Plaskett had gained a reputation as a turnaround expert from his failed but valiant attempt to rescue Pan Am Corp. in the late 1980s and early 1990s and from his success at saving Greyhound Lines, Inc. in the mid-1990s. Perot also advised the entrepreneurs to shelve their plan for immediately opening 20 stores in favor of establishing one outlet, which they would manage themselves until they knew the business inside and out. [10], Gary Kusin resigned as president of Babbage's in February 1995 to start a cosmetics company. During this period the company rebranded more and more of its stores under the GameStop name, until by 2004 nearly all of the units used that moniker. [14] With the filing, NeoStar board member Thomas Plaskett became chairman and James McCurry remained company chief executive and president. Powered by a surge in video game systems and software--including Sega's 16-bit Genesis and Nintendo's handheld Game Boy player--the company's revenues rose 39 percent to $132.8 million in 1990 as earnings increased to $4.1 million. All rights reserved. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Funco. The company was named after Charles Babbage and opened its first store in Dallas’s North Park Center. had recovered sufficiently to begin growing again. learn how over 7,000 companies got started! Finally, in November, a group of investors led by Riggio bought the chains for $58.5 million, beating out a rival bid from Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp., Babbage's and Software Etc. FedEx I've spent 20 years in media and marketing, both on the corporate side and in agencies large and small. Instead, GameStop Corp. was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2002 through the sale of 20.8 million shares at $18 per share. Company president Daniel DeMatteo also resigned, and NeoStar chairman and CEO James McCurry assumed the title of president. In October 1996 NeoStar announced it would close 42 of its stores, all of which were located near other company stores. Gary has 8 jobs listed on their profile. [31], GameStop acquired Spawn Labs and Impulse (software) in separate transactions during 2011. GameStop sells games that are traded in for store credit. The company, however, generated only a 12 percent increase in sales, and, for the first time since 1989, increased revenues did not translate into higher earnings for the company. This expansion resulted in rising sales; in 1988, Babbage's annual revenues doubled to $58 million, while earnings shot up 136 percent to $2.7 million. [44] From there, they opened a series of temporary stores that are only available during the Christmas season. James McCurry and Gary Kusin attended the Harvard Business School together. At Harvard during the mid-1970s, McCurry and Kusin discussed going into business together but went in separate directions after graduation.