GameStop Reversed Store Closures After Strategic Shift
The retailer has begun reopening select U.S. locations as it pivots its business model toward trading cards and collectibles.
Updated on Sept. 18, 2026 in Retail
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GameStop has begun reopening select U.S. retail locations following a period of consolidation, with the first store reopening in Brooklyn, Ohio. The move comes as the company continues to pivot its inventory strategy toward trading cards and collectibles.
Why it matters
The shift reflects a broader effort to optimize the company's brick-and-mortar footprint while adapting to changing consumer shopping habits. This adjustment follows a fiscal year in which the retailer closed 590 U.S. stores to control costs.
GameStop closed 590 U.S. stores in fiscal 2025, leaving a footprint of 2,086 locations as of January 27, 2026. Collectibles and trading cards now represent 45.1 percent of total sales, even as company shares have declined approximately 36 percent over the past year.
The players
GameStop
A specialty retailer of video games, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise that operates a national network of stores.
Ryan Cohen
The CEO of GameStop who recently purchased 1 million shares of the company's stock.
Alain Attal
A board member at GameStop who purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock.
The details
The retailer initiated a store portfolio optimization review to better align its physical presence with shifting consumer demand. By focusing on trading cards and other collectibles, the company aims to move away from legacy business models that contributed to earlier store closures. To signal confidence in this strategy, CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 1 million shares of company stock on September 10, 2026, for a total value of $20.4 million.
Timeline
January 27, 2026: GameStop operated 2,086 stores in the U.S.
September 10, 2026: CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 1 million shares of company stock.
September 11, 2026: The company began reopening select retail stores.
Market Landscape
The current portfolio optimization follows a volatile period that saw the company's valuation surge during the 2021 GameStop meme-stock craze. This strategy shift marks a fundamental effort to stabilize the business following the speculative market activity associated with that event.
Operators should monitor whether the shift toward collectibles successfully reverses the company's 36 percent year-over-year share price decline. The success of this pivot may serve as a leading indicator for other specialty retailers looking to repurpose underperforming retail square footage.
The takeaway
Management is betting that a high-margin pivot to collectibles can justify the cost of maintaining a physical retail presence. Operators should track the performance of these reopened locations as a test case for whether physical stores remain viable when a product mix shifts away from traditional inventory.
Further reading
For more on evolving brick-and-mortar strategies, see our coverage of Retail.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Independent.
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