State and local authorities in Massachusetts have ordered all GameStops there to close, ending a week-long standoff in which game dealers emphasized that it was an important business and continued to serve customers with picbside pickups.
The Boston Globe reported on Friday Boston city inspectors have ordered GameStop & # 39; s Dorchester location to be closed Tuesday, and will visit it Wednesday to confirm that it is not open. This store was not paid for but was given a critical eye. GameStop later confirmed to The Globe that it had closed all stores in Massachusetts but did not comment.
Polygon reached out to a GameStop representative for more ideas on which stores remain open, and why. The company has more than 4,000 locations throughout the United States. It was also fighting for survival before the novel coronavirus passed through the country, and forcing the closure of business, public sanctions and other measures to reduce its spread.
On March 19, GameStop stressed that it was providing vital services, in a statement that it also sells "essential products and devices to facilitate remote operation, distance learning and virtual communication." After being widely criticized for keeping the stores open, GameStop announced two days later that it has continued its online operations, though it will continue to serve customers with a logless "curbside picbside".
That said (according to a memo reported by The Globe) that advises employees to wear gloves or use plastic bags in their hands, open the front door just as long as they keep their glass between them and the customer, and move anything they ordered cracked.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered all non-essential businesses to close on March 24. It appears that GameStop continued to operate on that site all week before executives stepped down. Responding to the company's concerns about its employees, GameStop said all employees were told they had no issues if they did not feel comfortable doing so, and that private workers would be paid two weeks at their usual rate.
Even in the predatory economy of the COVID-19 spread, GameStop was hurting badly. Last year, the company reported that sharp sales decreased and decreased quarterly, reflecting a further shift of video game consumers to online shopping and the delivery of their games. In August, the company laid off nearly half of the workforce Game Informer magazine, and by the end of the year 200 stores will be closed, with more closures expected by 2020.