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G1Optimal
9th January 2020, 08:39 PM
https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/01/eb-games-stores-shutting-down-australia/


. The days of the YOLO SWAG sale, for some stores, are coming to an end. EB Games customers have received notices overnight that stores in the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, will be shutting down before the end of the month.

A Kotaku Australia reader got in touch earlier this week letting letting us know that staff had been told at four Adelaide stores would be closing down by the end of the month. The layoffs are much further, however, with OzBargain posters receiving emails from EB stores across Australia, letting them know their local joint was affected. Local sites Vooks and Press Start have gotten tip offs as well.

Some of the stores are fairly large, including Blacktown in NSW and Docklands in Victoria. Kotaku Australia has reached out to EB Games for comment and clarification, and will update this story if they reply.

Update 10:27am: EB Games has provided the following comment to Kotaku Australia:


Like all businesses, we are constantly evaluating our property portfolio to ensure that our stores mix is in-line with the ever changing retail landscape. After careful consideration we will be closing 19 unprofitable stores at the end of January. Where possible, staff were offered the opportunity to work in surrounding stores.

In exciting news, 2020 will see EB Games continue to open more large format stores that combine the power of both the EB Games and Zing Pop Culture. These hybrid stores, combined with our strong omni-channel offering, 6 million loyalty members and 300+ locations across Australia, will see EB Games continue to be one of Australia’s largest specialty retailers.
The full list of affected stores can be found by searching for your local store through the EB Games Store locator. At the time of writing, these stores have been removed:



Birkenhead Point EB Games NSW 2047

Blacktown EB Games NSW 2148

Bribie Island EB Games QLD 4507

Brickworks Marketplace EB Games SA 5031

City Cross EB Games SA 5000

Cleveland EB Games QLD 4163

Dandenong EB Games VIC 3175

Dianella EB Games WA 6059

Hallet Cove EB Games SA 5158

Hamilton EB Games VIC 3300

Harbourtown Adelaide EB Games SA 5950

Inala EB Games QLD 4077

Inverell EB Games NSW 236

Kalamunda EB Games WA 6076

Lutwyche EB Games QLD 4030

Majura Park EB Games ACT 2609

Rockdale EB Games NSW 2216

Underwood EB Games QLD 4119

Winston Hills EB Games NSW 2153

All stores affected will be having a stocktake sale before closing, with products discounted from 20 percent to 60 percent.[/QU

Update #2: The Tamworth store listed has already been closed and converted into a EB/Zing Hybrid store, EB has advised.

Ralph Wiggum
9th January 2020, 09:57 PM
Inb4 the ?brick and mortar stores? are doomed predictions

Omega Metro
9th January 2020, 10:11 PM
No real loss. Zing is where it’s at.

i_amtrunks
10th January 2020, 07:06 AM
I?d imagine most of those stores will be like the Blacktown one, where they can merge with the pre existing Zing store, or are in smaller shopping centres that are not far from another eb store. EB is everywhere and they don?t need to be in every single shopping centre. Sucks for the employees though.

DELTAprime
10th January 2020, 05:25 PM
Except for Bribie Island, all the Queensland stores are in Brisbane. Sounds like they oversaturated their stores.

I hope anyone with a Unicron at these stores is able to get it moved to another store or changed to delivery.

nalops
10th January 2020, 05:41 PM
Underwood is really close to me but so incredibly tiny which is why I've almost always pre-ordered at Garden City or CBD. It makes sense it wasn't doing too well but I'll miss it.

Omega Metro
10th January 2020, 05:47 PM
I’m surprised Cannington wasn’t on the list. It’s always empty when I go in there. And there’s another EB Games and Zing right across the road at Carousel.

griffin
10th January 2020, 07:08 PM
Just to hose down any doom and gloom over this, the quoted text in the first post points out that the business is still in a process of opening up new stores, and are just closing down stores that aren't making any money... which is what most businesses do if they want to stay profitable, even the big ones like Coles and Woolworths.
And this is just a tiny amount of their stores.

We'd only need to be worried if they were closing a large portion of their stores, or were going into administration (like ToysRUs did).


And just to reassure those of us who pre-ordered Unicron last year, this is something I had posted on our Facebook page on October 5th (https://www.facebook.com/ozformers/posts/2721051727933528?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCkSxk47lzzgPr XtCVoqqOS4IlzBbzfIgQyiKLdgBB_uzw9Iaqj4gEDtG66rYgOF gq3zeByuWjJ57ENUR1AspINi_5q6cmwgC05WNn0yTZi9pjV_d9 jN1Y0ZtZQQQXicqNGth-szYE7Y_UEh7AwJCF1FRvjsNTUh4pZqPDzDA4cMNLo7A3RVMRbT lDugEUyclzvsHJIOsarehUo7yy7v2aRaJiCyxcQtxwtzqGhdoV ABUdVjEwOe5gquYoZx9KYTd8JLk4nHhsIXsAg9gVUU09zRBDbX w1H8OntGOcjdB0FewStT87GJld9XIRevPbiPBOHIZAm2342oeO XQkG_vBsqWg&__tn__=-R) (I thought that I posted it here somewhere, but I can't find it so it could have been at a time when this board was glitching)...


For those worried about spending money on something that won't come out for another 2 years, and concerned about any Retailer being around in two years time (in the current economic climate), don't worry... Hasbro Australia have told us at Ozformers that when they get the Unicron toys in 2021, if anything did happen to EB Games before then, they will find a way to get the toys to those who have ordered them.

Obviously Hasbro (America and Australia) have a lot invested in making sure Unicron succeeds, without negative publicity (they obviously have something big planned for the 35th anniversary of the 1986 Movie, to have Unicron released that year)... so even if EB Games collapses, Hasbro Australia will do what it can to make sure those who can prove they have Unicron ordered, get it.

My recommendation - if you are still worried about EB Games collapsing before Unicron comes out, don't pay off Unicron before it is released... but make sure you are putting the money somewhere, so that the total cost doesn't hit you suddenly in 2021, as we don't know the exact month it will be released. That way, if EB Games disappear, the most you will have at risk is $100... which I imagine Hasbro would have to cover when shipping out the Unicron toys to those who pay the rest of the toy's amount to Hasbro (or to a new agent to process the payments and shipping).

griffin
10th January 2020, 07:11 PM
I hope anyone with a Unicron at these stores is able to get it moved to another store or changed to delivery.

I would expect that that would be the case, especially if you are a member and had the pre-orders done through your membership card.

Anyone who pre-ordered any of the upcoming Transformers toys through the 19 stores being closed, call up the store, or the main customer service number on the EB Games website, to have your pre-order moved to another store, or to see what your options are (like if they can change it to delivery and charge the extra shipping amount).

griffin
10th January 2020, 07:18 PM
(moved this topic to the Oz news section, as it relates to future Transformers pre-orders that many of us here have at EB Games at the moment)

Bumblebee2000
10th January 2020, 08:34 PM
Harbourtown is a different situation (maybe that it's a regular store in a sea of discount places?) but can't be surprised City Cross is closing when Rundle Mall is a bigger store before the Zing connected to it a minute away. Someone else has mentioned over saturation so wonder if that's a big problem for that.

The two Coles bookending my local mall are chugging along unfortunately but whatever...

MayzaPrime
13th January 2020, 04:23 PM
The Canberra (Majura Park) store is terrible anyway... its so small... very limited stock. There is no real loss with it closing down.

SharkyMcShark
13th January 2020, 05:59 PM
I stuck my head into the EB in Kalamunda (its 50m from my work) on Friday.

Half of their stuff is gone. I was after a cheap copy of Breath of the Wild but apparently that went super quick.