EB Games Australia

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Electronics Boutique Australia Pty Ltd
EB Games Australia
TypePublic company
IndustryElectronics Stores
Founded27 February 1997 (1997-02-27)[1]
Headquarters25 Backhouse Place, Trade Coast Central, Eagle Farm, Queensland, Australia
Key people
Steve Wilson
(Managing Director)
ProductsVideo Games, Consoles and Accessories
Number of employees
5000+
ParentGameStop
DivisionsZing Pop Culture Australia
Zing Marketplace
Websitewww.ebgames.com.au - Australia
www.ebgames.co.nz - New Zealand

EB Games Australia (originally Electronics Boutique) is an Australian and New Zealand video game entertainment software retailer. EB Games mainly sells video games, consoles, and accessories for Nintendo, PC, PlayStation and Xbox systems. The company operates over 300 EB Games stores, over 80 Zing Pop Culture and the ZiNG Marketplace e-commerce website in Australia.[2] The company runs a further 40 EB Games stores in New Zealand. EB Games Australia is headquartered in Eagle Farm, Queensland (a suburb of Brisbane) and is a subsidiary of GameStop.

History[]

Early years[]

The first Electronics Boutique store opened in 1977 selling digital watches, calculators and small radios. The store was located in the King of Prussia Plaza in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, a westerly suburb of Philadelphia, United States. [3] Australian operations commenced in 1997 with the opening of the Westfield Miranda Electronics Boutique store, with the Westfield Tuggerah and Charlestown Square locations opening soon after.[4]

2000s[]

Re-branding[]

In 2002 Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp announced a global re-branding program. All Electronics Boutique, EB GameWorld and EB Kids stores were to be re-branded to the worldwide name of EB Games. The company stated the re-brand would allow EB Games to leverage its marketing programs across its multiple retail formats and better market itself as the premier source for interactive entertainment.[5][6]

GameStop acquisition[]

Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp was acquired in 2005 by GameStop for USD$1.44 billion.[7] This expanded GameStop's operations into Australia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. GameStop's operations expanded to over 4,250 stores worldwide as a result of the acquisition.[8]

Gamesman acquisition[]

In 2008 GameStop announced it had acquired The Gamesman (not to be confused with the Australian retailer The Gamesmen) which was at the time New Zealand's largest independent gaming specialist. The acquisition added eight stores and expanded EB Games' presence in New Zealand to a total of 38 stores, bringing the total store count to 308 in Australia and New Zealand.[9]

2010s[]

EB Games Expo[]

EB Games announced, in 2011, the launch of the EB Games Expo a video game trade fair / convention to be held annually in Australia. More commonly known as EB Expo or EBX the inaugural convention was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 15 to 16 of the same year. The Expo is used by video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware. Unlike E3, EB Expo allows members of the general public to attend.[10]

EB Expo was moved to the Sydney Showgrounds for the 2012 through 2016 annual conventions before returning to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre for the 2017 convention.[11][12][13][14][15][16] For the 2018 and 2019 conventions EB Games announced EB Expo would move to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and would be held in conjunction with PAX Australia.[17][18]

EB World[]

In 2011 EB Games launched their EB World loyalty program. At launch the program offered four reward levels with customers able to progress though the reward levels by earning points called "carrots" being when shopping at EB Games stores.[19] EB Games stated the program allowed receipt free shopping, longer preorder holds and other additional benefits through continued purchases.[20] With the launch of Zing Pop Culture Australia in 2014 customers were also able to earn points when shopping at Zing stores. The program past 5 million members and a fifth reward level was announced, in 2017, with the level five reward tier being by invitation only to the top 9999 point earners each year.[21][22][23] In December 2019 the EB World membership exceeded 6 million members.[24]


Since the launch of EB World, EB Games has released a number of limited edition EB World membership cards as gifts or to commemorate certain events. EB World cards have been released for: the inaugural year of EB World,[25] EB Expo 2012 and 2013, EB Games Sydney CBD store opening, PlayStation 4 & Xbox One console launches, Star Wars Day,[26] Red Dead Redemption 2,[27] World of Warcraft[28] and to commemorate Christmas.[29]

ZiNG Pop Culture[]

In July 2014 EB Games Australia opened ZiNG Pop Culture a pop culture retailer. The first ZiNG Pop Culture store was located at the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Indooroopilly, Queensland.[30]

Workplace harassment allegations[]

In May 2015, four former EB Games employees accused an EB Games district manager of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, racial hatred, intimidation, and unpaid worked hours. The incidents were alleged to have occurred in the Figtree and Dapto stores. The former employees filed complaints with WorkCover Authority of New South Wales and the Australian Human Rights Commission.[31][32][33]

2020s[]

ZiNG Marketplace[]

EB Games launched Zing Marketplace in September 2021. Zing Marketplace is an Australian e-commerce retro gaming and pop culture marketplace which facilitates consumer-to-consumer sales through its website.[2][34]

Operations[]

Pre-owned products[]

EB Games pre-owned/trade-in program covers consoles, games, controllers, toys-to-life figures, iPods, iPads, iPhone and select Samsung mobile devices. The pre-owned/trade-in program generally doesn't include peripheral accessories not required for gameplay (sports kits, charging stands or AV/HDMI cables). However, there are exceptions with a select range of pre-owned Nintendo Switch peripheral accessories being available and accepted for trade-in.[35][36][37]

