Republic shops 'unaffected' as GameStop shuts all its North stores
COMPUTER games retailer GameStop yesterday played down any fears that it may close stores in the Republic after it shut all its stores in Northern Ireland.
GameStop's three stores in the North did not open on Monday and customers were met with a poster on the shop windows directing them to the company's UK website.
The sudden closure -- affected staff were reportedly only informed on Sunday -- sparked fears the closures may signal the beginning of cuts in the firm's operations in the South, where GameStop has close to 50 stores.
Last night, however, a GameStop spokesman moved to ease fears of job losses in the Republic and instead said the decision to shut its retail business in the UK had been long planned.
"The recent store closures in Northern Ireland are part of our plan, announced six months ago, to exit the UK market from a brick and mortar perspective and to focus on expanding our digital offerings in the UK," he said.
"The stores in the Republic of Ireland are not affected at this time and our go-forward plan is to serve the UK market with digital and online offerings.
"We are honouring all customer credits, returns, etc through our UK website and our stores in Ireland," he added.
- Peter Flanagan
Irish Independent
