Ryan Cohen Pulls 'Undercover Boss' On GameStop Stores, Wants To Invest In Physical Locations

Since 2010, the show “Undercover Boss” has aired on CBS. Ryan Cohen has yet to appear on the Emmy-award-winning show, but staged his own version of the plot deep inside GameStop Corp GME stores.

What Happened: Cohen, the company's largest shareholder, became a member of GameStop's Board of Directors earlier this year and was named chairman in June.

Many GameStop investors see Cohen turning the struggling video game retailer into an e-commerce player thanks to his guidance of leading Chewy Inc CHWY before selling the pet e-commerce giant for $3.4 billion.

Cohen is part of the efforts to turn around GameStop and part of the move has been to close underperforming stores. In the last 15 months, over 800 stores have closed, leaving GameStop with around 3,000 stores in the U.S.

A new report from Reuters says Cohen would like to use some of the $1.7 billion the company raised from selling shares and improve physical store locations.

Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In GameStop Stock When Ryan Cohen’s Stake Was Announced, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now

Cohen’s Tours: Cohen made unannounced visits to dozens of GameStop locations. The chairman wasn't recognized during many of the visits, wearing a casual disguise and not announcing who he was while in stores.

Dusty shelves, empty product shelves and customer service were the problems Cohen saw while in select stores, according to the Reuters report.

Capital could be used to redesigning stores, restocking shelves and staff training, customers said. Other plans from Cohen include extending store hours into the later part of the night due to gamer demand and adding products from additional categories.

The report suggests GameStop will try to improve both its physical stores and boost its e-commerce presence simultaneously. Many investors and analysts believed the company would continue to close stores and pivot to a majority e-commerce model.

GME Price Action: GME shares closed down 3.6% to $178.85. Shares are up over 880% year to date.

Photo: BentleyMall via Wikimedia.