Traded games are able to be resold in-store upon being traded in, provided they are physically in re-sellable condition. If the traded items are deemed un-sellable, a defective repair cost can be incurred to the trader, being deducted from the trade value. A game can be deemed defective if scratched, missing the original case, cover display insert, or correct Australian Classification Board rating. These items are then returned to the store support centre warehouse and processed to a re-sellable condition. All consoles are returned to the warehouse before being approved for re-sale regardless of physical condition upon being traded.[37]

In all Australian states and territories, the value of traded games, consoles and accepted accessories can be used as in-store credit towards all items in stock as well as towards paying off a Lay-by or Pre-order on an upcoming release title. Only in some states can the traded value be exchanged for cash. In these instances, items traded for cash are retained by the store for a grace period to verify that the traded items were not obtained by the customer through illegal means.[37]

Currently, EB Games accepts the following consoles/games for trade in:[37][38]

Consoles Games/Accessories
Nintendo DS No No
Nintendo 2DS/3DS No No
Nintendo Wii No No
Nintendo Wii U No No
Nintendo Switch Yes Yes
Nintendo Classic Mini: NES No No
Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES No No
PlayStation Classic Yes No
PlayStation 3 No No
PlayStation 4 Yes Yes
PlayStation 5 Yes Yes
PlayStation Vita No No
Xbox 360 No No
Xbox One Yes Yes
Xbox Series X/S Yes Yes

Starlight Children's Foundation[]

Since 2007, EB Games Australia has maintained a charity partnership with the Starlight Children's Foundation. Every year, EB Games sponsors a "Starlight Week" in April–May with fund-raising endeavours across the chain and at a corporate level. In 2018, Starlight Week raised over $835,000 for the Foundation.[citation needed]

References[]

  1. ^ "National Names Index: Index of corporate and business names: Electronics Boutique Australia PTY LTD". ASIC: Australian Securities & Investments Commission. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Zing Marketplace | Zing Marketplace terms and conditions". zingmarketplace.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Electronics Boutique Holdings Corporation FAQ's". EB Holdings. Electronics Boutique. Retrieved 19 April 2001.
  4. ^ Powell, Dominic. "'Mario cuts through everything': How EB Games survived retail's great battle". The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Electronics Boutique Reports Record Revenues and Positive Earnings For Fiscal 2003 First Quarter; Initiates Worldwide Re-branding to EB Games". EB Holdings. Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  6. ^ Donahue, Ann. "EB changes name of game: rebranding a la GameStop". All Business. All Business. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  7. ^ Ball, Jeffrey (19 April 2005). "GameStop to Buy Videogame Firm For $1.44 Billion". The Wall Street Journal.
  8. ^ "EB Holdings". EB Holdings. Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  9. ^ "GameStop Reaches Agreement to Acquire New Zealand's Gamesman Video Game Chain". GameStop Investor Relations. GameStop. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  10. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2011. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  11. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2012. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  12. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2013. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  13. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2014. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  14. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2015. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  15. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2016. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  16. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2017. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  17. ^ "EB Expo". EB Expo 2018. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  18. ^ Price, Darren. "Gaming fandom descends on PAX Australia 2019". FutureFive. FutureFive. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  19. ^ "What Is EB World, And Why Are They Giving Me Carrots?". Kotaku. 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  20. ^ "What is EB World?". EBGames AU. 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  21. ^ "EB Games is surprising gamers with level 5 EB World memberships". Press Start. 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  22. ^ "Level 5 EB World members will only be picked once a year". Press Start. 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  23. ^ "EB World 5 million members". Facebook. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  24. ^ "EB World Six Million Members". Facebook. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  25. ^ "EB World inaugural card". Facebook EB Games Aus. EB Games Aus. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Zing Pop Culture - StarWars Day". Facebook-Zing Pop Culture. Zing Pop Culture. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  27. ^ "EB Games - RDR2 EBW Cards". Facebook- EB Games Aus. EB Games Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  28. ^ "EB Games Aus WOW EBW Cards". Facebook - EB Games Aus. EB Games Australia.
  29. ^ "EB Games Aus Christmas EBW Cards". Facebook - EB Games Aus. EB Games Australia.
  30. ^ "Frequently asked questions - ZiNG Pop Culture". zingpopculture.com.au. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  31. ^ Mardon, Cydonee (19 May 2015). "Illawarra store manager's behaviour 'absolutely appalling'". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  32. ^ Hollingworth, David (20 July 2015). "An inside look at EB Games work practices". PC Authority. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  33. ^ Serrels, Mark (20 July 2015). "Inside EB Games: When The Dream Job Becomes A Nightmare". Kotaku AU. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  34. ^ Williams, Leah. "EB Games Launches Zing Marketplace, AKA Nerdy Gumtree". Kotaku. Pedestrian Group. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  35. ^ "Switch Pre-owned peripheral accessories". EB Games. EB Games. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  36. ^ "Switch Preowned periperal". EB Games. EB Games. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "What can I trade?". EB Games. EB Games. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Preowned Consoles". EB Games. EB Games. Retrieved 14 April 2019.

External links[]

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