Multinational retail shop, Game will close down its Accra Mall branch by December this year.
This is because Massmart Holdings, owners of the enterprise, are in talks to shut down operations in some African countries.
This development follows an earlier announcement by Mass mart to close eight unviable shops in Africa.
According to Citi News sources, the multi-national business operator has still not secured buyers and investors for the assets, hence the closure.
Game shops have been operational in Ghana for over six years now, offering avenues for people to shop for things ranging from household consumables, to appliances and so on.
In 2021, Massmart announced that it would dispose of 14 Game stores in Africa to stem losses in the struggling business. The decision comes after the second-largest distributor of consumer goods in Africa reported a narrow half–year in 2021.
As of October 5, the holding had still not come to a state of overcoming its volatility and constrained consumer demand.
In Ghana, Game stores could be found in the four main shopping malls – Accra Mall, Kumasi Mall, Achimota Mall and West Hills Mall. But a recent visit to Accra Mall shows the shop has issued a notice of closure. Although the shop was operational, it has given discounts to clear off its stock before December.
The shops have created avenues of employment for hundreds of people, but this may come to an end.
The closure of the game shop may have several meanings for various people. For the staff, it may be a possible redundancy, which may not augur well given the current economic hardship in the country. For shoppers, it may mean losing the usual game shopping experience.
However, some customers of the shopping Centre have expressed their disappointment with the closure notice, although they admit that they cannot pinpoint the reason for the intended closure.
Game shops were shut down recently by the Ghana Revenue Authority for failing to connect its system to the GRA’s E-VAT invoicing system.
Source: Ghana Business