Grapevine-based GameStop Corp.’s Spring Mobile subsidiary has acquired 53 locations from Product Center, an AT&T mobile phone consulting company in the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey area. The Salt Lake City-based Spring Mobile now operates 298 stores in 26 states. “We are focused on making high-quality affordable AT&T wireless services available to more people in more locations nationwide, and our new stores have significantly increased the rate at which we can do that – particularly in the New York tri-state area,” said Jason Ellis, president of Spring Mobile. “We are proud to earn the role as AT&T’s fastest growing authorized retail partner and look forward to continue growing our retail footprint in other markets across the country.”
The 53-store transaction is the third major acquisition Spring Mobile has announced this year. During the last 12 months, Spring Mobile has more than doubled in size, adding almost 200 stores since the fall of 2013. The company plans to continue evaluating strategic expansion opportunities in the future.
In a separate announcement, GameStop said its GameStop Technology Institute (GTI) business unit is collaborating with AT&T to further its focus on delivering to its brick-n-mortar retail stores technology advancements to improve customer experiences and accelerate the pace of change within the retail industry. As part of the relationship, GTI is working closely with AT&T to define the technical capabilities required to enable customers to interact seamlessly and responsibly through their electronic devices with digital product promotional materials (e.g., video game trailers, special discounts, etc.) located on store shelves and within identified product communication zones. To accomplish this, the company is utilizing AT&T Network Services, such as AT&T Business Fiber, so GameStop stores have reliable and scalable speeds.
The initial focus will be on 36 GTI test store locations in Austin and College Station. Once implemented, customers will be able to experience how GameStop is utilizing technology to drive one-on-one customer engagement through the delivery of relevant gaming content to their smart devices.