• March 26, 2009

GameStop Corp. credits its value-adding marketing strategies -- including its game trade-in model -- with record sales and earnings.

The Grapevine, Texas-based retailer says net earnings jumped 22.4% to $232.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, while sales gained 21.9% to $3.5 billion. On a comparable-store basis, sales gained 9.6% for the quarter. For all of last year, the company opened or acquired 1,002 stores worldwide, including Micromania, the largest video game retailer in France.

"In spite of the current worldwide retail environment, GameStop's financial performance is being driven by delivering to consumers what they want: stores in a wide range of locations, knowledgeable associates and most importantly, options that provide value," the company says in its release.--Sarah Mahoney