Play N Trade Video Game Franchise

[Matt]

I am considering opening up a few Play N Trade Video game franchises in the US and Canada does anybody have any exprience with this franchsie? 

[Franchise Pundit]

I am considering opening up a few Play N Trade Video game franchises in the US and Canada does anybody have any exprience with this franchsie? 

Matt,

Check out the blog, there is a post on the Play N Trade franchise and there are comments.
http://franchisepundit.com/index.php/2007/03/01/gaming-franchise/

[FranchiseBrief.com]

I dont have experience with the franchise but I know they are expanding really fast. I also talked to a few of their franchisees and they obviously offer a great support.

[Matt]

I think I am going to move forward with this franchise.  They sold a lot at first and were not opening franchises but now they are opening a franchise almost daily.  I have talked to their franchisees and they seem happy and the are doing well.  The only problem is that most of them have been in buseinss less than a yeart.    I'll report more from the franchisee side of the fence

[Tac]

What type of success are they having? Is this any different than something like EB Games, etc.?

[John]

As a franchisee, myself (different category, though), and a video game player, I?m not so sure I?d take the risk on Play n Trade.  Once Play n Trade entered my area, the competitive response from the 2 neighboring Game Stop stores was huge (constantly circulating very deep discounts all around the store and touting how Play n Trade?s selection is so much less).  As a gaming consumer, I?ve loved Game Stop?s response because the offers are far better than Play n Trade?s.  With my franchisee hat on, if when my store opened that critical first year I had to take such deep margin hits by matching the offers or face such aggressive competition from Game Stop, I couldn?t have withstood the cash crunch.  But again as a relatively frequent gamer, I hope Play n Trade can hang on so Game Stop won?t stop the deep offers.

[Taguy]

I am worried about the supply that may be available to this franchise. Almost everytime I walk into the local EB they only have bought a couple of the most recent game. Alot of the time they are out, and most gamers that want the games want it the day or week it is first released or else they go looking somewhere else. I basically end up heading over to Best Buy where the stock is there all the time. How can a new start up get a fair amount of new release games to compete with the big box stores?

It seems easier just to open a website and sell new games through the internet rather than have to have rent, etc. Sure, you would miss out on all the trade in titles but you won't have a bunch of old stock lying around that no one is buying.

[brem]

GameStop Offering Franchises?  I?ve been in the video game industry a while and thinking about a franchise and just heard from a well connected distributor contact of mine in the business that GameStop?s looking at starting to sell franchises for their stores in the near future.  As the dominant game retailer, I wonder what that will do to other video game franchisors that have to deal with all GameStop?s aggressive competitive marketing and their volume cost advantages with game manufacturers.  Need more info on pricing, etc, but this might be my way in -- seems smart to join forces with the giant instead of trying to compete against it.

[Franchise Pundit]

As a franchisee, myself (different category, though), and a video game player, I?m not so sure I?d take the risk on Play n Trade.  Once Play n Trade entered my area, the competitive response from the 2 neighboring Game Stop stores was huge (constantly circulating very deep discounts all around the store and touting how Play n Trade?s selection is so much less).  As a gaming consumer, I?ve loved Game Stop?s response because the offers are far better than Play n Trade?s.  With my franchisee hat on, if when my store opened that critical first year I had to take such deep margin hits by matching the offers or face such aggressive competition from Game Stop, I couldn?t have withstood the cash crunch.  But again as a relatively frequent gamer, I hope Play n Trade can hang on so Game Stop won?t stop the deep offers.

I agree with your post, John.  But, I would guess most Play n Trades will not be located within walking distance of a Game Stop.  Video games, like movie rentals, are commoditizing and are very suitable to online transaction, like Netflix.  Gaming stores will eventually cycle like Blockbuster video stores unless the 'experience' is maintained at a high level, which is very difficult.  One aspect of gaming that cannot be easily replicated is a gaming center with the latest, highend video cards and controllers.  While people will always have home gaming systems, most people cannot afford the newest games and newest PC equipment which can run a few thousand for a decent modern gaming PC system each year. 

Frankly, I think a great franchisor concept would be an older teen "baby sitting" type place that is geared towards high-tech experiences and gaming.

