A GameStop store is on display in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York City, New York, USA Jan 27, 2021. Photo taken Jan 27, 2021. REUTERS / Nick Zieminski / File Photo
GameStop Corp’s (GME.N) George Sherman will step down as Chief Executive Officer in the video game retailer’s biggest uproar as it tries to shed its physical image and embrace an ecommerce model.
Shares of the video game retailer, which were at the heart of a Reddit-fueled trading frenzy, rose 7% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said Sherman would step down on or before July 31 and it had started looking for a successor.
Reuters had previously reported that GameStop’s board of directors was working with an executive headhunter in the search for CEOs and that the directors had spoken with potential candidates from the gaming, e-commerce and technology sectors.
The latest development comes as Ryan Cohen, co-founder and former CEO of online pet food company Chewy Inc (CHWY.N), tries to tighten his grip on GameStop after joining the board in January.
Former Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell and former Chief Customer Officer Frank Hamlin are among the senior executives who have left the company in recent weeks.
GameStop is in the process of transforming itself into 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).
Separately, Bloomberg News reported that the man known as “Roaring Kitty” on social media, whose online posts sparked January’s trading frenzy in GameStop, exercised call options on the stock to acquire 50,000 additional shares at a strike price of $ 12. Read on
GameStop also increased the value of new shares it could sell from $ 100 million to $ 1 billion earlier this month as the company seeks to capitalize on an increase in its shares from its retail-led rally in January. read more
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