GameStop, the video game retailer that experienced a meteoric rise earlier this year due to a frenzy of buying from retail investors, has made some major executive changes. The company announced that it has terminated its chief executive officer, Matt Furlong, and has elected Ryan Cohen as its executive chair.
Cohen, who gained popularity among meme stock traders for his investments in the video game retailer and now-bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond, was already GameStop’s chair. In the company’s statement announcing his elevation, GameStop said that Furlong’s termination was done “in conjunction” with Cohen’s appointment.
The news of Cohen’s promotion and Furlong’s termination was revealed in an SEC filing on Wednesday, June 9, which stated that Furlong was terminated “without cause” on June 5. The same filing also announced that Mark Robinson, the company’s general counsel, had been appointed as its general manager and principal executive officer.
GameStop’s shares fell more than 20% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, June 9, as the company also reported first-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street forecasts.
The appointment of Ryan Cohen as executive chair is seen as significant by industry observers due to his reputation as a successful entrepreneur. Cohen is best known for co-founding Chewy.com, an online pet food and supplies retailer that he sold to PetSmart for $3.4 billion in 2017. His investment in GameStop is believed to be one of the factors that fueled the company’s recent stock price surge.
Cohen has been vocal in his criticism of GameStop’s current business strategy, which he believes is outdated and not in tune with the needs and preferences of modern gamers. Shortly after he became a major shareholder in GameStop last year, Cohen wrote a public letter to the company’s board of directors in which he called for a radical overhaul of its operations, including a greater focus on e-commerce and customer engagement.
Since then, Cohen has been credited with helping to catalyze the company’s transformation, with GameStop announcing plans to shift its focus to online sales and expand its product range beyond physical video games to include hardware, collectibles, and other gaming-related merchandise.
Cohen’s promotion to executive chair is seen as a signal that he will continue to be a driving force behind GameStop’s efforts to reinvent itself and adapt to the changing demands of the gaming market. Many are also hopeful that his experience and success with Chewy.com will serve GameStop well as it tries to make the transition to a more digitally-focused business model.
The termination of Matt Furlong, meanwhile, comes as a surprise to some industry observers. Furlong had only been with GameStop for a few months, having previously served as the head of Amazon’s Australia operations. He was seen by some as a potential linchpin of GameStop’s transformation, given his experience with e-commerce and his track record of driving growth and innovation at Amazon.
It is not clear what led to Furlong’s termination, although the fact that it was done “without cause” suggests that it was not related to performance or any major issues with his management style. Some have speculated that his departure may have been related to disagreements with Ryan Cohen or other members of GameStop’s board of directors over the company’s strategic direction.
In any case, the departure of Furlong and the elevation of Cohen to executive chair mark a significant juncture in GameStop’s ongoing transformation. The company faces numerous challenges as it tries to reinvent itself and adapt to new market trends, but many investors and industry insiders remain optimistic about its prospects under Cohen’s leadership.
