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MCV INTERVIEW ANDY PAYNE, CHAIRMAN, ELSPA & LISA MORGAN, CEO, GAME
When Andy
met Lisa… The man charged with heading up the UK’s publishers’ body must have a few things to ask retail, right? So who better to answer Andy Payne’s queries than the CEO of our biggest specialist. Let the fireworks commence...
2008 has been a really mixed year for all of us. What have been your highlights – and what has not been so great? It started off with an amazing first half – with over 50 per cent increase in Group sales and 80 per cent growth online. We saw phenomenal launches of Wii Fit, Mario Kart and GTA:IV and, of course, clearance from the Competition Commission for the Gamestation deal. In the second half we appointed a new COO, entered the Czech Republic and signed a concessions deal with Borders in the UK. But we have all also seen a massive change in the global economy, leading to a lot of uncertainty for retailers. What changes have you seen this year and what are you looking out for next year? We’ve seen the mass market appeal for video games further increase and this
has strengthened our family offering and specialist, to properly showcase some of number of changes to retail over the range. Microsoft has further accelerated the excellent titles that are coming years but our priority remains the same this trend with the Xbox 360 now at a through. – to ensure there’s a strong specialist really affordable price, accompanied by presence in the market, giving a leading some great new mass market games. We With the demise of Woolies do you service to our customers and launching have seen truly innovative products think the High Street will ever be new products to the best of our ability. across the board, which are proving the same – and do you see this as a popular on a global scale. The PC is an enigma, a We were pleased to open traditional steady seller Woolworths has been part of our 600th store outside and format transition the market for as long as I can the UK this year, which ‘agnostic’ – but do you means that nearly half our think it has legs as a remember. It’s sad to see the business is now outside retail format? demise of a British institution. the UK. For as long as publishers Lisa Morgan Next year, we are bring quality products to looking forward to the arrival of the the market, we certainly see PC as a new Nintendo DSi. I think customers good or bad thing for the games key part of out retail offer. will certainly be watching their finances industry as a whole? so it would be great to see a price drop Woolworths has been part of the market We have all read a lot about your for the PS3. I also think we would all for as many years as I can remember. It overseas expansion but how have like to see the launch of high quality is sad to see the demise of such a you found the experience in releases spread throughout the year, longstanding British High Street Australia and France – possibly two alleviating some of the final quarter institution. As far as the wider games countries a mile away in cultural congestion and enabling us, as a industry is concerned, it’s witnessed a terms from the UK?
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