A lot of retailers were hit in the first quarter by a strong dollar, bad weather and the West Coast port strike — or at least cited those factors as reasons for disappointing results. Then there are retailers like GameStop, whose shares were up 7% in recent trading after the video game retailer reported better-than-expected sales and earnings Thursday afternoon.?
“We had a great first quarter,” CFO Rob Lloyd declares in the accompanying video. “We had the same international currency challenges that a lot of companies did and it impacted our sales and revenues but…we were able to exceed our guidance for the quarter.”
Indeed, GameStop’s results beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines with earnings of 68 cents per share and revenue of $2.06 billion, the latter up 8.1% on a constant currency basis. Same-store sales rose 8.6% in the quarter and the company upped its full-year earnings guidance to $3.63-$3.83 from $3.60-$3.80.
Lloyd says the key to GameStop’s Q1 success was something that seems self-evident but is often easier said than done in retail: Delivering what customers want.
“As long as publishers introduce great content that drives consumers into our stores, I think we’ll be alright,” he says.?
In the first quarter, there was strong demand for titles such as NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat X, Electronic Arts’ Battlefield Hardline, Take-Two’s Evolve and Warner Brothers Interactive’s Dying Light. “Customers were lining up to get them,” Lloyd said, further noting strong early demand for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which was just released by Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED on May 19.?
“We’re pleased with what we’ve seen on Witcher 3…we’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough product to meet demand,” he says, and is optimistic about the forthcoming release of Batman: Arkham Knight, the final installment of Rocksteady Studios’ Arkham Trilogy.
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