With business failing and stores closing all over the country, GameStop reports record sales and earnings for 2008, and expects the trend to continue this year with plans to open 400 more stores.
With 2008 sales rising 24.4% over last year to $8.8 billion dollars, GameStop laughs at our puny economic recession. In the fourth quarter of 2008 alone the company's sales hit $3.5 billion, up 21.9% over last year's $2.9 billion, with net earnings of $232.3 million and comparable store sales up +9.6%. I could go on, citing their 2008 overall net earnings of $398.3 million, with comparable store sales increasing +12.3&, but why bother? Half of you don't understand this, and the other half just find it completely obnoxious.
Let's just sum things up. GameStop is doing very well, and expects to continue to do so. They opened 1,002 stores in 2008, and plan on opening another 400 this year. They are feeling no pain, and just wanted to make sure everybody knew it. Good for them, but in the current economic climate it's like walking into a room full of starving people, rubbing your stomach and saying, "Mmmmm, I am sooo stuffed!"