Independent gaming store, Grainger Games, look to be in serious trouble. Ever since the closure of loved stores such as Maplin and Toys R Us, support of brick-and-mortar stores have vanished with many money lenders having apparently pulled or squashed their credit offerings. It’s safe to say that many are nervous about the future of these stores, yet because of this many stores such as Grainger Games are now suffering under the pressure of being a physical retailer store against numerous waves of online retailers such as Amazon and Ebay.
Grainger Games CEO Stephen Bower, in an interview with Chronicle Live, further reiterated the lack of support in his statement. “Confidence in UK high street retail has been at an all-time low which has been further impacted by recent retailer failures.” He said. Though this isn’t the worst of Grainger Games’ problem. Bower also said in the interview “on the back of this, we have very recently been notified that Grainger has had or will have certain supplier credit limits cut or removed.” He continued, “this has come as a shock to us all and presents a significant operating challenge driven by factors outside our control.”
The immediate effect of this is that Grainger Games will no longer be offering pre-orders, causing further damage to an already sinking ship. Considering Grainger Games originated in Newcastle’s Grainger Market 21 years ago, it is no doubt saddening to those who have been going to the store for all that time.
Yet, as always, there is still hope. Grainger Games are in talks with a number of parties in hope to save its business and extend its future. It’s difficult being a brick-and-mortar store, especially for an independent company like Grainger Games. Even the UK’s biggest video gaming chain GAME struggled back in 2012 (via Eurogamer), but can Grainger Games be a leading example to independent stores that there is a possibility of physical stores surviving? We’ll have to wait and see.
Image Source: PaulFlanniganGG / Wikimedia Commons
