GameStop Launches the GameStop Technology Institute
March 25 2014 - 9:15AM
Business Wire
Goal is to deliver technology advancements that
drive positive customer experiences and cultivate innovation within
the retail space
Teams with IBM on High Value Cloud with BlueMix
and Texas A&M University on Retail and Consumer Technology
Research
GameStop (NYSE: GME) announced today the launch of the GameStop
Technology Institute (GTI), a new business unit focused on creating
affiliations with leading technology corporations and academic
institutions to discover and deliver business innovation and
technology solutions to better address the needs of today’s
empowered consumer.
Joining GameStop as founding partners of GTI are IBM and the
Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University’s Mays
Business School. By joining forces with these industry leaders,
GameStop will leverage GTI to explore and build best-in-class
research and development processes to create and implement within
its global retail locations the next generation of new, innovative
business applications.
“Now more than ever, GameStop’s internal rate of change must
continue to exceed the rate of change occurring within the retail
environments in which we compete,” said Paul Raines, chief
executive officer for GameStop. “The launch of GTI represents
GameStop’s commitment to cultivate innovation within the retail
industry, as well as lead the charge in discovering new technology
advancements to drive positive customer experiences.”
Collaborating with Industry Leaders to Digitize the Physical
Space
IBM will bring to GTI its cloud development experience, and
design expertise from the IBM Design Lab. GameStop will leverage
IBM’s open cloud development platform, BlueMix, to build new mobile
and cloud applications that integrate with GameStop’s existing
systems, creating a hybrid cloud environment that will allow
GameStop to add greater context around both in-store and online
customer interactions. By seamlessly linking a customer’s online
and in-store experiences using IBM’s open-standards based,
high-value cloud platform, GameStop will be able to remove the
complexity involved with transactions and improve the level of
service that they deliver to their customers. Harnessing the power
of BlueMix enables GameStop developers to quickly innovate,
prototype and connect with their customers at the right time using
APIs for big data, analytics and mobile.
“We are excited to collaborate with GameStop to bring the power
of our cloud development platforms and design teams to the greater
GameStop community,” said Steve Robinson, General Manager of IBM
Cloud Platform Services. “This cloud partnership will integrate
existing systems into a new class of applications to build even
deeper relationships for GameStop with their clients and will help
GameStop lead the next phase of retailing by restoring the balance
between physical and digital commerce platforms.”
Texas A&M University brings to GTI a specific focus on
retail research, consumer technology and the evolving consumer
experience at the intersection of the two. The Center for Retailing
Studies has a 30-year history of serving retailers, and is one of
the only retail education institutions housed in a business
school.
Meeting the Needs of the Consumer
Executives from every retail sector are trying to anticipate
what next innovative technology, mobile app, or virtual store
experience will win over today’s empowered consumer. According to
the global ‘Understanding Leading Merchants’ survey conducted by
IBM’s Center for Applied Insights, 83 percent of the 325
senior-level retail merchants who responded indicated they were
concerned about how to respond to the shifts in the way customers
engage with retailers. In the same survey, 78 percent worried about
being able to provide a holistic, cross-channel experience.
Rooted in GameStop’s strong legacy of technology, understanding
customer needs and ability to deliver exceptional customer service
through its PowerUp Rewards loyalty program, the GTI R&D
portfolio will include a focus on enhancing consumer interaction
technologies and developing business solutions that help drive
traffic to all retail channels.
GameStop’s Jeff Donaldson will chair the direction and efforts
of the institute, serving in the role of senior vice president of
GTI.
“As GameStop continues to transform its business beyond video
gaming and into the technology space, we formed GTI to address our
growing need for new innovation as a specialty retailer,” said
Donaldson. “As we begin our partnership with IBM and Texas A&M
University, GTI’s initial focus will be on the digitization of the
physical retail space which would allow customers to interact with
the brick-n-mortar store environment in ways that mimic interaction
with digital platforms.”
For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit
http://www.ibm.com/cloud. For information about the Texas A&M
University’s Center for Retailing Studies, please visit
www.crs.mays.tamu.edu.
About GameStop Corp.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500
company headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, is a global,
multichannel video game, consumer electronics, and wireless
services retailer. GameStop operates more than 6,600 stores across
15 countries. The company’s consumer product network also includes
www.gamestop.com; www.Kongregate.com, a leading browser-based game
site; Game Informer® magazine, the world’s leading print and
digital video game publication; www.buymytronics.com, an online
consumer electronics trade-in platform; Spring Mobile, an
authorized dealer of AT&T wireless services; and Simply Mac,
the largest certified retailer of Apple’s full line of
products.
General information on GameStop Corp. can be obtained at the
company's corporate website. Follow GameStop on Twitter
@ www.twitter.com/GameStop and find GameStop on Facebook
@ www.facebook.com/GameStop.
GameStop Corp.Joey
Mooring817-722-7450joeymooring@gamestop.com
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