[Tac]

I don't know John, I have difficulty supporting Game Stop as a customer. Everytime, well, almost everytime I walk in there for a recently released game the kid says " did you pre-order"? So, they never have anything new that isn't a pre-order. Then I just head over to Best Buy and get the game where they have a bunch. Seems like they don't carry enough inventory.

[brem]

GameStop Offering Franchises?  I?ve been in the video game industry a while and thinking about a franchise and just heard from a well connected distributor contact of mine in the business that GameStop?s looking at starting to sell franchises for their stores in the near future.  As the dominant game retailer, I wonder what that will do to other video game franchisors that have to deal with all GameStop?s aggressive competitive marketing and their volume cost advantages with game manufacturers.  Need more info on pricing, etc, but this might be my way in -- seems smart to join forces with the giant instead of trying to compete against it.

Well, here we go.  I'm out at GameStop's annual gobal manager's conference in Vegas this weekend with several of the other distributors / industry players and heard other sources rumbling about GameStop's plans to start franchising (prepresents new income opportunities for many in the business to set up franchise service networks to work with them).  After the second source discussed it, I'm trying to find out where the sign-up list is. 

The industry players are apparently a little dissapointed because it requires dealing with "onesie / twosies" versus one stop shopping for consolidated groups, but apparently GameStop's not doing what a lot of the more sophisticated franchisors like Pizza Hut do and only sell franshises to massive, deep pocket franchise groups that can afford to buy up a whole cities worth of stores (although this would be good I suppose for the average franchisee wanting to get in).

     

[Franchise Pundit]

GameStop Offering Franchises?  I?ve been in the video game industry a while and thinking about a franchise and just heard from a well connected distributor contact of mine in the business that GameStop?s looking at starting to sell franchises for their stores in the near future.  As the dominant game retailer, I wonder what that will do to other video game franchisors that have to deal with all GameStop?s aggressive competitive marketing and their volume cost advantages with game manufacturers.  Need more info on pricing, etc, but this might be my way in -- seems smart to join forces with the giant instead of trying to compete against it.

Well, here we go.  I'm out at GameStop's annual gobal manager's conference in Vegas this weekend with several of the other distributors / industry players and heard other sources rumbling about GameStop's plans to start franchising (prepresents new income opportunities for many in the business to set up franchise service networks to work with them).  After the second source discussed it, I'm trying to find out where the sign-up list is. 

The industry players are apparently a little dissapointed because it requires dealing with "onesie / twosies" versus one stop shopping for consolidated groups, but apparently GameStop's not doing what a lot of the more sophisticated franchisors like Pizza Hut do and only sell franshises to massive, deep pocket franchise groups that can afford to buy up a whole cities worth of stores (although this would be good I suppose for the average franchisee wanting to get in).

     

Great info guys, thanks.  Has there been any talk about adding to GameStop a cyber/gaming cafe so customers can pay-to-play on the store's systems, or maybe host tournaments, etc.?

[GBillings]

I am considering opening up a few Play N Trade Video game franchises in the US and Canada does anybody have any exprience with this franchsie? 

Sorry to be a buzz kill but if I were considering buying a Play N Trade franchise I'd want to know the whole picture.  The stores keep closing -- the one in Blaine, MN just closed in September and there are other posts about the several other closings.  It appears this thing's a bit of a Ponzi Scheme to sell franchises but they don't make money.  Here are more closings:

http://franchisepundit.com/index.php/2007/03/01/gaming-franchise/

"Man, I don?t know ? I?ve (had) also been considering taking the Play N Trade route but in my research I keep reading about stores closing. Dallas, Las Vegas, Farmington, North Carolina, 3 in Colorado Springs ? out of only 60 or so stores open?"

[JR Hines]

I was thinking about opening a play N Trade until I went into one, and the layout was horrible.  They didnt have anybody in there.  It dosent seem to be making much money, but i also heard gamestop is gonna be franchising starting next year.  I hope so, cause it will be a gamestop i am opening!

[Rony Sosa]

Where can I read more about the Gamestop franchise opening next year, and what kind of cash outlay would be needed to open one up?