Gameswizards, previously known as The Games Wizards, was an Australian Retailer which specialised in selling computer
software
Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications.
The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
,
hardware and
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
products. The company was established in Australia in January 1990. In 2006 the company was acquired by The
Game
A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
Group PLC and re-branded as Game stores.
History
Games Wizards was founded in 1990, and by 1999 had 7 stores in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. In 2004 it received financial backing from Crescent Capital, and renamed itself from The Games Wizards to simply Gameswizards. By 2006, Gameswizards had expanded to 14 stores and 8 franchise stores across Australia's East coast.
Game acquisition
On 19 September 2006 The
Game
A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
Group PLC, Europe's largest retailer of computer and video games, acquired Gameswizards for A$3.8 million. Game went on to acquire all of the franchise stores, and all pre-existing Gameswizards stores made the change over to the Game brand before the end of April 2007. The company followed the aggressive growth strategy of its UK parent and by 2007 the chain had grown to 49 stores nationwide. The growth continued to 118 stores by 2009. Management changes in 2010 saw the number of stores reduced by 26.
Following the 2012 problems of parent company, Game UK, the separate company governing Game Australia, started to suffer the same financial and stock problems.
Game Australia (trading as TGW Pty Ltd) entered into administration on 14 May 2012.
On 25 May 2012, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the administrators of Game Australia, announced that it had made 264 staff redundant and closed 60 stores. An expected further round of redundancies and closures was confirmed on 19 June 2012 when the administrators announced that 16 of the remaining 31 stores would close for good the same day and that the remaining 15 would close over the coming weeks, marking the end of Game Australia.
See also
Game (retailer)
Game Retail Limited (doing business as GAME) is a British video game retailer, owned by Frasers Group since June 2019.
The company's origins lie in the founding of the Rhino Group by Terry Norris and Bev Ripley in 1992. A number of mergers an ...
References
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Video game retailers in Australia
Retail companies established in 1990