As a keen gamer the new chief executive of Game has just landed his dream job, but will his lack of experience in retail companies matter.

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Last Thursday, the day the news broke that Game had appointed a new chief executive, Ian Shepherd celebrated by playing Batman: Arkham Asylum on the PS3, according to his Twitter feed. The technology lover has been a “keen gamer” for 30 years and he will be able to put his passion to good use when he takes up his new position at the end of the month.

Shepherd may have an “obsession” with games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but some eyebrows were raised at the appointment. The former Vodafone man spent four years at the telecoms company and before that nine at broadcaster BSkyB. Not the usual CV for the chief executive of a retailer.

However, on closer inspection, the energetic 41 year old has had to have the customer front of mind in all his previous roles. At Vodafone he was UK consumer director, with responsibilities including the Vodafone UK retail chain with 400 stores and 2,000 staff.

He spent nine years at BSkyB, including five as customer marketing director and two as managing director of Sky Interactive, launching products including new games and interactive services.

Game chairman Peter Lewis describes Shepherd as “young” and “dynamic” with “very strong consumer expertise and good knowledge of the pc and video games market”. He adds: “The board is confident that he has the talent and energy to develop our customer proposition further.”

Investec analyst Natalia Marisova believes Shepherd - who replaces Lisa Morgan who stepped down in April - is a good hire. “He is definitely seen as a credible appointment,” she says. “The good company names of Vodafone and BSkyB play to his advantage.” Marisova believes his lack of experience within retail companies is “not a major impediment”. She says: “Looking across the industry I don’t see who else with gaming experience could have done it. His experience tallies well with Game’s increasing customer-focused strategy.”

Shepherd - who left Vodafone earlier this year to pursue other opportunities - describes himself as being “driven by challenge” on his Linkedin profile. And he has certainly landed a challenging role at Game, which has suffered declining sales this year.

The cyclical nature of the games market means Shepherd, who is in the process of completing his pilot’s licence, will have to get used to both good times and bad - and Game is in the middle of a bad patch. Last week the market leader revealed that in the 19 weeks to June 12, like-for-likes in the UK and Ireland slumped 17.2%, although it said it continues to outperform the market.

Marisova says Shepherd’s job to revitalise the business may be a tough one, but Game is “still a well-run international business”. She adds that he will need to concentrate on customer relationship management and online, which is “definitely going to be a big theme for Game”.

Shepherd says he has been “spending a lot of time” in stores, and is looking forward to joining the retailer during such an “interesting and exciting time” for the games industry. Described as an “energetic and inspirational leader, who leads from the front” by one source, Shepherd has said he wants to “build and strengthen” Game’s relationship with its customers. And, rather unusually, he is understood to believe his local dry-cleaner stands out as being a good example of a customer service model, knowing each customer and always providing a personal service.

Shepherd’s similar obsession with customers and his love of war games should help him in the battle for spend in the combative games market.