Reggie Fils-Aime has resigned from the board of directors at GameStop in what felt like almost a year of servitude since his transition from his former role as President of Nintendo of America.
According to an SEC filing, Fils-Aime along with seven other board members are scheduled to leave the company during GameStop's 2021 Annual Meeting sometime in June this year. The exiting group is mainly comprised of senior members, leaving fresh faces at the helm of GameStop.
Additionally, GameStop's CCO Frank Hamlin is stepping down from his position at the end of the month but not empty-handed as he will receive a $2 million severance package for his troubles.
The decision was made by the retailer in response to its financial report made in January. According to the report, the retailer's full-year sales had declined by 21% to $5.09 billion despite experiencing a successful fourth quarter.
The company posted a net loss of $215.3 million for the year.
From Nintendo to GameStop
Fils-Aime had signed onto GameStop back in March 2020 alongside former PetSmart CEO J.K. Symancyk and Walmart retail executive, Bill Simon. The plan was to have the three join the board in an effort to provide the company with critical knowledge and expert steering. Now, the three will be vacating the board to embark on another voyage.
GameStop's 2021 roller-coaster ride
The recent shakeup isn't the biggest one experienced by the retailer this year.
The company had recently undergone a turbulent period following the short-sell debacle that saw its stock prices skyrocket.
Back in January, a fierce battle broke out between investors over the company's future. It started when several firms tried to short-sell GameStop's stock. Short-selling is the process of selling off securities borrowed from lenders, then buying them back in the future at a lower price to cover the short.
Short-selling is usually spurred by predictions of falling stock prices and/or the eventual decline of companies. And GameStop was no exception as the company was fighting a decline in its business for almost a decade, closing stores and undergoing restructuring here and there.
However, this can be offset by buyers expressing high demand for stock prices, leading to a short squeeze.
And that's exactly what happened when an opposing group over on a subreddit called WallStreetBets caught wind of the short-selling plan by these firms.
In response, the group bought up the stocks in droves which drove its price upwards. Ironically, some of the short-sellers involved went in the opposite direction in order to cover any losses from their investments, driving the price even higher.
