Fan-backed Hasbro project: Unicron

[DELTAprime]

Joshy is correct. From what I understand, Gamestop recently had its share price drop to its lowest point in about 15 years. Together with sales revenue being down 10%, equity being down, there is talk about cost efficiencies that will be implemented which could include store closures as bricks and mortar are seen as one of their weaknesses at the moment due to the competitiveness of online stores. Now if that happens, it is likely to impact upon EB Games. If there are store closures, the EB Games website terms and conditions have some very interesting terms which, to paraphrase, let them cancel preorders at any time...

Do I think it will happen? Probably not. But then again a lot can happen in the next 18-24 months, especially with Trump sending the US economy (and global economy with it) down the toilet and talks of recessions being possible. I would not dismiss concerns based off the word of one analyst.

Sure, ignore what the actual financial expert says and spread some FUD.

I work at a retailer that has had a ton of FUD spread about it by the media. What is actually going on vs what the media reports is massively different. Media today doesn't care about telling a story accurately, they care about getting clicks. Saying Big W is shutting down half its stores and thousands of people will be out of work was far more "newsworthy" than the reality of the situation.

Is Gamestop in a good financial situation? No. But are they shutting down tomorrow? No.

The big three-quarters of a billion-dollar loss that we all freaked out about was just a one-off accounting thing where they had to write an investment down as a loss. It had no impact on the day to day operation of the company. If it wasn't for that accounting issue they would have made a small profit.

Don't go by media reports, it's not "fake news" but it is written in a way to get clicks instead of properly relay the facts in an easy to understand manner.

[Raider]

Sure, ignore what the actual financial expert says and spread some FUD.

I work at a retailer that has had a ton of FUD spread about it by the media. What is actually going on vs what the media reports is massively different. Media today doesn't care about telling a story accurately, they care about getting clicks. Saying Big W is shutting down half its stores and thousands of people will be out of work was far more "newsworthy" than the reality of the situation.

Is Gamestop in a good financial situation? No. But are they shutting down tomorrow? No.

The big three-quarters of a billion-dollar loss that we all freaked out about was just a one-off accounting thing where they had to write an investment down as a loss. It had no impact on the day to day operation of the company. If it wasn't for that accounting issue they would have made a small profit.

Don't go by media reports, it's not "fake news" but it is written in a way to get clicks instead of properly relay the facts in an easy to understand manner.

Ok I was just trying to elaborate on the issues. You seem to have taken it personally and had a go at me and assumed i read "fake news". I actually read the published company financial statements (I'm a commercial lawyer/accountant) together with the company's legal documents. Together with my knowledge of business structures and potentially failing business (i specialise in insolvency), i think i know - more so than you - what I'm talking about.

Perhaps my Trump comment is what really got you going given you are parroting his signature phrase.

[DELTAprime]

Ok I was just trying to elaborate on the issues. You seem to have taken it personally and had a go at me and assumed i read "fake news". I actually read the published company financial statements (I'm a commercial lawyer/accountant) together with the company's legal documents. Together with my knowledge of business structures and potentially failing business (i specialise in insolvency), i think i know - more so than you - what I'm talking about.

Perhaps my Trump comment is what really got you going given you are parroting his signature phrase.

No, it's not you.

It's the assholes trying to tell me every single week that I'm out of a job because "my store is closing down" because of some idiots in the media that cares more about getting clicks than telling the truth.

[DaptoDog]

While I do not research Gamestop shares, I am a Portfolio Manager and a large institutional shareholder of JB Hi-Fi, EB's main Australian competitor.

I see truth in each side of these perspectives. I wouldn't second guess Raider for a second. Likewise, there are some reasons to explain Gamestop's current malaise that may prove transitory. The main one is that we are at the end of the current console hardware cycle. When Sony and Microsoft release their next gen consoles, that will naturally boost the games retailers. Rumours are the PS5 will be released end 2020.

Also, my understanding is that EB Australia makes good money in Australia. If anything were to happen to its parent Gamestop, it would likely be sold assuming it remained profitable. This is a big difference to TRU in Australia which was running losses for years (therefore no-one wanted to buy it).

Fortunately it was only a $100 deposit, so the financial downside is fairly limited. Missing out on Unicron all together though would suck, no doubt about it. Unfortunately there is some level of risk going with any retailer in this situation. The lowest risk would be to order from Hasbro US direct, but it will be significantly more expensive than the local alternative.

[Raider]

Couldn't agree more mate. I thought you would be best placed to chime in on this subject. Risk is low but still there. Not enough to concern me though. As you point out, this is not a TRU situation.