Pachter: Gamestop's growth won't worry Wal-Mart or Target

Speaking after the release of Gamestop's full-year financials, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has added an element of calm to the retailer's reporting of $7.1 billion sales, saying the firm is growing steadily and is unlikely to bother US monster chains Walmart or Target.

"I don't think GameStop's growth plans in the US are much different than in past years (300 stores), and don't see their 'mom friendly' format sending shivers down Wal-Mart or Target's spines," Pachter told videogaming247. "Moms are not making a separate trip to GameStop if they find what they want during their regular trips to Wal-Mart."

Further, Pachter said that he believed Gamestop made a misjudgment in failing to buy Gamestation in the UK, a blunder that allowed GAME to grow in Britain and checked the US store's growth in Europe.

"GameStop always had the capacity to make inroads in Europe, but for some reason, expansion there has been painfully slow," he said. "I think they made a strategic error in not buying Gamestation, allowing GAME to get even bigger and placing them at a competitive disadvantage in the UK. The rest of Europe is wide open (Micromania is strong in France), and I expect GameStop to do well on the Continent."

Gamestop earlier showed an increase of earnings of 82.1 percent to $288.3 million for 2007, and announced plans to open another 600 stores in the US in 2008.