You might associate GameStop with video game consoles and software for your computer, but the chain is looking ahead. They’re looking toward a future where everyone plays games on the mobile phones in their pockets…and, more importantly, needs somewhere to buy those phones. That means closing around 125 GameStop stores, and adding new shops in other brands that the company owns: Spring Mobile, Simply Mac, and authorized sellers of Cricket Wireless.

What are these chains? Spring Mobile is a mobile products store that sells AT&T phones and plans. GameStop bought the chain in late 2013, and they have a few hundred stores scattered across the country.

Cricket is a mobile carrier that recently tied its fortunes together with AT&T’s no-contract Aio Wireless brand. GameStop doesn’t own this company, but operates stores that sell Cricket phones and service.

Simply Mac, as you might guess from the name, is an authorized reseller of Apple products that runs small stores in markets that lack Apple stores.

Maybe this will be a more promising plan for GameStop: the main problem that we can see from here is that the stores have tied their future very closely to that of AT&T Wireless.

GameStop to close 120-130 stores; open 300-400 tech stores under new banners [Chain Store Age]
GameStop 3.0 pushing company beyond games [Games Industry]

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