On Thursday, March 19, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that all businesses except for those considered to be “life-sustaining” are to be closed to help combat the spread of coronavirus throughout the state. This comes within days of both Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, who announced similar state-wide “shelter-in” responses to flatten the curve on the pandemic. And while most businesses took the hint, game retailer GameStop refused to close their doors among an upcoming Animal Crossing and DOOM Eternal release.
In the midst of businesses trying to navigate through what is deemed as “essential” during this time, video game retailer GameStop has found itself in a string of public relations missteps through business practices that have put both employees and consumers at risk by not just remaining open but also conducting “business as usual” practices like receiving and handling trade-ins product and inventory.
— Patrick Klepek (@patrickklepek) March 19, 2020
Despite the guidance presented by local and state officials on what is considered an “essential business” GameStop took it upon itself to determine that it needed to remain open. In fact, the retailer doubled down and in a memo to employees, it instructed how to interact with law enforcement who show up to enforce the “life-sustaining businesses only” executive order.
Governor Tom Wolf is not leaving it up to GameStop (or any retailer) in the state, and his office is not taking risks regarding what is and what isn’t considered essential or life-sustaining business during this time. In a Reddit post, it appears that not only will GameStop not be considered essential but it won’t even get the chance to combat the ruling as its Operating Permit (License) has been suspended until further notice in the state.
Governor Tom Wolf pulls game stop’s business license from r/GameStop
Unfortunately, it’s unknown how GameStop will support its impacted employees as the company navigates through these immediate coronavirus related closures (or as such closures become more widespread). Earlier this month, the company announced that former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime would be joining its board of directors, a move that the company hopes will help drive its strategic initiatives. The retailer has struggled over the better half of the last decade and continues to explore new revenue streams as more consumers shift to digital storefronts and online retailers. We have reached out to GameStop for a statement as of this writing but have yet to hear back.
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