GameStop, a very coherent and logical company that sells physical video games but also fluffy toys, worthless NFTs and the promise of a get-rich-quick schemejust announced an “enhanced compensation system” for the longest-serving employees at its brick-and-mortar video game stores.
In a memo sent to staff earlier today — and shared by Stephen Totilo from Axios—GameStop CEO Matt Furlong says that “as we continue to develop our e-commerce and digital asset offerings, our store fleet will remain critical to GameStop’s value proposition” and, as a result, will “introduce an enhanced compensation model for store managers.”
For Assistant Store Leaders and Senior Guest Advisers, this comes in the form of an undisclosed increase in their hourly wage. For store managers, it comes in the form of $21,000 in GameStop stock (that is vested for three years) on top of their regular salary, along with “the opportunity to earn additional compensation each quarter by meeting performance-based stock grant goals.”
Here’s the memo in full:
Subject: Investing in GameStop store managers
All,
After spending a year strengthening our range, infrastructure and technical capabilities, we are now focused on achieving profitability, bringing our own products to market, using our brand in new ways and expanding into our stores invest. Our stores in particular are a differentiator that will help us maintain direct connection with our customers and enable us to have localized order fulfillment capabilities in more regions. As we continue to develop our e-commerce and digital asset offerings, our store fleet will remain critical to GameStop’s value proposition.
With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that we are introducing an improved store manager compensation model. The new model, which goes into effect next month, offers each store manager a $21,000 time-based stock grant (with a three-year vesting period) and the opportunity to earn additional compensation each quarter by setting targets for performance-based stock grants reached. This is in addition to the existing base salary of each branch manager.
Equity compensation associated with this new model will be covered by GameStop’s existing equity plan, which has been approved by shareholders. Leadership believes the model achieves the twin goals of increasing pay for each store manager and instilling a stronger mindset of ownership throughout the organization. In conjunction with this investment, we are also increasing hourly rates for Assistant Store Leaders and Senior Guest Advisors.
More details will be made available to store managers and affected employees in the coming weeks. We look forward to continuing to attract and retain passionate, high caliber talent in our stores.
Matt Furlong
The memo comes two months after overworked and underpaid staff at a GameStop at Gateway Mall in Lincoln, Nebraska made international headlines after closing up shop and leaving homeand a month after mass layoffs at corporate headquarters and Game Informer made to help the company operate “more nimble” as it seeks profitability through an “intense ownership mentality”.
It also comes just months before the busy holiday season, which saw humble employees – who weren’t mentioned in the memo – last year.driven to their “load limit”..
We have contacted GameStop for details on the pay increases for those affected, but if you are an employee and would like to let us know yourself You can do this here.
