A GameStop store is seen in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York City, New York, USA on January 27, 2021. Photo taken on January 27, 2021. REUTERS / Nick Zieminski / File Photo
George Sherman of GameStop Corp. (GME.N) will step down as CEO in the biggest shake-up of video game retailers as he tries to undo his brick image and adopt an e-commerce model.
Shares of the video game retailer, which were at the heart of a trading frenzy traded by Reddit, jumped 7% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said Sherman would resign on or before July 31 and had begun to look for a successor.
Reuters had previously reported that GameStop’s board was working with an executive chief hunter on the CEO search and that its directors had spoken to potential candidates from the gaming, e-commerce and technology sectors.
The latest development comes when Ryan Cohen, co-founder and former CEO of online pet food company Chewy Inc (CHWY.N), tries to take control of GameStop after joining the board in January. .
Former chief financial officer Jim Bell and former chief executive officer Frank Hamlin are among the top executives who have left the company in recent weeks.
GameStop has become an e-commerce company that can compete with large-scale retailers such as Walmart Inc. (WMT.N), as well as technology companies Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) and Sony Corp. (6758 .T).
Aside from that, Bloomberg News reported that the man known as “Roaring Kitty” on social media, whose online posts helped spark the January commercial frenzy on GameStop, exercised buying options over the stock for acquire 50,000 more shares at a strike price of $ 12. Read more
GameStop earlier this month also increased the value of new shares it could sell from $ 100 million to $ 1 billion as it goes on to capitalize on the increase in its shares from the retail-driven rally. in January. Read more
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