Once-massive retail chain quietly shutters more locations | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Those of us who fall into the Gen X or Millennial categories may have noticed that the world of retail we grew up knowing has changed a lot since we were kids.

In our teen days, we may have spent a lot of time at the mall with friends or enjoyed shopping at staple stores like Macy’s, Sears, or JCPenney.

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Today, those stores are either gone from malls or barely getting by. Other familiar mall stores that were once packed, like Forever21, have gone bankrupt and vanished.

According to retailers that have shuttered or are struggling, online shopping is a big part of the challenge. American online spending totaled $1.34 trillion in 2024, and projections indicate that number will exceed $2.5 trillion by 2030, per research from Capital One.

While many retailers that are still around are trying to figure out ways to stay afloat, for some, the battle is more difficult than others.

GameStop faces competition from online video game sales.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

GameStop’s drastic moves

Originally founded in 1984 under the name Babbage’s, many Millennials have fond feelings about video game retailer GameStop (GME) .

At the height of its popularity, GameStop was best known for its midnight launches for popular video games, where hundreds of excited fans would line up at its stores and make new friends as they waited for their chance to buy the next big new game.

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While GameStop still has those launches, the company has also struggled under the crunch of online shopping, as many gamers now prefer to buy games as digital downloads, eliminating the need to go to physical stores.

In 2025, GameStop confirmed that it had closed 960 of its stores during the 2024 fiscal year and planned to close “a significant number of additional stores” in 2025, per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The retailer has closed more than 400 locations since January, according to a blog tracking the closings, and now two more have shuttered.

Over the weekend, both GameStop locations in Newburgh, New York, closed, per reporting from the Hudson Valley Post.

A handwritten sign was posted on the door of one location, saying, “This location is permanently closed as of 7/13. Last day of business is 7/12.”

GameStop’s rescue plan

In addition to closing a large number of its stores, GameStop has also said it will invest more in cryptocurrencies, revealing it’s attempting to raise $1.3 billion in order to buy Bitcoin.

“We have not set a maximum amount of Bitcoin we may accumulate, and may sell any Bitcoin we may acquire,” said GameStop in the filing.

GameStop moved forward on its promise in late May, buying 4,710 Bitcoins worth more than half a million dollars.

GameStop reported Q1 earnings on June 10 with a 17% drop year over year to $732.4 million. It also reported revenue of $1.28 billion, which fell short of Wall Street’s estimate.

While this looks like more bad news, there was some good as well: the retailer’s strategic push into selling more collectibles is working. Its sales in that category increased by 55% in the past year.

In the meantime, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is leaning into a highly unusual move to draw attention to the company.

After a highly publicized event where a GameStop employee stapled a receipt to a customer’s Switch 2 purchase, which damaged the console’s screen, now GameStop is auctioning off the infamous stapler on eBay, as well as a pair of Cohen’s underwear.

“If this reaches seven figures, I will fly to winner to Miami, take them to McDonald’s for lunch and personally deliver my preowned underwear,” Cohen said in a tweet on July 10 in reference to the auction.

The stapler currently has 284 bids, the highest being $249,900. The auction ends on July 16.