EB Games (formerly known as Electronics Boutique and EB World) is an American
computer and video games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the
King of Prussia mall near
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the company has grown into an international corporation. EB Games's parent corporation,
GameStop
GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
, has its headquarters in
Grapevine, Texas
Grapevine is a city and suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States, with minor portions extending into Dallas County and Denton County. The city is located in the Mid-Cities suburban region betwee ...
, a suburb of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. When Electronics Boutique was an independent company, its headquarters was in
West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania
West Goshen Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 23,040 at the 2020 census. In 2013, '' Money Magazine'' voted West Goshen as the 10th best place to live in America. West Goshen has also been ...
, near
West Chester.
The EB Games brand still operates in Australia and New Zealand. GameStop also operates certain stores under the EBX brand.
History
Originally, the operation mainly sold calculators and digital watches. Between 1977 and the mid-1990s, the company expanded to (and later stopped) selling computers, software, and other related items (according to the EB Games employee handbook). Electronics Boutique also operated stores under the name Games 'n Gadgets. The Games 'n Gadgets stores were more centered on entertainment and gaming, rather than business and productivity. In the mid-1990s, the company's focus switched to TV-based video games and consoles, though many stores still maintain PC game sections.
In May 2000, in order to unify their company, Electronics Boutique changed the vast majority of its current EB and EB Gameworld stores to the name EB Games. They also announced that they would be either closing or selling all of their EB Kids and Brandywine Sports Collectible Stores.
For years EB Games' primary distribution center was in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, with two smaller distribution centers and a World Headquarters all located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With video games becoming increasingly popular, EB Games decided it was time for a new distribution center. In October 2004, EB Games opened its doors to its new distribution center in
Sadsbury Township, Pennsylvania. The world headquarter office in West Chester remained open, however anyone working at the old distribution centers were transferred to the new location.
As of July 30, 2001, the company operated 2,280 stores in the United States (including
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
), Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, primarily under the names EB Games and Electronics Boutique.
EB Games and GameStop merger
On Thursday, October 6, 2005, shareholders from EB Games and GameStop agreed to a $1.44 billion takeover deal. The deal offered $38.15 in cash as well as approximately ¾ of a share of GameStop stock for every 1 share of EB Games stock. This offer was a 34.2% premium on the $41.12 per share closing price of EB Games stock. GameStop decided to close EB Games's newly constructed distribution center in Sadsbury, PA, their call center in
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, and their International Headquarters in West Chester, PA, eliminating more than 800 jobs. Only 65 former EB Games employees were offered jobs at GameStop's headquarters in Grapevine, TX.
International
![EBGamesEdmonton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/EBGamesEdmonton.jpg)
EB began its international expansion with the opening of three stores in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada in 1993. The Canadian division was the largest of the international divisions with over 300 stores as of May 2008.
In 1995, the company expanded to the UK with the purchase of 25% of the financially troubled British game retailer
Rhino Group. The name of the chain was changed from Future Zone to "Electronics Boutique" to match the new owner. John Steinbrecher, Electronic Boutique's VP of Stores in the US and Canada, was seconded to the UK to manage the chain. Store remodels, product mix changes and used video games combined to restore the chain's finances.
Electronics Boutique commenced operations in Australia in 1997 and rapidly became the number one video game specialty retailer in the country and the only one with a nationwide footprint.
Although the merger created a company separate from the U.S. parent, EB retained a 24% ownership stake in the merged chain for a period of time and, under the merger agreement, collected substantial management fees from it until 2004, when the companies agreed to sever the remainder of their ties with a one time settlement. The GAME brand replaced the EB name at all former EB stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The new company was the biggest video game retailer in the United Kingdom. However, GameStop is once again operating in Ireland under the GameStop brand.
On May 23, 2005, EB Games announced a definitive agreement to acquire Jump, a retailer based in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Spain that sells PCs and other consumer electronics. EB Games plans to begin introducing video game hardware and software into Jump's 141 stores over the next several months. The acquisition provides EB Games entry into the Spanish marketplace and continues EB Games's aggressive international expansion.
In July 2008, EB Games announced an agreement to acquire The Gamesman, which was the largest independently owned chain of video game stores in New Zealand.
On July 28, 2021, EB Games announced that its Canadian operations would be rebranded under the GameStop name, with the rebranding expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Stores began to be converted to GameStop signage by September 2021.
See also
*
GameStop
GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
*
EB Games Australia
EB Games Australia (originally Electronics Boutique) is an Australian video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. EB Games mainly sells video games, consoles, and accessories for Nintendo, PC, PlayStation and Xbox systems ...
*
EB Games Expo
EB Games Expo, commonly known as EB Expo or EBX, was a video game trade fair / convention (meeting), convention held annually from 2011 to 2018 in Australia. It was organised by EB Games Australia. It was used by many video game developers to sh ...
*
Game (retailer)
Game Retail Limited ( doing business as GAME) is a British video game retailer, owned by Frasers Group since June 2019.
The company's origins lie in the founding of the Rhino Group by Terry Norris and Bev Ripley in 1992. A number of mergers a ...
References
External links
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* {{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970530234241/http://www.ebworld.com/ , date=May 30, 1997 , title=EB World
Video game retailers of the United States
Companies based in Chester County, Pennsylvania
West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Retail companies established in 1977
American companies established in 1977
GameStop
1977 establishments in Pennsylvania
2005 mergers and acquisitions