In 2008 the Global Video Games Market Was Worth $47.2Bn, up from $42.5Bn in 2007

Our market

The global video games market has seen unprecedented growth in the 21st century, outstripping growth in all other home entertainment sectors.

In 2008 the global video games market was worth $47.2bn, up from $42.5bn in 2007.

GAME is the leading video games retailer in Europe.Valued at $20.6bn in 2008, the European video games market has grown fast andbecome the second largest games market in the world.

We've been selling pc and video games in the UK for over 20 years. Much has changed, but we've watched, listened and learned to position ourselves to benefit from changing trends.

Our businessesare well established in some of the world's largest video games markets, and we're also expanding into developing markets like the Czech Republic.

GAME territory / Market size (2008) / GAME market position
UK & Ireland / $6.0bn / Market leader
France / $4.2bn / Fourth
Spain / $2.1bn / Market leader
Scandinavia (inc Iceland) / $1.2bn / Market leader
Australia / $1.4bn / Fourth
Czech Republic / CZK 1.2m / Market leader
Source: IDG

Locations

GAME has a strong presence in Europe and is growing quickly in Australia.

In each territory we use the same specialist skills and core attributes to meet the needs of local customers in our stores and online.

Our strategy

Computer and video games retailing is evolving rapidly through the combined impact of technological advances andcontinually competitive high street and online markets. We aim to maintain our leading position by adhering to the coreattributes of our Group as a specialist retailer.

Our strategy for growth is:

• Focus on our leading specialist offer
• Broaden our customer appeal
• Expand and maintain our competitive position
• Grow in International markets–
• Invest in our multi channel proposition

Core attributes

Outstanding customer service and a specialist offer are at the heart of GAME Group's growth.

We have eight core attributes to our business that are key to all of our work, and we use them to drive our business forward. They are:

Customer relationship management:

• Employees – Our employees are dedicated to giving our customers the highest levels of service and advice. We give them extensive training, so they can usetheir knowledge and passion for video games toguide consumers to the products, deals and choices that best suit their needs.
• Product and range – We offer the widest range of pc and video games products in our stores and online. We useour expertise and customer insight to generate unique product offers and deals to give customersexcellent value.
• Preowned – Trading-in games is a unique way that customers can save money, using their old games as currency against new purchases.Offering a large range of preowned games enables us to offer a broader range and great value to the more price conscious consumer. GAME and Gamestation each have over 10 years' experience offering customers great value through trade-in and preowned.
• Customer loyalty – The GAME Reward Card programme has over 13 million members around the world. Customers earn points on everything they buy at GAME which can be used as discounts against future purchases. The scheme gives us sales trend data which helps us to continually refine and target our offers.

Infrastructure and support:

• Property – we choose the best, most convenient store sites for our customers, and then regularly review those choices. With over 1,360 stores in the Group, we have strong relationships with landlords and good access to new sites.
• eCommerce – We want ouronline outletsto match the quality and reputation of our stores, and the expansion of our multi-channel offer is crucial to our success. We continue to invest in this area - developing the customer operations inall territories and offering new services likegame downloads and streamed games on demand.
• Business relationships – We've builtlong-term relationships with allhardware andsoftwaresuppliers inour markets. Thisgives usa good allocation of new products for our customers, and an ability to maximise new launches with exclusive products andexciting promotions anddeals. We're constantlyworking closely with our partners to improve our specialist proposition.
• Distribution – In a market where launch dates are key, products must be available fast. Our distribution centres understand this. And our slick merchandising function ensures that right quantities of the right product reach their destination quickly – whether to store or direct to customer.

Game PLC - Highlights