even more attention, and there were hopes that his experience in creating pet supply online retailer Chewy would turn the troubled company around, but it’s continued to be mostly unprofitable. Its stock has plunged 38% in the past year, reports NBC News, and the company saw several rounds of layoffs in 2022. It did, however, report its first profitable quarter in two years in March, but it remains deeply in debt.
GameStop, a mostly brick-and-mortar chain, has not only struggled with the rise in digitally sold games, but has to compete with other big retailers like Amazon online. Efforts like pushes in NFTs have been short-lived, although it has prioritized other aspects of the business, like sales of physical collectibles.
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Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
