Game repositions for the win

The Massmart subsidiary’s vice president, Andrew Stein, explains the turnaround strategy for this decades-old brand.

- Glenneis Kriel

Game has gone from being one of Massmart’s steadiest performers to accounting for the listed company’s biggest losses over the past two years. Andrew Stein, vice president of Game, talked to finweek about the chain store’s turnaround strategy.

Game celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Tell us more about the company’s origin.

Alan Hellman and Jack Schaeffer started Game in Smith Street, Durban because they felt that shopping had become a boring and tedious exercise. They conceptualized retailing as a ‘game’ and created an in-store environment where customers could ‘play’.

Characterised by its shocking-pink livery, in-your-face advertising, and unprecedented low pricing, the brand found instant success with local consumers, while visitors to Durban carried the brand awareness back to their home towns – to the extent that calling on Game became a ‘must do’ for those on a trip to Durban.

Tell use more about the development of the logo.

The iconic Game pink was settled upon, not necessarily because the founders had a specific love of the color, but they were looking for a color that would stand out. It was a head-turner in that era. That pink logo and branding remain in place to this day, easily identifiable across Game’s 150 stores throughout Africa.

How has the company’s marketing strategy changed over time?

In the 1970s, marketing was all about standing out, and Game used its iconic branding to ensure this was achieved. We used TV as a marketing tool when it entered SA and positioned ourselves as the rebels in retail, and the first retailer to introduce the mega-store concept.