Video and computer games retailer Gamestation has announced plans to open between 70 and 100 stores this year, as it aims to build on the strong momentum seen in the games market last year.
Under the ambitious plan, the chain - owned by US entertainment giant Blockbuster - will double in size in just 12 months, bringing the total number of stores to more than 140.
If achieved, this will be one of the fastest high street growth spurts seen since the heyday of Claire's Accessories in the late-1990s. Recent openings include 290 Chiswick High Road, in West London - where an 85 sq m store has been leased - followed by new branches in Scarborough, Preston, Hartlepool and Glasgow.
The standard store format trades from units between 65 and 110 sq m.
Gamestation property adviser Edwards Hardwick & Partners has been retained to find sites as far afield as Inverness, Norwich and Exeter. At the same time, it is searching for second sites in key retailing centres such as Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.
But agents looking for a bonanza to replace the coffee shops and mobile phone operators that drove the market through the late-1990s are likely to be disappointed. Gamestation is not likely to set new record rent, says Edwards Hardwick.
The format can trade up to£85,000 a year in rent, although it is also targeting suburban high streets in the UK's main conurbations where the rent ceiling is£45,000 a year.
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